NOBEL PRIZE PAPER  (10%)

Page length:  5  minimum - 7 maximum.

> 5 references

We often forget that science is a human endeavor and as such learning more about the people behind some of the greatest discoveries in history can be very interesting and rewarding.  For this assignment you are to chose any individual whom has been awarded the Nobel Prize for work that pertains to biology.  So, Einstein is out but Pauling is in.  All the Nobel Prize winners and much more can be found at nobelprize.org.  Specific points that you MAY want to consider addressing in this short essay are the following:

1.   Background – childhood, upbringing, schooling (was there early evidence?)

2.   Career highlights.

3.   What did they actually do – was it serendipity?

4.   Impact of their work.

JOURNAL CLUB PRESENTATION (20%)

Journal clubs are a common way for research groups to discuss important papers within their field. While the whole group reads the paper, one person is assigned to present the most important findings through a short lecture. This presentation will last 10-12 minutes. The presentation should not simply be a recitation of the paper, but a concise exploration of the background of the topic that led to the generation of the hypothesis (taken mostly from the Introduction), a quick review of the pertinent methods employed, the key findings from the results section and how these findings impact the field. The presentation is followed by questions and informal discussion about the paper lasting up to 8 minutes.

The audience will expect the presenter to be the “smartest person in room” with regards to this paper. This will likely require reading much more than simply the one paper in question. For instance some of the methods may simply refer to a previous paper with no further details. In order to answer questions about those methods, you had better read that earlier paper.

It is up to you to decide which paper to present (see potential topics below). It must have been published no earlier than 2000 and must be approved by me to make sure it’s suitable. You must provide a copy (pdf format by e-mail preferred) to me at least 8 days before the presentation, so that copies can be distributed to the class. Feel free to speak to me if you are having trouble deciding where your interests lie and what paper you might want to present.

The format of some journals, specifically Science, Nature, and the Proceedings of the National Academy of Science, are too brief to provide sufficient detail for this type of presentation, and papers from these journals should not be used.

Some potential topics for papers/projects

Apoptosis (cell death)

Molecular basis of ageing

Metabolic regulation

Signal transduction pathways

Extremophiles

Acclimation/adaptation to environmental stress

Gene regulation

Post transcriptional gene silencing

Cell redox homeostasis sensing /signaling

Reactive oxygen species (ROS) / antioxidants

Gene families

Molecular basis of disease

Circadian rhythms

Bioenergetics

Membrane structure/function/transport

Sensory signal transduction