Week 4 discussion Discussion 1 As regular users of the World Wide Web, both for personal and instructional purposes, we all share a concern over the accuracy of information available on the Internet. Indeed, one of the Internet's most powerful and novel features (its ability to provide a world-wide forum for the ideas, opinions and beliefs of anyone with access to a server) can also be one of its biggest liabilities. Many members of the scientific community have made statements to the effect that scientific information on the Web is often inaccurate, flawed or unreliable. However, as scientists we are trained to be skeptical of generalizations until we have data to support them. Many people would argue that a teacher's most important role is to build/develop a student's skills in CRITICAL THINKING and CRITICAL READING. This creates a student who can teach themselves, enabling lifelong learning. One of the Internet's potential liabilities (its ability to provide false or inaccurate information at the click of a button) also creates an opportunity to build and reinforce skills in CRITICAL THINKING and CRITICAL READING. For this week, I want you to do a little web research. Choose a topic, perhaps something like "Smoking and Cancer". Limit your topics to the sciences. Use your favorite search engine and look at the first several items that come up. For "smoking and cancer" on Google the first item that comes up is a bunch of ads (unfortunately), then this - Smoking and cancer | Cancer Research UK www.cancerresearchuk.org/...cancer/...cancer/smoki... Cancer Research UK Smoking is the most preventable cause of cancer in the world. Smoking account for more than 1 in 4 UK cancer deaths. Quit smoking and reduce your risk. ‎How smoking causes cancer - ‎Smoking facts and evidence - ‎Passive smoking On Bing, I get this, after the ads - smoking causes cancer - National Cancer Institute www.cancer.gov › … › Causes and Prevention › Risk Factors › Tobacco A fact sheet that lists some of the cancer-causing chemicals in tobacco smoke and describes the health problems caused by cigarette smoking and the benefits of … I want you to look at the article that comes up for your search and evaluate it for suitability of the reference. Use the following questions to guide your conference post. Look at the scope of the article (does it cover the subject appropriately) Who it the targeted to (is it a scholarly article, or is it written for a lay person) The timeliness of the article (is the information current) The authority of the article (who is writing it). What about the documentation of the article (does it site other good references). Finally, is the article objective. http://www.lib.berkeley.edu/instruct/guides/evaluation.html This is the reference that inspired these questions and will provide an expanded explanation of the questions. This discussion was inspired by an article on evaluating the accuracy of scientific information on the interne ...

1. Week 4 discussion
Discussion 1
As regular users of the World Wide Web, both for personal and
instructional purposes, we all share a concern over the accuracy
of information available on the Internet. Indeed, one of the
Internet's most powerful and novel features (its ability to
provide a world-wide forum for the ideas, opinions and beliefs
of anyone with access to a server) can also be one of its biggest
liabilities.
Many members of the scientific community have made
statements to the effect that scientific information on the Web is
often inaccurate, flawed or unreliable. However, as scientists
we are trained to be skeptical of generalizations until we have
data to support them.
Many people would argue that a teacher's most important role is
to build/develop a student's skills in CRITICAL THINKING and
CRITICAL READING. This creates a student who can teach
themselves, enabling lifelong learning.
One of the Internet's potential liabilities (its ability to provide
false or inaccurate information at the click of a button) also
creates an opportunity to build and reinforce skills in
CRITICAL THINKING and CRITICAL READING.
For this week, I want you to do a little web research. Choose a
topic, perhaps something like "Smoking and Cancer". Limit
your topics to the sciences. Use your favorite search engine and
look at the first several items that come up. For "smoking and
cancer" on Google the first item that comes up is a bunch of ads
(unfortunately), then this -
Smoking and cancer | Cancer Research UK

2. www.cancerresearchuk.org/...cancer/...cancer/smoki...
Cancer Research UK
Smoking is the most preventable cause of cancer in the world.
Smoking account for more than 1 in 4 UK cancer deaths. Quit
smoking and reduce your risk.
How smoking causes cancer - Smoking facts and evidence -
Passive smoking
On Bing, I get this, after the ads -
smoking causes cancer - National Cancer Institute
www.cancer.gov › … › Causes and Prevention › Risk Factors ›
Tobacco
A fact sheet that lists some of the cancer-causing chemicals in
tobacco smoke and describes the health problems caused by
cigarette smoking and the benefits of …
I want you to look at the article that comes up for your search
and evaluate it for suitability of the reference. Use the
following questions to guide your conference post.
Look at the scope of the article (does it cover the subject
appropriately)
Who it the targeted to (is it a scholarly article, or is it written
for a lay person)
The timeliness of the article (is the information current)
The authority of the article (who is writing it).
What about the documentation of the article (does it site other
good references).
Finally, is the article objective.
http://www.lib.berkeley.edu/instruct/guides/evaluation.html
This is the reference that inspired these questions and will
provide an expanded explanation of the questions. This

3. discussion was inspired by an article on evaluating the accuracy
of scientific information on the internet by Dr. Jory Weintraub,
as a matter of fact I pulled some of this discussion from Dr.
Weintraub's article.
Discussion 2:
Sexual Reproduction
Why do you think that sexual reproduction is considered a pillar
of evolutionary advancement? Practically all species (except the
most simple) have the ability to reproduce sexually. What do
you think are the evolutionary advantages of sexual as opposed
to asexual reproduction?
Week 5 discussion
Discussion 1
Last week you looked at the web resources and the quality of
the information that you can find on the web. This week, it is
important to continue the lessons that you learned last week by
comparing scientific and non-scientific sources of information
and asking whether the information in those sources are
scientifically sound. Meaning do they have a solid scientific
foundation. You can use the article/site you found last week as
one of your articles/sites, or you can find two new articles/sites.
One should be from a scientific source such as: a scientific
journal (e.g.; Science; Popular Science; Nature); a government
web site (e.g.: National Cancer Institute; FDA; CDC); or a
recognized national organization (e.g.; Cancer Research
Foundation; Susan G. Komen Foundation; etc.). The non-
scientific source and be from any non-scientific source... they
should be easy to find, usually they are trying to sell you
something at the end of their article.
Compare them. Think about the sources of their information.
Are their sources of information credible? Did they employ the
scientific method? Is their scientific foundation to be trusted?
For this week’s discussion you can either post the web links to

4. your papers/sites or the PDFs of your papers/sites.
State the scientific question the two papers/sites are trying to
answer.
State the methods the papers/sites showed to get to their
conclusions.
State whether you believe the articles have a solid scientific
foundation. Why? Why not?
Also, as an aside, just because information is from a non-
scientific source doesn't mean that it doesn't have a scientific
foundation... they sometimes do. Critically evaluate both
resources.
Discussion 2
Explain how personal habits and individual choices can affect a
person's risk of developing cancers. Do you have a personal
habit and/or an individual choice that affects your risk of
developing cancer?
Week 6 discussion
In the online text we are learning some interesting things about
macroevolution and speciation.
These are some kick-off questions for the discussion. You can
answer one or two of them, or propose your own questions
based on the reading.
What is macroevolution?
What is speciation? How do new species arise?
What is a mass extinction? Why would/does it happen?
What is a taxonomy of an organism? What is phylogeny?
What did you think of these sections? Are the sections making

5. you think about genetic diversity and the evolution of species
over our planet's time?
Week 7 discussion
Discussion 1
During the summer of 1988, lightning ignited huge forest fires
that burned a large portion of Yellowstone National Park. The
National Park Service has a natural-burn policy: Fires that start
naturally are allowed to burn unless they endanger human
settlements. The fires were allowed to spread and burn while
firefighters primarily protected people. The public accused the
park service of letting a national treasure go up in flames. Park
service scientists stuck with natural-burn policy. Do you think
this was the best decision? Support your position.
Remembering the 1988 Yellowstone Fires
Discussion 2
As we read this week's readings and look at the news one can
feel like everything is going wrong... oil spills, organic wastes,
thermal pollution, landfills, and acid rain.
For this week's discussion pick an environmental problem
you've found in the online readings, say chlorofluorocarbon
damage to the ozone, describe the problem, then describe how
we can be part of the solution. What can we do to save our
planet and protect our fragile biosphere?
Written Assignment: Biology and Technology in the Real World
Addresses course outcomes 1-4:
recognize and explain how the scientific method is used to solve
problems

6. 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
1. Select one of the topics listed below (a-e).
2. Find at least three reliable information sources related to
your chosen topic. You are encouraged to use the UMUC library
in your search: https://libguides.umgc.edu/science .
3. Write a paper with title page, introduction, several
paragraphs addressing the questions, conclusion and references.
You must write in your own words and paraphrase information
from the selected information sources, addressing each of the
questions for your chosen topic. Your paper should consist of
less than 10% direct quotes. Your paper should be 750-1500
words, excluding references and title page. Use APA style for
references:
https://sites.umgc.edu/library/libhow/apa_tutorial.cfm
4. Submit your assignment to the Assignment folder by the due
date listed in the course schedule.
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 write him a letter sharing your knowledge of stem
cells. Include in your letter 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 stems cells can be used to treat diseases

7. 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. 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 crops. 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) 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 monitor a student
debate about CRISPR. The students will be watching the
following video before the discussion:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?time_continue=252&v=2pp17E
4E-O8 and you need to be prepared in case there are any
questions. Please research and write an answer to each of 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

8. 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. 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 has 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?"
Briefly 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.