Description of papers for genetics

You will be required to write 2 short papers in this class.  Each paper will be worth 50 points.  The papers should be one-two pages in length.  If you write more, it will not be viewed in a positive light.  If you write one paragraph, it will also not be viewed favorably.

If you write two pages, you must STAPLE the pages together.  I will not accept any papers with paper clips in it.  If you hand it in with paper clips, you will receive a grade of 0.  I will not bring a stapler with me to class.  It is your responsibility to staple it before you arrive in class.

All papers are due at the beginning of class.  If you hand it in during or after class, it will be graded as late.

Paper 1

In this class, we will have two guest speakers come from Emory University.  One talk will be on gene therapy for ALS and the other will be on Drosophila genetics.   For the first paper, you are to pick one of the speakers.  Your job will be to summarize ONE of the speakers.  You are to write this paper in essay form but you should include the following in your paper:

What was the main idea of the talk?

What were some significant points discussed?

Discuss at least one genetic technique that was discussed.

You do not need any references for this paper since you will be summarizing what was discussed.

I will take attendance on the days of the talks.  You may only write this paper if you were in class that day.  I will take attendance before the speaker begins his presentation.  If you arrive after the talk begins, you will not be able to write a paper on the speaker.

You will need to act in a professional manner towards the speakers.  That means, you need to PAY ATTENTION.  You will not be allowed to use your computers during the talks.  You will need to put them away.  You will need to take notes on paper.  You will not be allowed to use any other electronic devices (for example, cell phones, blackberries, i-phones, etc.) during the talks.  You will not be allowed to put your head down on the tables or sleep during the talks.  You will need to be in the room for the entire talk.  You will need to use the bathroom before the talks and will not be allowed to leave during the talk.  If you violate any of these rules, you will get a grade of 0 on paper 1.  Even if you violate these rules for speaker 1, you will not be allowed to write a paper for speaker 2.

If your phone rings during either of the talks, you will receive a grade of 0 on both paper 1 and paper 2, regardless of who was calling you.

Paper 2

We will discuss some genetic and/or protein techniques in this class.  You will learn more about them when you get to biotechnology.

You are to pick one of the following topics which is discussed in chapter 24:

            Transgenic plants

            Transgenic animals

            DNA microarrays

            Gene therapy

Answer the following questions:

What is your technique? 

How is it performed or how is it made (for transgenic plants or animals)?

What are some uses for this technique?

Find ONE research paper on this topic and explain IN YOUR OWN WORDS, how your technique was used in the paper.  You may need to do an interlibrary loan to get this paper, so do not save this assignment until the night before.

For this paper, you must provide the reference for your paper and any other papers that you used.

You MAY NOT use wikipedia or any other Internet source.  If you do, you will get a 0 on the assignment.   You must cite your references within the paper and have a list of references at the end.  You may have just the one research paper and the textbook as references but you may not research this topic from the Internet.

Dr. Norflus will explain in class what is meant by a RESEARCH PAPER.

This paper should be 1-2 pages in length.