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Biology in the News Assignment

The biology concepts presented in this course encourage you to make the connection between textbook biology and biology that appears in newspapers, periodicals, and the Internet. This Biology in the News (BITN) assignment enables you to focus on the connection between the textbook and the world you live in and to recognize how science and technology influence and contribute to modern culture.

Select an article from a recent newspaper, periodical, or the Internet which correlates with the content of one or more concepts of instruction covered in the course. Select an article that is written for the general public. Avoid scientific publications.

Choose an article that is:

· related to content presented in a lesson.

· of appropriate length, not just an announcement and not ten pages.

· less than three months old.

· From current news, not encyclopedic reference.

· Written for the general public, not a scholarly scientific publication.

Your BITN paper should contain three parts:

1.
The title page includes the date, your name, course, section, and instructor name in the upper right corner. The title of the article should be centered on the page. Position the article reference citation on the bottom.

2.
The body of the essay will include three carefully written paragraphs. Each paragraph should contain a minimum of four sentences.

Paragraph one: Summarize the who, what, when, where, why, and how of the article content.

Paragraph two: Correlate the content of the article with the subject matter of a lesson covered in the course. Explain how the textbook helped you understand the article. Did the article agree with or contradict the textbook?

Paragraph three: Give your opinion on the content of the article. Explain how the content of the article impacts you, your family and friends. Relate the content of the article to real life by answering two or more of the following questions:

· Did the article make you aware of things you had not thought of before?

· Did the article change your mind about the topic?

· Was the article about something you have experienced personally?

· Did the article address ethical or public policy issues?

· Do you agree or disagree with information presented in your article?

3.
Attach a copy of the article to your paper.

This assignment counts 20 points. Late work will count half credit. Points are earned as follows:

Format, Presentation, and Citation (4 points)

1. Cover sheet contains:

· Name, course, section number, date, and name of instructor

· Article title

· Article citation in a standard format such as APA or MLA

2. Three Paragraphs:

· Minimum of four sentences per paragraph

· Article relates to content of a Lesson presented in class

3. Attach a copy of the article to the BITN assignment:

· Article is less than three months old

· Article is news, not reference material

Accurate Written Communication Skills (4 points)

· Assignment includes coherent paragraphs with proper sentence structure, spelling, grammar, punctuation and use of scientific terminology.

· Paragraphs should be written in your own words from information in the article and textbook. No parts of the article, textbook, or other sources may be copied. Plagiarism will not be tolerated. Papers the instructor determines contain plagiarism will be given a zero. See

http://www.plagiarism.org/

for additional information on what constitutes plagiarism.

Summary Paragraph (4 points)

· Demonstrate your understanding by identifying main points of the article and summarizing into one coherent paragraph.

Correlation Paragraph (4 points)

· Discuss how the main ideas of your article relate to the textbook, lab or lecture material.

· Specifically reference textbook and lab materials to provide a clear connection between the main ideas in the article and your biology course.

Personal Reaction Paragraph (4 points)

· Explain why you chose this article and why it is important to you, your family and friends by answering two or more of the following questions:

· Did the article make you aware of things you had not thought of before?

· Did the article change your mind or feelings about the topic?

· Was the article about something you have experienced personally?

· Did the article address ethical or public policy issues?

· Do you agree or disagree with information presented in your article?

Name

Biology 1408, Sec. ####

Date

Mrs. Sepdham

Gross Showers!

Taking a shower may not always be a healthy thing, according to an article from
Discovery News, entitled “Dangerous Pathogens Live in Showerheads.” A team of researchers led by Norma Pace at University of Colorado at Boulder found that taking showers can actually be unhealthy for some people. They did research in nine American cities and found high concentrations of a tiny microbe called
Mycobacterium avium in 45 showerheads. They also found a wide variety of other microorganisms growing in biofilms on the showerheads.
M.
avium is harmless unless it is aerosolized and inhaled. The researchers found the risk for healthy people is much lower than for the elderly, the immune-compromised, and people already suffering a pulmonary disease, such as emphysema. The study did not determine exactly how much bacteria is being aerosolized or inhaled. Replacing grimy showerheads with new metal ones or just taking a bath will help, but cleaning with bleach actually made the concentrations of
M.
avium higher. These bacteria are chlorine resistant, so the bleach only killed other organisms making more room for the dangerous bacteria to grow (Marshall, 2009).

Material from chapter two of our text helped me understand how the bacteria got into the lungs in the first place. Hot water turns into a vapor when sprayed into the air. The water is forced through the contaminated showerhead, and the bacteria mix with the water vapor. We breathe in the moist bacteria-filled air, and once the microorganisms are in the lungs, they can cause infection. As we learned in class, water is the universal solvent, meaning that many things easily disperse in water, including these bacteria apparently. Also, in lab, we have used microscopes to view bacteria and other cells. You can see every little dust particle and grain of sand under the microscopes, so it is not hard to believe that there are germs living everywhere; not only in our showerheads.

This article is important to me because I had no idea that so many germs could be growing in my showerhead. I know that bacteria can grow in warm, moist places, but I didn’t know that it could pose such a threat to my health. I am a relatively healthy person so I am not likely to contract an infection, but it does make me more aware about keeping the showerhead clean. My grandmother, on the other hand, may want to buy a new showerhead if she has had the same one for a while because the elderly are more prone to getting an infection. This is important information for doctors who treat patients who have respiratory illnesses, as their patients could potentially be taking dirty showers, putting their health at even greater risk. Shower heads in hospitals and nursing homes should regularly be inspected for microorganisms and replaced frequently to insure that patients do not take unnecessary risks just by taking showers. If I were in change, I would make sure that this information is widely distributed to ensure those at risk and their caregivers know the problem so they can take action to protect themselves, their patients and loved ones.

Reference:

Marshall, Jessica. “Dangerous Pathogens Live in Showerheads.”
Discovery News. September 14, 2009.

http://news.discovery.com/human/showerhead-pathogens-disease-bacteria.html

Starr, Cecie. “Biology: Concepts and Applications” 7th ed. Mason, Ohio. 2008.

XXXXXX

Biology 1408, Sec. 21501

October 17, 2013 Professor Steiner

Healthier Diets Possible in Low-Income, Rural Communities

Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics. “Healthier Diets Possible in Low-Income, Rural Communities.”
ScienceDaily, 11 Oct. 2013. Web. 15 Oct. 2013

http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2013/10/131011093329.htm

According to the article, children in the United States don’t eat enough fruits, vegetables, and whole grains; instead they indulge in large amounts of sugars and solid fats. A team of investigators conducted and designed the CHANGE (Creating Healthy, Active and Nurturing Growing-up Environments) study in low-income rural areas, which was a two year randomized, controlled, community and school-based intervention to prevent unhealthy weight gain among the rural school aged children. The investigators wanted to test their hypothesis that students exposed to the study would improve their diet quality due to healthier food environments, so they examined the changes in fruit, vegetable, legume, whole grains and low fat dairy consumption among rural elementary student’s who were exposed to the CHANGE study intervention compare with the students in control schools. The investigators chose from eight rural communities in California, Kentucky, Mississippi, and South Carolina to participate in the study between the years of 2007-2009. The communities where divided up into two and randomly assigned to either an intervention or control group, which the students in the intervention sample were given daily access to healthier school foods, and weekly educational curriculum. The mean age of the 1,230 participating student were 8.6 and about 85-95% were nonwhite. At the end of the study, the investigators concluded that student in CHANGE schools ate similar amounts of fruits, vegetables, whole grains, dairy, potatoes/potato products, saturated fats, and sugars as student’s in control schools. The CHANGE schools also consumed significantly more legumes.

The material that we covered in chapter one of our textbook, about the Scientific Method helped me better understand the study that the investigators conducted in the low in-come rural areas. The Scientific Method starts with observation and developing a hypothesis, which the observation tells what happens and the hypothesis tells you what causes it to happen. In the article the investigators observed that children in low-income rural areas don’t eat enough fruits and vegetables, instead indulge in sugars and solid fats which lead to obesity and higher risk of diabetes in adulthood. Their hypothesis was the reason the children are at higher risk is because they are not exposed to healthier diet choices at home or in school. We also learned that when using the Scientific Method you must use the hypothesis to make a prediction, such as the prediction the investigators made that if the children in school are exposed to the study it will

improve their diet quality due to the healthier food environment. After the prediction is made that is when the testing of the hypothesis began. The researcher must conduct an experimental group and a control group, which the experimental group is exposed to the independent variable and the control group is exposed to the dependent variable. Fro example, in the article the investigators conduct the experimental group who were the children is rural areas exposed to the CHANGE study, and the control group of the students in control schools. The test results and data that are consistent with the predictions are evidence in support of the hypothesis, and if not consistent then the hypothesis should be revised. In the article the investigators concluded that their prediction was right, if children are exposed to the study it would improve their diet quality.

This article really brought to my attention and made me aware of the eating habits amongst the children in low-income rural areas. I really enjoyed reading and learning about the study that the investigators conducted, and seeing how they implemented the Scientific Method. I agree with the concluding statement that Dr. Cohen stated in the article that the outcome of their study provides evidence that intervention targeting low-income children living in rural communities can improve their diet quality. My desired field of study is Education, so to read this article and to learn how the investigators conducted a study to improve the diets of children that are less fortunate makes me want to be more involved in the community, and making sure that the children in society are becoming more healthier and active.

Biology in the News Checklist

Format, Presentation, and Citation

☐ Does your paper have a title, different from the title of the article?

☐ Does your paper have three paragraphs with at least four sentences each?

☐ Is the article cited at the bottom of the title page?

☐ Is a copy of the article stapled to the paper?

☐ Is the article no more than three months old?

☐ Is the article from a major news source used by the general public?

☐ Is it news about something related to the course, and is not a blog, editorial, or wiki?

Summary Paragraph

☐ Does the summary mention the source of the information by providing the article title, author, and publication? For example, in a New York Times article,
New Study on Heart Attacks, by John Jones, a relationship is proposed between obesity and heart disease.

☐ Does the summary include all the main points of the article?

☐ Does the summary make it clear that you understand the content of the article?

Correlation Paragraph

☐ Is the correlation logical?

☐ Did you correlate the article to all topics of the course which relate to the article? For example, an article about heart attacks should be associated with general information on the circulatory system, the heart and heart disease.

☐ Did you give details to explain what you learned in your course about the topic?

☐ Did you reference a specific chapter in the textbook or a lab topic?

☐ Did you explain why knowing this information helped you to understand the article?

Personal Reaction Paragraph

☐ Did you explain why you found this article interesting?

☐
Did you answer two or more of the following questions?

☐ Did the article make you aware of things you had not thought of before?

☐ Did the article make you change your mind about the topic?

☐ Was the article about something you have personally experienced?

☐ Did the article address ethical or public policy issues?

☐ Do you agree or disagree with information presented in the article?

☐ Did you speculate beyond the contents of the article? What else would you like to learn about the subject of the article? Did you think the author of the article omitted relevant information?

Overall Accuracy of Communication

☐ Is your paper clear and easy to understand?

☐ Is your paper written in your own words? Were you careful to avoid plagiarism and quotations?

☐ Do sentences flow and contain proper spelling and grammar?

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