"Are Viruses Alive?" Article

After reading the article, post your answers to the following questions by Saturday, 9/17 at 11:59pm.

1. Why has it been so difficult to classify viruses? (What contradictory characteristics do they have?)


2. How does a virus infect a host? (What steps does it have to take to replicate?)


3. Why is it important to determine if viruses are living or not? (What are the implications of deciding one way or the other?)


4. What do you think? Are viruses living or not? Defend your answer.

After you have posted your thoughts, read and respond to at least one other student's post by Sunday, 9/18 at 11:59pm.

"Meaning of Life" Article

After reading the article, post your answers to the following questions by Saturday, 9/17 at 11:59pm.

1. Why is defining "life" so important?


2. What is your definition of life?


3. What does Mark Bedau think are the three important features of life?


4. What does Cleland say is necessary to find in order to be able to define life?


5. What if you discovered “something” on another planet that reproduced by itself, grew in size, took in food, responded to external stimuli, but did not seem to be made of cells or possess DNA or RNA? Would you consider it living? Why or why not?

After you have posted your thoughts, read and respond to at least one other student's post by Sunday, 9/18 at 11:59pm.

HeLa Cells Blog

After reading the blog post, post your answers to the following questions by Friday, 10/15 at 11:59pm.

1. For what can HeLa cells be used?


2. From where (who) did they come? Describe her in as much detail as possible from this article.


3. What characteristics make HeLa cells so powerful in research laboratories?


4. What do you think about the treatment of Henrietta Lacks and her cells? Do you think the benefit to the medical community and the world outweighs the ethical considerations of “stealing” someone’s cells? Can cells be “stolen?”


5. How do you think Lacks’ family should be treated? Should they be compensated in any way for Henrietta’s cells?

After you have posted your thoughts, read and respond to at least one other student's post by Sunday, 10/17 at 11:59pm.

Adult Stem Cells Article

After reading the article, post your answers to the following questions by Friday, 10/15 at 11:59pm.

1. What are mesenchymal stem cells? Where are they found?


2. What is the significance of engineering stem cells that can grow continuously?


3. Lee’s technique still requires a donor’s stem cells, which he then manipulates to form cells that can grow indefinitely. Discuss the ethics of “manipulating” living human cells. Do you think this is a positive application of our emerging technology or a negative one?

After you have posted your thoughts, read and respond to at least one other student's post by Sunday, 10/17 at 11:59pm.

"Twist of Fate" Article

After reading the article, post your answers to the following questions by Friday, date at 11:59pm.

1. List three reasons why Crick and Watson were not the best scientists for the job.


2. What three things helped Watson and Crick in their discovery?


3. Why do you think the other scientists (the men) did not like Rosalind Franklin? (You should also read the inset, "Mystery Woman.")


4. What was the crucial piece of information that was found by Fraklin but eventually turned over to Wilkins to study?


5. What vital piece of information did Chargaff discover, and at what about Watson and Crick was he appalled?


6. Do you think Rosalind Franklin would have/should have received a Nobel prize if she had lived? Remember, Nobel prizes are not awarded posthumously, and she had died from ovarian cancer four years before Watson, Crick, and Wilkins were awarded the honor. Are there other ways to honor her contribution to our understanding of the structure of DNA?

After you have posted your thoughts, read and respond to at least one other student's post by Sunday, date at 11:59pm.

"Taming the Wild" Article

After reading the article, post your answers to the following questions by Friday, 2/25 at 11:59pm.

1. Briefly describe the steps researchers took to domesticate the foxes.


2. Describe the domestication phenotype.


3. What was the "control" group for this experiment?


4. Describe the connection between WBSCR17 in domesticated dogs and humans.


5. The article says, "Obviously one cannot perform breeding experiments on humans..." Why is that so obvious? Why is it okay to perform this experiment with foxes and rats but not humans?

After you have posted your thoughts, read and respond to at least one other student's post by Sunday, 2/27 at 11:59pm.

General AP Questions

This is where you can post any general questions or comments about the class. I will respond within 48 hours.