Solve the Outbreak vs Virtual Labs

Your mission, if you choose to accept, is to get clues and analyze data to solve the outbreak and save lives! In this fun app, you get to be a Disease Detective. Do you quarantine the village? Interview people who are sick? Run more lab tests? The better your answers, the higher your score - and the quicker you’ll climb the ranks to become a decorated Disease Detective. In level 1, you’ll start as a Trainee and earn badges by solving scenarios — with the goal of earning the top rank: Disease Detective. Unlock Level 2 by mastering all the 12 outbreaks of Level 1. Then earn honors by solving new and more challenging scenarios. Earn recognitions like Surveillance and Treatment Honors. New outbreaks happen every day and CDC's Disease Detectives are on the front lines — working 24/7 to save lives and protect people. When a new outbreak occurs, Disease Detectives are sent in to figure out how the outbreak started before it spreads further. In this app, you'll also: • Learn about diseases and outbreaks in an engaging way. • See how CDC's Disease Detectives save lives around the world. • Have the option to post your scores on Facebook or Twitter and challenge your friends to play!

Prepare a slide and adjust magnification on an oil immersion microscope to examine a Gram-stained sample and identify microbes hiding within. The Virtual Labs series of interactive science modules help train high school and college students in basic laboratory techniques. Using a microscope is one of the basic skills of laboratory work. Learn how to choose the correct lens, adjust lighting and magnification, and prepare a slide for viewing. Lab technicians use microscopes for many tasks, including checking what kinds of microbes are present in a sample. Using Gram staining and a microscope, you can differentiate beneficial bacteria from dangerous bacteria in food samples. In this module, enter the virtual lab of a dairy processing plant to analyze yoghurt samples and test for Salmonella and E. coli. Virtual Labs – Using the Microscope familiarizes the user with food science lab equipment and teaches standard techniques for this procedure. The interactive guides the user through theory and practice of using the microscope, so that they will have familiarity with the equipment and procedures when encountered in a real lab. This work was supported by USDA CSREES and USDA National Institute of Food and Agriculture under two Higher Education Challenge Grant projects: 2008-38411-19055 and 2011-38411-30625. © 2008-2016 NMSU Board of Regents. Collaborating universities South Dakota State University, North Dakota State University and New Mexico State University are all equal opportunity/affirmative action employers and educators.