Assignment:
Project and Discussions
Project 1
In this assignment you will be creating a Narrated PowerPoint presentation on a topic that is relevant to both biology and our current society. You will be submitting it into your assignment folder as a YouTube link of your PowerPoint presentation, and a Word document of your narration (your "speaker's notes) which will be reviewed for similarity by Turnitin.
Recognize and explain how the scientific method is used to solve problems.
make observations and discriminate between scientific and pseudoscientific explanations.
weigh evidence and make decisions based on strengths and limitations of scientific knowledge and the scientific method.
use knowledge of biological principles, the scientific method, and appropriate technologies to ask relevant questions, develop hypotheses,
design and conduct experiments, interpret results, and draw conclusions.
Select one of the topics listed below (a-e).
a) Stem cells. Your friend has suffered a spinal cord injury after a bad car accident. The medical team has decided that he is a good candidate for a clinical trial using stem cell therapy. Your friend has not had a biology course since high school, so you decide to create a presentation sharing your knowledge of stem cells. Include in your presentation a description of the biology of stem cells and how these cells are unique from other cells. Contrast the different types of stem cells, including pros and cons for each type. Explain how stem cells can be used to treat diseases and injury, with special focus on spinal cord injuries. Include information from at least one research study or clinical trial. Conclude with your own opinion.
b) Genetically modified organisms (GMOs). A friend tells you that she avoids foods containing GMOs because they are unhealthy. You decide to use the knowledge gained from your biology class and some additional research to form your own opinion on GMOs. You decide to prepare for her a presentation in which you answer the following questions backed up by reliable information sources: What is the purpose of genetically engineering of crop plants? Include at least two specific examples of commonly grown GMO How are GMOs created? Use the provided course materials and make a connection to the central dogma of molecular biology in your explanation. Which foods in your supermarket contain GMOs? Are foods that contain GMOs safe for human consumption? What types of regulations exist for these foods? Clearly explain your reasoning for each answer in your paper and conclude whether or not you agree with your friend.
c) Gene Editing (Clustered Regularly Interspaced Short Palindromic Repeats - CRISPR) has been the most recent breakthrough discovery in bioengineering that enables scientists to edit DNA. Because you have studied biology in this course, you have volunteered at your niece's Middle School Science Club to make a presentation and monitor a student debate about CRISPR. The students will be watching the following video before your presentation: https://www.com/watch?time_continue=252&v=2pp17E4E-O8 and you need to be prepared in case there are any questions.
Please include in your presentation the answers to the following questions: What is "CRISPR"? What role does Cas9 play in the CRISPR process? How does the CRISPR-Cas9 system snip and replace any DNA sequence? What are the potential benefits and drawbacks of gene editing? Include specific examples. Do you believe that the inherent risks of modifying animal DNA is worth the rewards? Explain. Do you believe that it is ethical to genetically engineer humans and/or animals? Explain.
d) Vaccines. Your friend is worried about the many vaccines that his newborn son is scheduled to receive and asks you for advice since you are taking a biology course. You decide to create a presentation to help him understand vaccines. Start with an explanation of how vaccines work. Briefly contrast the traditional methods used to create vaccines with more recently used biotechnology techniques. Then list some of the diseases that babies and children in the US are routinely vaccinated against. How have vaccinations impacted the frequency of these diseases over the past 100 years? Why are some people worried about giving their children vaccines? Is there scientific evidence to support these concerns? Conclude with advice to your friend in regard to getting the recommended vaccines based on what you learned from reliable information sources.
e) Fracking (hydraulic fracturing) and tar sands (oil sands). With society's dependence on nonrenewable fossil fuels, the oil & gas industry is turning to hydraulic fracturing and tar (oil) sands to extract natural gas and oil. A friend asks you "What's all this controversy in the news about fracking and tar sands?" You decide to create a presentation to explain to your friend how hydraulic fracturing and tar (oil) sands are used to obtain these fossil fuels. Then, in more detail, describe the environmental problems that may result from these processes and why they are controversial. Issues that should be addressed involves water, air, and soil pollution with special focus on global climate change, effects on human health, and effects on other species and natural ecosystems. Finally, give your opinions on possible solutions to these environmental problems, with your reasoning backed by information from reliable information sources.
NB. Find at least five articles related to one of the topics chosen from above. Note that WIKIPEDIA is not considered a reliable source.
Your presentation should include the following:
1. You should include the following sections in your presentation: Purpose, Background, Discussion (in which you answer the questions of your research topic) and Conclusion. List all references on the last slide of the presentation using APA format.
2. Include a title slide -presentation title, name, course, instructor, and due date.
3. Presentation information slides - 12 to 15 slides maximum, not including title and reference slides. Do not overload your slides, it is always best to identify the important points. Ideally, a slide should have 6 - 7 bullets (maximum) and 6 - 8 words per bullet. Avoid full sentences.
4. Presentation font: You may use a larger font size for the titles (up to 40) and smaller for the content (not smaller than 28) and 10 for references.
5. Add images that contribute to the information that you are sharing verbally. Add the URL to the website where you found an image, below each image you use (small font is OK to make it less distracting) or include these in the reference list at the end of the presentation.
Narrated PowerPoint instructions
1. Write a script for your narration for each slide in a Word document. It is OK if you do not strictly follow the script when you narrate.
2. Record your narration in Power Point. Go to Insert and click the Audio icon (to the right in the editing bar), choose Record Audio... from the drop-down menu. Click the red button to start your narration, then the blue button to stop. Check that your recording is OK. You can delete a recording and start over, and you can also do some minor editing by cutting off the start and/or end of the recording. Repeat for all the slides in your presentation. You may want to move the narration icon that appears in the middle of the slide to a corner.
DISCUSSIONS
1) Describe an example of how you use the scientific method in your daily life. Which observation(s) lead you to use the scientific method? State a good hypothesis, how you are testing the hypothesis (the experiment), results and conclusion. What are the control and treatment groups in your experiment? What is the dependent and independent variables in your experiment? Name at least one controlled variable.
2) Consider reviewing the information about proteins, carbohydrates and fats in the OLI modules.
Pick a type of food that you enjoy. Before you start researching, state a hypothesis about the nutritional content of this food. Remember a hypothesis is an educated guess (and may be wrong), and a good hypothesis is specific.
Then summarize what you learned from your research. Include an image of at least one molecule found in this food and briefly describe that molecule in terms of the atoms it is made of and potentially the chemical bonds that keep the atoms together. Is this a beneficial molecule to consume? Explain why. Did your research support your hypothesis?
3) Describe an example of osmosis that we can observe in real life. Explain what is happening at the cellular level, including what is moving across the cell membranes and in which direction (in or out of the cells)?
4) In addition to being essential within living organisms, enzymes are also used in many of the products we use! Check your cleaning supplies at home, do any of them list enzymes on the ingredient list? If so, does it say which type of enzyme? Does any of the other products you use contain enzymes? What type of enzymes are used in industry? Which enzymes are found in the food we eat?
After doing some research, choose and describe one enzyme that is used in cleaning products, other products, industrial procedures or that is found in food. Explain how this enzyme is used. What is the substrate in the chemical reaction? And what is the product(s)?
Remember that a chemical reaction converts one or more substrates to one or more products, and that most enzymes are substrate specific. When looking for enzymes remember that their names end with -ase!
5) Investigate a food item that is an example of a genetically modified organisms (GMO). This may be a plant or an animal and may currently be on the market, was on the market in the past, or is under development. Use the web and/or library resources to find as much information as possible about your chosen GMO. Try to address the following: type of introduced gene(s) and corresponding protein(s), properties, where is it being used, percent of market, and which food products contain(ed) this GMO (please include all references).
Then, the next time you visit your supermarket, find an example of a food that specifically indicates it is "not GMO" (examples are commonly found in processed foods like cereals, crackers, grains, other snacks). Would this affect whether or not you would buy the product (assuming that you normally eat that type of food
6) Pick one species as your favorite creature! It could be an animal, plant, fungus or bacteria. Humans and pets are excluded. Use reliable information sources to research this creature and answer at least 3 of these questions:
• Which other species is your favorite creature related to and what are some of its ancestors?
• What makes your favorite creature unique compared to other species?
• Are there any concerns about the population status of your species? Is its population affected by human activities? Explain.
• What is your favorite creature's geographic range? In which ecosystem/biome does it live?
• How does your favorite creature fit into the food web? What does it eat? And who eats it?
Everyone must also include why you picked this particular species as your favorite creature, and at least one embedded picture or video of your species.
7) Name and explain at least three examples of ecological interactions.