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Gamified simulations, integrating gameplay into education, cater to younger learners’ digital preferences and align with Next Generation Science Standards. Current virtual modules focus on advanced high school classes, leaving a gap for middle school students. This study investigated the impact of substituting recitations in a 6th-grade ecology class with Feed the Dingo, a gamified module. Through quizzes evaluating academic performance and free-response surveys to gauge students’ attitudes, the module appeared to enhance intuitive understanding of core ecological concepts (e.g., ecosystems, food webs, biodiversity, etc.), resulting in commendable academic achievement and positive feedback. Such simulations serve as valuable supplements for K-12 lesson planning. 

During the abrupt and unplanned transition to remote online learning formats due to the COVID-19 outbreak, educators have had to adopt new teaching methods. For instance, online simulations tailored to specific curriculum topics emerged, allowing students to apply their knowledge creatively, with potentially positive effects on engagement and learning efficacy. Here, we examine the implementation of the “Save the World” simulation, created by Wonderville.org, in a high school Advanced Placement Environmental Science classroom in a remote online learning setting. In this module, students determine the most viable renewable energy generation option for given environments. Based on student and teacher feedback, the simulation effectively delivers educational material and promotes student engagement, demonstrating that online simulations can serve as a viable tool to enhance environmental science education and remote learning. 

Short interfering RNA (siRNA) therapeutics have soared in popularity due to their highly selective and potent targeting of faulty genes, providing a non‐palliative approach to address diseases. Despite their potential, effective transfection of siRNA into cells requires the assistance of an accompanying vector. Vectors constructed from non‐viral materials, while offering safer and non‐cytotoxic profiles, often grapple with lackluster loading and delivery efficiencies, necessitating substantial milligram quantities of expensive siRNA to confer the desired downstream effects. We detail the recombinant synthesis of a diverse series of coiled‐coil supercharged protein (CSP) biomaterials systematically designed to investigate the impact of two arginine point mutations (Q39R and N61R) and decahistidine tags on liposomal siRNA delivery. The most efficacious variant, N8, exhibits a twofold increase in its affinity to siRNA and achieves a twofold enhancement in transfection activity with minimal cytotoxicity in vitro. Subsequent analysis unveils the destabilizing effect of the Q39R and N61R supercharging mutations and the incorporation of C‐terminal decahistidine tags on α‐helical secondary structure. Cross‐correlational regression analyses reveal that the amount of helical character in these mutants is key in N8's enhanced siRNA complexation and downstream delivery efficiency.