Structural Bioinformatics of Protein & DNA, as Early Stimulation in Basic Education of Rural and Indigenous Communities of Oaxaca

Abstract

As stated in the Declaration of the Rights of the Child, children have the right to go to school for free, to play, and to have the same opportunity to develop and to learn to be responsible and useful[1]. Young children are curious by nature and they have passion for learning [2]. An environment that encourages scientific thinking is what gives young children the time, space and materials to exercise their curiosity [3]. The aim of this paper is to present a methodology for the development of educational environments based on digital technology, internet and free programs available on the web, for the use and application of structural bioinformatics protein and DNA, for early stimulation in basic education at rural and indigenous communities in state of Oaxaca, conducted in On Line Learning & Training “OLL & T”. The course is divided into 4 sections: 1)Introduction to the topic of protein and DNA structure;2)Search in protein data bank;3)Download RasTop program and use it as bioinformatics tool;4)Emulation of building a viral molecule. Workshops were given to children in elementary, middle and high school at the Universidad Del Papaloapan during the National Week of Science and Technology, every year in Oaxaca since 2007 to 2012 and in Monterrey 2010 at the Universidad Autonoma de Nuevo León. Conclusions: positive impact was achieved in basic education in the area of natural sciences by analyzing the molecular basis of protein and deoxyribonucleic acid, theoretically and practically, as a support for teachers.