Current Event Writing Assignment 1. Summary of article/audio segment: Using your own words, summarize the key points (address the five W’s: what, where, when, who and why) of the article/audio segment discussion so that the reader has a clear understanding as to the scope of the article/segment. Do not just copy word for word from your article, this is plagiarism! (8 pts.) 2. What biology topic does this article/audio segment reference? The article/segment that you have chosen should correspond with a topic that we have covered in class. Clearly state how your article/segment is related to the topic. (4 pts.) 3. How does this article/audio segment affect you personally? All events affect us in some way. Be creative and open your thoughts as to how current events are related to you (e.g. socially, ethically, emotionally, economically, etc.) (3 pts.) 4. How will this current news affect future generations? Make a prediction about how lives will be affected 20 - 30 years from now by this current event. (3 pts) 5. Citation: Be sure to properly cite the article used for your assignment. Please refer to the website for guideline on citing different sources. (2 pts)

Current Event Writing Assignment Proof read!!! Read aloud to yourself. Read your paper backwards. Have someone else read your paper. Know the difference between the researchers and journalist The author of the article did not do the research. Remove redundancy. If the point was already stated, there is no need to state it again. Read the text and go over the lectures to find a strong connection between the article and the topic discussed in class. Email me if you need help

Current Event Writing Assignment Be specific. Make sure the reader is clear who and what you are talking about, even if it seems redundant. No its, or they!!, unless it is well defined. Be descriptive Bad: The article talked how they tried to get a certain kind of kidney cell to become a podocyte so they can use it to help with kidney function. Better: Researchers from the University of Aachen are attempting to convert putative kidney progenitor cells, also known as parietal cells, into podocytes, which are kidney cells active in filtering the blood. The researchers hope that podocytes created from parietal cells can be injected into failing kidneys to help restore normal kidney function.

Current Event Writing Assignment Paraphrase!! Copying from the article is plagiarism. Always describe acronyms the first time they are used From the article: “Globally, the World Health Organization estimates that 190 million children under the age of 5 may be vitamin A deficient”. “Vitamin A deficiency in children increases vulnerability to infections like diarrhea and measles and may also lead to blindness”. Bad: The WHO estimates that as many as 190 million children around the world aren’t getting enough vitamin A. Vitamin A is needed to stay healthy. Better: The World Health Organization (WHO) estimates that as many as 190 million children around the world may not be obtaining an sufficient amount of vitamin A from their diet, which would make these children under 5 more vulnerable to infections, including diarrhea and measles.

Current Event Writing Assignment Don’t quote the article directly. Paraphrase. True understanding means that you can put it into your own words Bad: The authors of the study stated “Current evidence does not clearly support guidelines that encourage high consumption of polyunsaturated fatty acids and low consumption of total saturated fats”. Better: Researchers from the American Heart Association stated that there is currently no scientific evidence that supports a diet high in polyunsaturated fatty acids and low in saturated fats (Rizos and Evangelia, 2011).

Current Event Writing Assignment Avoid semicolons and run on sentences, but don’t make sentences too short or they will read as incomplete. Instead, create a new sentence that fully addresses your next point. Bad: Cell movement is vital to the function of living things; it is important in wound healing, blood clotting, nerve connections, etc., but it can also be a problem because cancer cells can break off of a tumor and move to other parts of the body where they can from a new tumor and impact other tissues away from the initial tumor. Bad: Cell movement is vital to living things. It is important in wound healing, blood clotting, and nerve connections. It can also be bad. Cancer cells can move around in the body.

Current Event Writing Assignment Better: Cell movement throughout the body is vital to function of many processes within living things, including wound healing, blood clotting, nerve function and immune response. However, the movement of cells throughout the body can also be harmful to living organisms. One example is malignant cancers, where cancer cells move through the circulatory or lymphphatic system to other areas of the body where they often metastasize. One a cancer has metastasized it can result in a loss of normal tissue function.

Current Event Writing Assignment Structure your paragraphs Topic sentence: Introduces main point of paragraph Paragraph body (3-6 sentences): provides support or evidence for claim made by topic sentence. Concluding sentence: Summarizes the main point of the paragraph and eludes to the next topic, which should be addressed in the next paragraph. Each paragraph should focus on one idea or point.

Current Event Writing Assignment Researchers from the University of Geneva, Switzerland, have discovered molecules that are toxic to the parasite that causes malaria (Plasmodium falciparum), but harmless to human red blood cells. The research group, led by Didier Picard, attempted to identify differences in the Heat Shock Protein 90 (HSP90) found in both human blood cells and the Plasmodium, in hopes that they might exploit those differences to kill the harmful parasite. Surprisingly, the team of researchers discovered that the HSP90 found in both human red blood cells and Plasmodium contain a similar region that binds with molecules that can inhibit their activity. Tai Wang, a Ph.D student at the University of Geneva, conducted a series of simulations to determine molecules that could bind with the region of the HSP90, and inhibit the proteins function. Currently the researches are testing a group of compounds related to the 7-azaindoles using different doses that can kill the parasite, but are not lethal to the red blood cells.