Option 1: The Immortal Life of Henrietta LacksComplete assignments on the Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks. You do not have to read the book but there are 11 activities that you have to complete to earn any points on this activity. All activities have to be attempted. Assignments are outlined below but you must click on this link to get the questions.
A. ACTIVITY 1 - Watch the first 10 minutes of the documentary “Way of All Flesh” about Henrietta Lacks: http://topdocumentaryfilms.com/the-way-of-all-flesh/ B. ACTIVITY 2 - Go to the Wikipedia page about Henrietta Lacks: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Henrietta_Lacks C. ACTIVITY 3 - Read this interview with Rebecca Skloot, the author of The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks http://www.smithsonianmag.com/science-nature/Henrietta-Lacks-Immortal-Cells.html D. ACTIVITY 4 - Read the front page of this website: http://henriettalacksfoundation.org/ E. ACTIVITY 5 - Watch this bioethicist interview about Henrietta Lacks: https://youtu.be/x21YtrY9f0Y F. ACTIVITY 6 - Read this blog post: http://scienceblogs.com/whitecoatunderground/2010/01/18/consent/ G. ACTIVITY 7 - Listen to the song “Helen Lane” by Mal Webb http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=s-Bb4dmpKeE H. ACTIVITY 8 - Check out this infographic at: http://www.wired.com/magazine/2010/01/st_henrietta I. ACTIVITY 9 - Listen to the radiolab podcast: https://openlab.citytech.cuny.edu/seto-bio1lc/assignments/assignment-3-the-immortal-life-of-henrietta-lacks/ J. ACTIVITY 10 - Choose an art piece made from or inspired by Henrietta Lack’s cells. https://fineartamerica.com/shop/canvas+prints/hela+cells K. ACTIVITY 11 - Choose a journal article about current (last 2 years) research using HeLa cells. Google scholar is an excellent source for journal articles. |
Option 2: Double HelixRead the Double Helix by James Watson. There are three papers you will write about different aspects of the book. See the descriptions of the papers and suggested page lengths below:
Part 1: Character sketches (1.5 pages, single spaced) In this paper you should describe the individual personalities of the main characters (Watson, Crick, Wilkins, Franklin), as well as discuss the relationships between these individuals. Also discuss the role of cooperation and competition in their academic pursuits. You MUST turn in your assignment through Canvas so that it can be accessed for plagiarism through turnitin.com. You do not need to submit to turnitin.com directly. Just turn in through Canvas. Part 2: Processes and Methods (2 pages, single spaced) Throughout the book scientists engage in various processes and activities that allow them to better understand the science they are working on and to make new discoveries in their fields. In this paper you should discuss the techniques used to understand the structure of DNA including the use of X-ray crystallography, mathematical models, and physical model building. You should also discuss the importance of sharing ideas either through conferences, published journal articles, and informal gatherings. Part 3: Discoveries (1.5 pages, single spaced) Numerous discoveries were made throughout the course of the book. In this paper you should outline the important discoveries that helped Watson and Crick build their model of DNA. Describe how each of these discoveries resulted in a more complete model or a reanalysis of the working model of DNA. You should discuss how the discoveries were seen at the time vs how they are seen now that they informed on the discovery of the structure of DNA. (You should specifically discuss the discovery of the a-helix, the calculations of Cochran/Crick, Chargaff’s rules, and the x-ray crystallography evidence.) |