Potential term project topics, very broad topics to allow lots of latitude for what you find for specific chemistry (keep in mind also, you are tracking down organic molecules - they need to have carbon in them!!!):
? Oncology: cancer / lymphoma / leukemia / genetics / treatment / diagnostic
? mitochondrial and metabolic disorders
? cardiac care and diseases
? inflammatory processes and bone / joint health
? liver function
? endocrinology
? coagulation, platelet function, bleeding versus clotting
? circulatory system / hematology / blood analytes
? multiple sclerosis
? HIV / SIV
? Blood sugar regulation and diabetes
? Malaria
? organ transplantation
? brain / nervous system
? the other side of the cycle - putting CO2 and NO2 back into biological circulation (photosynthesis,
nitrogen fixation / carbon cycle / nitrogen cycle)
? coffee / tea / cocoa
? wine and fruit beverages and byproducts
? milk - breast milk, cow milk, goat milk - composition - nutrition - allergies -
? bacterial biofilms, bacterial resistance, signaling, pheromones, quorum sensing
? skin and epithelial tissue, structure, absorption and excretion functions
? cell transport issues - moving all sorts of molecules in and out of cells
? chemistry of smell: dogs / olfaction / smelling disease/cancer - drugs - seizures - cadavers -
may be tough to get at much chemical specifics for trained dogs; chemoreception; olfactory
receptors, pheromones
? organic pollution of water: drugs / pharmaceutics, petroleum products, cosmetics, endocrine
disruptors
? other ideas possible - check with me
Decide what topic you would like, and email me; I will add you to the list on our Canvas page - first come, first served, in order of emails, and once you see your name and topic there, then you can proceed with it. Otherwise, I'll send you a note back that someone already took that particular topic. Don't
worry, there's a lot of topic areas out there....Better to start with a bigger broader topic area than a narrow
one though, so that you can follow the information and not be limited initially.
Start with a topic statement with description of the topic area, due 9/29 (you can revise it later in
the term for your final product), and then will build pages based on tying your topic to
representative molecules which fit into the topics of this course. At the end a presentation will be
made of your topic for which your pages can be used as the visuals. The goal for maximum credit is
to tie 10 major molecule groups of this course into your project along with 10 class objectives.
(helpful hint: I have no problem with using Wikipedia as a citable source!)
Project:
topic with description of topic area - no more than one-two pages regarding what sort of system or processes
or disease scope the topic is addressing, What organisms or body systems or organs are involved,
interventions, other pertinent biological aspects. You can revisit this as you go along, but turn in an
initial look at the scope of your topic. (Never forget to cite sources, but don't copy paste your text -
write your own summary! It is ok to copy paste diagrams / figures as long as you give credit in
citations.)