With the mapping of the human genome and the continuous discovery of new genes, protein shapes and functions, epigenetic controls and other exciting findings from the world of human DNA research, the future of medicine will be an exciting time indeed!

To give you a flavor of what researchers have been up to, to see what is possible now, and to imagine the future, you will watch the 2013 HHMI Holiday Lecture titled, Medicine in the Genomic Era.  Use the link below to go to the appropriate HHMI web page.  Once you are there you should click on the large image to the left of the summary to access the videos.  There are 4 one-hour parts to the series and you should watch all four and take notes on each one.  You will need those notes to complete an assignment for a grade. You will have the remainder of this week, all of spring break, and several days after spring break to watch the videos.  The videos do not work from school, so plan accordingly!

http://www.hhmi.org/biointeractive/medicine-genomic-era

Due:  Thursday, May 1, 2014

Complete the epidemiology assessment handout given in class.  This will be collected for a grade on Tuesday, 4/15/14.

Complete the two reading handouts: Mammogram FAQ and Cancer FAQ.  Also due on Tuesday, 4/15/14.

Complete the SIR calculations worksheet given out in class.

Due: Thursday, 4/3/14

Read the information at

http://www.docfleetwood.net/biology/epidemiology.htm

and use it to answer the reading questions distributed in class.

Due: Tuesday 3/25/14

Read this NIGMS article on sepsis to learn about this deadly medical condition.  I have highlighted key items at the version located here.

Since we have a diverse group of students, juniors/seniors, biology/AP biology, etc…, it is important that we all have a fundamental background in genetics to start building from.  So each of you should go to the DNA From the Beginning website and complete items 1-24.  Items 1-14 are under the heading “Classical Genetics” and items 15-24 are under the heading “Molecules of Genetics”.  You should see these on the right side of the browser window.  For each item you should, at least, view the ‘Concept’, go through the ‘Animation’ and complete the ‘Problem’ as a self-test.  You can look at more for each if you want (e.g. Gallery, Video, etc…), but the Concept, Animation and Problem should be good enough for most of them.  This is a considerable amount of material so you should do a little bit each night or you will be overwhelmed at the end.

The website is located at: http://www.dnaftb.org/1/

Due: April 7, 2014

Accidents are the 5th leading cause of death in the United States and the leading cause among young adults.

According to an article by the National Institute of General Medical Sciences, “The leading cause of death in people between the ages of 1 and 44 in the United States isn’t heart disease or cancer—it’s injury from falls, car accidents and other types of physical trauma.

While research has led to significant improvements in survival immediately after a traumatic injury, challenges remain. To help address them, scientists funded by the National Institutes of Health are focusing on understanding what happens to the body at many levels, from its molecules and cells to its tissues, organs and systems.”

Read the rest of the article here to learn about some of these amazing research findings.

Using the gapminder.org website, you will analyze health data from around the world and create a 5-8 minute presentation to explain your findings to the class.  A full explanation of the project can be found here:

http://www.docfleetwood.net/wiki/tiki-index.php?page=Comparing+Nations

Due:  Tuesday, 2/25/14

From a life and health science viewpoint, obtaining accurate information on the top causes of death is very important. The news all too often takes on a ‘pet disease of the month’ and may distort people’s views on how common that condition truly is versus others that are not reported. This lesson is designed to give you an opportunity to use more reliable data to see what diseases and conditions are the most cause for alarm here in the United States and throughout the world. This will allow you to make more informed choices and make recommendations regarding how resources (time, money, etc…) should be distributed in disease research.

Go to my wiki page on Morbidity and Mortality and follow the instructions there to create a report using data from the CDC and WHO.  The report should contain graphs and statistical analysis to support your claims.  Your paper should be in typical APA format and should have a title page, an abstract, a brief introduction, a brief materials and methods section (in paragraph format), results, and an extensive discussion.  The discussion should contain conclusions and insights and not just restatement of the facts I could simply see myself by looking at the data.

Due: Tuesday, February 11, 2014 (at the beginning of class)

You should complete the third Aipotu assignment – Molecular Biology.  The instructions are in this PDF file.  You can download the program for free to use at home (you need Java installed on your computer) at the following site: http://aipotu.umb.edu/download.html.  You will work as a table group to complete the assignments and share a Google document with my cswfleetwood gmail account.  The Google document should be well-structured and organized and fully explain what is happening in this flower’s genetics.  You will see an additional ‘Lab Report’ at the end of the instructions for part 3.  You must complete that report and append it to the end of your group’s Google Document to demonstrate your group’s understanding of the molecular biology, biochemistry and genetics involved in this hypothetical organism.  Make sure you add a bold header that clearly labels where this report begins.

The final completed Google Document including the final ‘Lab Report’ is due on Friday, 5/17/13 by the end of the school day. (2:30 pm)