Assignment:
Objective: Writing about scientific principles and phenomena is an increasingly important skill in the 21st century. This assignment is designed to help you understand a major concept covered in this unit while also helping you develop your science writing skills. One key to effective science writing is explaining how science can be used in everyday life. You'll do this in a 500 to 600 word paper.
1) Formulate and answer a question: Select a concept that is relevant to the topics in the table and formulate a question. Use this question as the title of your essay. *Students can choose detailed topics relevant to the big topic shown in the table above (e.g. human microbiome in guts and gastric cancer).
(Sample questions)
• What are isotopes, and what happens during radioactive decay?
• What are the properties of amino groups, and why are they biologically important?
• What are some of the functions of membrane proteins?
• Why is the movement of water across cell membranes crucial to living cells?
2) Explain how this applies to your life: Write a 500 to 600 word essay answering this question, and discuss how the information could be useful to you in your own life or career goal. Be sure to include some concrete information that was covered in this unit, explaining why the information is relevant to your life / society and useful for you. Be sure to explain how the information applies to you personally and give examples.
(Examples of applications)
• Radioisotopes are unstable isotopes that emit energy and subatomic particles. Radioisotopes are important in your own life because theyare commonly used in household smoke detectors.
• Some neurotransmitters, including norepinephrine, histamine, and serotonin, are amines. In your own life, you may benefit fromsynthetic amines if you take decongestants to relieve cold or allergy symptoms.
• Steroids play important roles in membrane structure and cell signaling. In your own life, your doctor may prescribe a steroid treatment to reduce the swelling associated with an injury or other inflammatory ailment.
• ABO blood groups are determined by differences in the carbohydrate portion of glycoproteins on the surface of red blood cells. In your own life, knowing your blood type may help you assess your risk of developing certain cancers and other health conditions.
• In plants, osmosis facilitates the absorption of water from the soil and contributes to turgidity. In your own life, you can extend the shelf life of your produce by immersing it in water for a few seconds to increase the turgor pressure and reduce wilting.
• Some enzymes break down large molecules into smaller components, which is important to the digestive process. In your own life, you can use the lipases found in some laundry detergents to remove greasy stains from your clothing.
3) Structure your essay as suggested below.
1. State your question in the title.
2. 1st section: Give an overview of the answer to your question.
3. 2nd section: Provide the scientific details of the answer to your question with references. Be sure to select the relevant information from class notes, the textbook and other sources (website, journals, papers).
Since you will be writing about science from a personal perspective, you can use personal pronouns (I, we, you, etc.).
4) Provide reference:
(Examples of references)
1. Website: https://www.cancer.gov/about-cancer/understanding/disparities
2. Textbook: p45-55 Microbiology, an Introduction, 12th edition. By Totora, Funke, and Case (ISBN-10: 0- 321-92915-2).
3. Scientific journal: Singhal, Tanu. "A review of coronavirus disease-2019 (COVID-19)." The indian journal of pediatric.