Breaking down apoptosis: animating programmed cell death in 3D for a pathology curriculum

Abstract

Contemporary medical education is expected to keep up with the rapidly expanding corpus of medical scientific knowledge to train informed doctors. Swift communication and assimilation of complex concepts are required, yet traditional teaching methods are often suboptimal means to this end. This paper details the making of a concise 3D animation on the apoptotic pathways, designed to improve first-year undergraduate medical students' grasp of cell signaling. A simplified visual language was adopted to increase the effectiveness and expedite the production of beginner molecular biology animations. Favourable student feedback suggests that the chosen design approach could yield further positive results.

Global versus local: A regional core embryology syllabus for medical students

“…Should virtual microscopy replace the practice in histology laboratory hours, augmented reality resources replace dissection in terms of engaging students, raising access to sources of learning, or even improving anatomy learning? (Justino et al, 2013; Lee et al, 2018; Moreta‐Martínez et al, 2020; O'Doherty et al, 2018; Thouvenot‐Nitzan et al, 2018). In recent years, with an additional urge brought by the COVID‐19 pandemic restrictions to in person classroom and laboratory sessions (Evans et al, 2020), how can these activities be conducted online?…”