Sarah J. Rayment

Practical laboratory training is a key component of biosciences education, essential for developing critical skills and bridging the gap between theory and practice. The ‘Bioskills at home kit’, originally developed during the COVID-19 pandemic, was created to support first-year students in developing core laboratory skills at a time when access to in-person sessions was limited. Each kit contained equipment and guided activities focused on pipetting, microscopy, experimental design and microbial growth curve analysis. This study aimed to assess the educational impact of this kit using a mixed-methods approach. Data were collected across three student cohorts (2020/21, 2021/22 and 2024/25) using surveys and a focus group and analysed using appropriate statistical analyses and reflexive thematic analysis, respectively. The study evaluated the impact of the Bioskills at home kit on student learning across the cognitive, affective and psychomotor domains. Aspects of student experience, including perceived benefits, barriers to engagement and suggestions for improvement, were investigated, and student attainment from a compulsory laboratory assessment spanning seven academic years (2018/19–2024/25) was analysed. Results show that students experienced improved understanding of theoretical concepts, confidence, enjoyment and enhanced technical skills. Student attainment in practical assessment was also improved. Embedding the delivery of the kit in a more structured way within the personal tutorial system in subsequent years improved student engagement which was a challenge during the first year of intervention. Here, we demonstrate the successful implementation of the Bioskills at home kit which offers a scalable and inclusive model for flexible laboratory teaching.

Practical laboratory training is a key component of Biosciences education, essential for developing critical skills and bridging the gap between theory and practice. The ‘Bioskills at home kit’, originally developed during the COVID-19 pandemic, was created to support first-year students in developing core laboratory skills at a time when access to in-person sessions was limited. Each kit contained equipment and guided activities focused on pipetting, microscopy, experimental design and microbial growth curve analysis. This study aimed to assess the educational impact of this kit using a mixed-methods approach. Data were collected across three student cohorts (2020/21, 2021/22 and 2024/25) using surveys and a focus group and analysed using appropriate statistical analyses and reflexive thematic analysis, respectively. The study evaluated the impact of the Bioskills at home kit on student learning across the cognitive, affective and psychomotor domains. Aspects of student experience including perceived benefits, barriers to engagement and suggestions for improvement were investigated and student attainment from a compulsory laboratory assessment spanning seven academic years (2018/19 – 2024/25) were analysed. Results show that students experienced improved understanding of theoretical concepts, confidence, enjoyment and enhanced technical skills. Student attainment in practical assessment was also improved. Embedding the delivery of the kit in a more structured way within the personal tutorial system in subsequent years improved student engagement which was a challenge during the first year of intervention. Here, we demonstrate the successful implementation of the Bioskills at home kit which offers a scalable and inclusive model for flexible laboratory teaching.

Practical laboratory training is a key component of Biosciences education, essential for developing critical skills and bridging the gap between theory and practice. The ‘Bioskills at home kit’, originally developed during the COVID-19 pandemic, was created to support first-year students in developing core laboratory skills at a time when access to in-person sessions was limited. Each kit contained equipment and guided activities focused on pipetting, microscopy, experimental design and microbial growth curve analysis. This study aimed to access the educational impact of the kit using a mixed-methods approach. Data were collected across three student cohorts (2020/21, 2021/22 and 2024/25) using surveys and a focus group and were analysed using descriptive statistics and reflexive thematic analysis, respectively. The study evaluated the impact of the Bioskills at home kit on student learning across the cognitive, affective and psychomotor domains. Student experience including perceived benefits, barriers to engagement and suggestions for improvement were investigated and student attainment from a compulsory laboratory assessment spanning seven academic years (2018/19 – 2024/25) were analysed. Results show that students experienced improved understanding of theoretical concepts, increased confidence, enjoyment and enhanced technical skills. Student attainment in practical assessment was also improved. Embedding the delivery of the Bioskills at home kit in a more structured way within the personal tutorial system in subsequent years significantly improved student engagement which was a challenge during the first year of intervention. We demonstrate the successful implementation of the Bioskills at home kit, offering a scalable and inclusive model for flexible laboratory teaching.

Integration of technology is widespread in laboratory teaching, whose purpose includes building theoretical understanding and practical skills. How second-year bioscience undergraduate students at a UK university use technology to construct their understanding of laboratory-based topics was investigated using a concurrent think-aloud protocol in the laboratory, followed by semi-structured interviews. Analysis of think-aloud data used socially shared metacognitive coding since students may co-construct their understanding in these collaborative spaces. This analysis demonstrated that participants used technology within the laboratory either as a tool to conduct their experiment or, as a source of information to help them understand, apply or perform their experimental task. Semi-structured interviews demonstrated that students integrated technology into all aspects of their laboratory learning. Eight out of the ten participants described using technology to help them make connections between theory and practice as part of post-laboratory activities such as analysing or conducting further research on the topic. A survey of UK bioscience undergraduate modules found that 22% of modules did not use post-laboratory activities, suggesting that more scaffolding of post-laboratory activities could provide bioscience students with greater integration of practical and theoretical understanding and consequently meaningful laboratory learning.

Development of key practical skills is fundamental to bioscience courses in higher education. With limitations on access to laboratory time due to the COVID-19 pandemic, a “Bioskills at home” kit was developed to create opportunities for first year undergraduate students to develop these skills using online support resources to guide their activities and build communities of learning. Equipment and activities in this kit enabled students to practice key skills such as pipetting, data handling, experimental design and microscopy, as well as build an online peer learning community through the use of discussion boards and microscopy competitions that encouraged students to explore their local environment. Students who engaged with these activities reported increased confidence in key practical skills. Practical assessment of skills showed that that there was no reduction in the proportion of students who succeeded in achieving the pipetting learning objective compared to previous years, despite a significantly reduced on-campus provision. Although the celebration event to choose the microscopy competition winners was well attended, there was limited use of the discussion boards by students to build a community of learning during the term. Refinement of this initiative will focus on providing greater scaffolding to encourage greater engagement with activities and enhance community building.

Laboratory classes form an important aspect of bioscience education. However, this environment is challenging for students due to cognitive load and lack of confidence. Familiarising students with aspects of their laboratory classes prior to the session can improve this. This study compares the pre-laboratory scaffolding that bioscience and chemistry students experience across UK HE institutions. Typically, bioscience modules used fewer types of activities than chemistry although reading the protocol was the most common activity for both disciplines. Within bioscience, pre-laboratory activities differed by level: first year undergraduates were more likely to be asked to read the protocol, watch videos or do calculation practice in their modules whereas final year undergraduates were more likely to experience experimental design or contextualised activities. Alongside this, this paper discusses an institutional case study of the development and evaluation of technical laboratory videos as pre-laboratory scaffolding for first year students. These were found to benefit both student focus and enhance confidence: implying that using the videos impacted on cognitive load and hence learning. Exploring barriers to the uptake of these resources identified a lack of awareness of them as a major factor, suggesting that greater integration of such resources would enhance engagement and impact.

Background: The role ofα‐adrenoceptors in promoting continence through modulation of sphincter tone has focused primarily on the effects ofα₁‐adrenoceptors. We have used three clinically available agents, which are selective forα₂‐adrenoceptors, to investigate their role in contractile and neurogenic responses on the internal anal sphincter (IAS).Methods: IASstrips, which had spontaneously generated tone, were used to investigate the contractile effect of lofexidine, brimonidine, and dexmedetomidine on muscle tone in the presence or absence of subtype selective antagonists. The effect of brimonidine on the magnitude and time course of neurogenic responses generated by electrical field stimulation (EFS) was also examined. The affinity of test compounds atα₁‐ andα₂‐adrenoceptors was established by competition binding with [3H]‐prazosin and [3H]‐RX821002.Key Results: All agonists caused concentration‐dependent contraction of theIASand lofexidine demonstrated an enantiomeric difference in potency with a 10‐fold difference between the (−) and (+) isomers. Responses to lofexidine and dexmedetomidine were inhibited in the presence of theα₁‐adrenoceptor selective antagonist prazosin, but not in the presence ofRX811059 (α₂‐adrenoceptor selective antagonist); brimonidine responses were inhibited byRX811059 and, to a lesser extent, by prazosin. Brimonidine affected both magnitude and duration of neurogenic responses, which was reversed in the presence ofRX811059.Conclusions & Inferences: We conclude thatα₂‐adrenoceptors can mediate contraction ofIAS, although this effect is most evident with efficacious imidazoline agonists rather than the most selective ligand. In addition, this receptor subtype can directly inhibit noradrenergic contractile responses toEFSand, indirectly, enhance nitrergic relaxatory responses.

Background and purpose: Quercetin is a major flavonoid that contributes to the reduced risk of cardiovascular disease associated with dietary ingestion of fruits and vegetables. We have pharmacologically characterized the effect of quercetin, and its sulphate and glucuronide metabolites, on vasoconstrictor and vasodilator responses in the porcine isolated coronary artery.Experimental approach: Segments of the porcine coronary artery were prepared for either isometric tension recording or determination of cyclic GMP content. The effect of quercetin and metabolites on submaximal responses to U46619 was examined in the presence and absence of substance P, bradykinin, forskolin, sodium nitroprusside (SNP) and glyceryl trinitrate (GTN).Key results: Quercetin and quercetin 3′‐sulphate inhibited endothelin and U46619‐induced contractions with greater potency (three‐ to fivefold) against the former, while quercetin 3‐glucoronide was inactive. Quercetin enhanced both the cyclic GMP content of the artery (threefold) and cyclic GMP‐dependent relaxations to GTN and SNP (two to threefold), but forskolin‐induced relaxations were unaffected. Although the effect of quercetin was qualitatively similar to that noted for UK‐114,542, a selective inhibitor of phosphodiesterase 5, it was still evident against SNP‐induced relaxations in the presence of 10 nM UK‐114,542. Quercetin and quercetin 3′‐sulphate significantly reduced the development of GTN‐associated ‘tolerance’.Conclusions and implications: Quercetin and quercetin 3′‐sulphate inhibited receptor‐mediated contractions of the porcine isolated coronary artery by an endothelium‐independent action. Quercetin selectively enhanced cyclic‐GMP‐dependent relaxations by a mechanism not involving phosphodiesterase 5 inhibition. In addition, quercetin and quercetin 3′‐sulphate opposed GTN‐induced tolerancein vitro, which may be beneficial for patients treated for angina pectoris.

Abstract Nitric oxide is widely established as an important neurotransmitter in the control of anal sphincter tone; although, a number of other transmitters have also been tentatively implicated. Whilst α‐adrenoceptor antagonists reduce anal sphincter pressure in man, the role of noradrenaline as a possible transmitter is poorly characterised. We have investigated the contribution of these transmitters to neurogenic relaxations, and evaluated the possible role of a non‐nitrergic, non‐adrenergic transmitter. The magnitude and duration of neurogenic responses were examined by measuring responses to electrical field stimulation (EFS) in segments of sheep internal anal sphincter following the development of spontaneous myogenic tone. Neurogenic relaxations induced by EFS were significantly reduced in the presence ofN^G‐nitro‐L‐arginine methyl ester (l‐NAME) suggesting major involvement of nitric oxide as a neurotransmitter. The duration of neurogenic relaxations was inversely related to the frequency of EFS, with contractile responses often manifest at higher frequencies. The duration of relaxations at high frequencies of EFS was increased by bretylium (adrenergic neurone blocker) and prazosin (α₁‐adrenoceptor antagonist). At higher frequencies of EFS, 60% of preparations also produced a residual non‐nitrergic, non‐adrenergic, apamin‐sensitive relaxation which was unaffected by vasoactive intestinal polypeptide (VIP) and inhibitors of purinergic responses [suramin, pyridoxal‐phosphate‐6‐azophenyl 2′,4′ disulfonic acid (PPADS) and α,β‐methylene adenosine triphosphate (ATP)]. However, MRS2179 (P2Y₁receptor antagonist) showed a modest inhibitory effect. We conclude that endogenous noradrenaline acts via postjunctional α₁‐adrenoceptors to antagonize neurogenic relaxations that are largely mediated by nitric oxide. Our results indicate the involvement of a non‐nitrergic, non‐adrenergic, apamin‐sensitive transmitter which is inhibited by MRS2179, suggesting a possible role for purines.