"When Good Biology Goes Bad at the Movies" effort led by Dina Gould Halme, Melissa Kosinski-Collins, and Julia Khodor In December of 2003, Dina Gould Halme and Michelle Mischke had the idea of offering an alternative class to members of the MIT community. The class would involve the discussion of biological topics addressed in movies and would be taught during the Independent Activities Period (IAP) at MIT. The class involved a 15 minute introduction of the actual biology behind the concept presented in a particular movie, movie viewing, and then a wrap discussion of where Hollywood went wrong. Dina Gould Halme taught the class in January of 2004, and addressed issues such as cloning in "The Sixth Day," genetic screening and discrimination in "Gattaca,", and epidemiology in "Outbreak." Melissa Kosinski-Collins and Julia Khodor taught the class again in January of 2005 and addressed issues such as evolution and metabolism in "X-men II," vertebrate cloning in "Jurassic Park," and speciation and ecology in "Planet of the Apes."

If you wish to view the presentations for several of the movie discussions, please click on the appropriate link below. Advertising Poster for Jurassic Park Cloning and "Jurassic Park" Advertising Poster for "X-men II" Evolution and "X-men II" Speciation and "Planet of the Apes" Advertising Poster for "Planet of the Apes"