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Big Bang work - comments & answers

posted 06-14-2012

1.a. Hoyle's steady state theory allowed the universe to expand while still remaining constant because new matter was being produced as it expanded.
b. Some astronomers rejected the "big bang" (derogatory term invented by Hoyle!) because it implied a moment of creation, though I don't think that was such a big problem. The big problem was that it was what is called a singularity, a point at which none of the known laws of physics apply. (A black hole is another singularity.)
c. The calculations from Hubble's work on redshift implied that the universe was two billion years old.
d. Geologists put the age of the Earth at 3.4 billion years old which made the Earth significantly older than the universe. Whoops! (BTW The evidence for the age of the Earth - though still an underestimate - was based on better evidence than Hubble's.)

2.a. You should say that it's 5 degrees on the Kelvin temperature scale, as well as say either it's 5 degrees above absolute zero or give a celcius equivalent.
b. The reasons they give that the prediction of the 5K background radiation was ignored (& forgotten) are: that the authors weren't prominent and that it would be hard to measure.
The second one was probably the most important. This is a good example of how technology relates to the development of ideas (and vice versa). Radio astronomy was only just starting up then and it wasn't a common tool of astronomers. The first big radio telescope was at Jodrell Bank (England) and that wasn't til 1957.
c. Arno Penzias & Robert Wilson.
d. The cosmic microwave background radiation (CMBR) comes equally from all directions, so is background. It's been redshifted from very short high energy wavelengths into the longer microwave part of the electromagnetic spectrum.
e. Whether you agreed or disagreed with Penzias and Wilson's Nobel Prize, you got the marks based on the quality of your arguments. (Personally, I've always disagreed with it.)
3-4. I have been kind in this assignment about copying from the book, as long as you stick with what is relevant to answer the question. But some of you copied ridiculous amounts on these two questions. YOU are supposed to look for the answer in all of that text, not copy it out for ME to do.
From the information you're given, you should be able to say that (1) we can't detect dark matter using any form of electromagnetic radiation, but (2) it has been detected by its gravitational effect on what we CAN see, (3) no one knows what it's actually made of, but (4) there seems to lots more of it than the matter we're made of.
Dark energy is simply the name given to explain the observation that that the expansion of the universe seems to be accelerating, as though there is some sort of anti-gravity force. (Scientists haven't got the faintest clue what it is, if anything.)

Shape of the Universe - answers and comments

posted 06-05-2012

Shape of the Universe - answers & comments

The grades are entered for this assignment.

Click the above link to take you to a pdf on Google Docs with answers and comments. Or you can copy and paste the following url into your browser to get the document: https://docs.google.com/open?id=0BxeSMmD_2GI0ZzVtTTJRWGhzc1U

The scale of the universe

posted 05-31-2012

Scale of the Universe

Above is the link to a copy of the work.

Here is the URL to copy and paste: https://docs.google.com/file/d/0BxeSMmD_2GI0SGVmWk1tczJCN0U/edit?pli=1

The shape of the universe

posted 05-28-2012

Due Thursday start of lesson

Name: …............../ 14
The shape of the universe – Reading pp.173-176
1. What are Cepheid variables? [1]
2. a. Where were the variable stars that Henrietta Leavitt studied and why did she choose them? [1]
b. What was the pattern that she discovered? [1]
c. How would this pattern make it possible to work out how far away a Cepheid variable is? [1]
d. What was the one problem to overcome before these stars could be used for distance measurement? [1]
e. Who solved the problem? [1]
3. Fuzzy objects in the skies were commonly called nebulae by 18th century astronomers.
a. What were two main views about what the nebulae were? [1]
b. William Herschel and his sister Caroline made the first extensive catalogue of nebulae. What basic idea of William's about them turned out to be correct? [1]
c. Whose work on star clusters suggested that the Sun is not the centre of the Galaxy? [1]
d. How accurate was Shapley's estimate of the size of Galaxy? [1]
e. Shapley thought the Milky Way was the universe – and this was the most common view in the early 20th century. What did Heber Curtis say about this? [1]
4. a. Who was the man that worked out that the Andromeda nebula was not a cloud of gas and dust within the Milky Way? [1]
b. How was he able to determine its distance? [1]
c. How did this resolve the debate about the universe? [1]

Discovering New Planets - Answers & comments

posted 05-20-2012

Discovering new planets Read 166-7
NOTE: Your textbook is not entirely correct.
(1) William Herschel was NOT looking for comets when he discovered Uranus. He was never a comet-hunter, but he was surveying the sky systematically – he was looking for double stars. I don't recall whether he estimated the distance to the object he saw or how far out he could have seen a comet.
(2) His telescope is described as “homemade”, which it was. But don't think this means it was inferior. He was an excellent telescope maker. The telescope he was using that night was tested against the telescope of the Astronomer Royal in Greenwich and it was demonstrably superior.
(3) The textbook doesn't actually say that Herschel thought he'd discovered a planet. Which is a good thing, because he thought he'd discovered a comet. He announced it as a comet and his report to the Royal Society is titled “Account of a Comet”. The Astronomer Royal and Charles Messier, the great comet-hunter, were amongst those who questioned the object's being a comet and suggested that it was a new planet.

1.William Herschel wasn't the first person to see Uranus. In fact, when he saw it, at first he thought it was a comet.

a. Why do you think he assumed it was a comet? [1]

If you said he was hunting for comets, you are following the textbook. But still the answer is a poor one. It is more likely that it didn't occur to him that it was a new planet, because people weren't really expecting new planets. (His observing notes don't give a hint that he wondered if it were a planet. It was a bit “nebulous” which is why he suspected it was a comet. When he observed it on other nights, it had moved. This meant it wasn't a star, so in his mind, it had to be a comet.

b. Why do you think we say he discovered it when others had seen it before him? [1]

Other people had seen it and accepted it as a star. He didn't think he'd discovered a planet, but he made a point of observing it over several nights and it was obviously a new body. Because he announced it, other people began to suspect it was a planet and not a comet. [You got the mark if you said he thought it was a planet since that's what the textbook says.]

2. Astronomers were able to work out the orbit of Uranus, but by the 1840s observations showed that it wasn't orbiting quite as predicted.

a. Why did it take a long time to realise there was a discrepancy between prediction and observation? [1]

It moves slowly, so it's going to take a long time to observe its orbit. [Remember Kepler's Law and also Newton's that said the more distant objects will orbit more slowly because of the lesser gravitational attraction of the Sun.]

b. Why might astronomers think that the observations showed the work of Kepler and Newton was either incorrect or needed further refinement? [1.5]

Kepler & Newton weren't accepted then in the same way as their work is now, so this problem made them suspect; maybe gravity didn't work as Newton had said at large distances; perhaps these theories were only an approximation; any other sensible suggestion.

c. Why might astronomers accept the work of Kepler and Newton and think that another explanation was needed for the discrepancy? [1.5]
The theories worked well to describe the orbits of the other planets; they worked well to work out the orbits of comets; Kepler's theory was a good description & Newton's theory explained how it worked, so their work was coherent and consistent; any other sensible suggestion.

d. How Adams and LeVerrier explain the discrepancy? [1]

They independently worked on the idea that another undiscovered planet was affected the motion of Uranus and did the maths to suggest where it was. (Two hundred years earlier Jeremiah Horrocks had observed that Jupiter and Saturn affected each other's orbits, but he didn't know about gravitation then.)

3. a. What is the difference between a star and a planet seen through a telescope? [1]

A star looks like a point of light, as it does with the naked eye. But a planet has a disc.

b. Considering this difference, why do you think both Airy and Galle have trouble finding Neptune? [1]

Neptune was a long way away and their telescopes weren't good enough to show a disc at that distance, so it looked rather like another star. (Observed carefully, some telescopes of the time could have resolved the disc if the astronomer had looked closely at the individual object.)

c. Explain why William Herschel probably wouldn't have had the same difficulty spotting Neptune in the predicted region. [1]

It doesn't answer the question to say Herschel had a good visual memory. So what? You needed to add that he knew the night sky very well and would have been likely to pick out a new object. (Galle in Berlin did something similar, but he and his assistant ticked off all the stars from a star map until they found one that wasn't there.)

4. How did the discovery of the Uranus

Not just a telescope

posted 05-16-2012

Name...................... ….........../14
Not just a telescope pp.168-171
1. The Voyager 2 mission did fly-bys of all four outer planets.
a. Which aspect of the mission was the greatest validation of Newton's laws? [1]
b. Why was the mission a validation of Kepler's work? [2]
*c. Where is Voyager 2 now?* [1]
2. a. Why did the lack of a stellar parallax make it difficult to get support for Copernicus's theory? [1]
b. What is the longest baseline we can use to measure parallax? [1]
c. Why did it take until the 19th century to measure the first stellar parallax? [1]
3. Two key techniques advanced astronomy in the 19th century. What were they? [1]
4. a. What is the visible light spectrum? [1]
b. Which colour has the shortest wavelengths? [1]
c. Which colour has the longest wavelengths? [1]
d. Who first observed black lines in the solar spectrum? [1]
e. What did Bunsen and Kirchhoff discover? [1]
f. What did Kirchhoff discover that contradicted Aristotle? [1]

Due Monday 21.05

Discovering new planets

posted 05-03-2012

Due Thursday, 10.05.12

Discovering new planets Read 166-7
1.William Herschel wasn't the first person to see Uranus. In fact, when he saw it, at first he thought it was a comet.
a. Why do you think he assumed it was a comet? [1]
b. Why do you think we say he discovered it when others had seen it before him? [1]
2. Astronomers were able to work out the orbit of Uranus, but by the 1840s observations showed that it wasn't orbiting quite as predicted.
a. Why did it take a long time to realise there was a discrepancy between prediction and observation? [1]
b. Why might astronomers think that the observations showed the work of Kepler and Newton was either incorrect or needed further refinement? [1.5]
c. Why might astronomers accept the work of Kepler and Newton and think that another explanation was needed for the discrepancy? [1.5]
d. How Adams and LeVerrier explain the discrepancy? [1]
3. a. What is the difference between a star and a planet seen through a telescope? [1]
b. Considering this difference, why do you think both Airy and Galle have trouble finding Neptune? [1]
c. Explain why William Herschel probably wouldn't have had the same difficulty spotting Neptune in the predicted region. [1]
4. How did the discovery of the Uranus and Neptune confirm the work of Kepler and Newton? [1]

Giants

posted 05-03-2012

Giants
Isaac Newton’s great realisation was that the gravity that we are familiar with here on Earth stretches out from the Earth into space to hold the Moon in orbit, and likewise the Sun’s gravity holds the planets in orbit. He wrote (rudely) to one fellow scientist saying that: “If I have seen further it is by standing on the shoulders of Giants.”
Each member of the group will take and research one role: Copernicus, Galileo, Kepler, Jeremiah Horrocks, Edmond Halley or Isaac Newton. What were their contributions to the following areas:
shift to heliocentric thinking
history of science
history of the world.
(If you have a group of 5, leave out Isaac Newton.)

An interesting point is how societies in the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries were able to allow individuals to indulge in questioning the nature of the Universe, when most people lived in poverty. How did these people support themselves (or how were they supported)? How did this differ from the way in which scientists today, also considering the nature of the Universe, are supported by society?

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A scientific law is a claim that something always happens in situations of a certain kind

A scientific theory proposes an underlying process that results in the observations we have made. Many scientific theories involve objects or properties that cannot be directly observed.

Scientists are more confident about theories that include a plausible mechanism for causing the events observed. It is also important that a new theory is consistent with existing theories that are well-established and generally accepted.

Making the Copernican Model Work - answers & comments

posted 05-01-2012

Making the Copernican model work
Read 163-166 - due Thursday

1. In practice, the Copernican model was not as accurate in predicting planetary movements as the Ptolemaic one. A major problem with its accuracy was the circular orbits of the planets. Why do you think Copernicus assumed that the orbits were circular? [2]

It was an essential part of the belief system for hundreds of years that orbits were circular. Copernicus challenged the position of the Earth and the Sun, but some assumptions are so basic, no one thinks to question them. (Kepler didn't question this either at first which is one of the reasons it took so long for him to work out the orbit.)

2. Kepler couldn't get Tycho's data to agree with the predictions of the Copernican model.

a. How great was the discrepancy? [1] It was six minutes of arc.
b. Why was Kepler bothered by this small difference? [1] Yes, as you say, he had great faith in Tycho's accuracy. In the reading for the first part of the Copernican model, the textbook says that Tycho's observations were accurate to one minute of arc, so you can see that this apparent error isn't as small as it seems.
c. What was the key assumption in making the Copernican model work? [1] Elliptical orbits.
d. Astronomers use the term eccentricity to describe how far off circular an orbit is. An eccentricity of 0 would be a circle. Kepler studied the orbit of Mars for years – why didn't he notice its eccentricity? [1] You should have said that the eccentricity of the orbit is small, so it could easily be mistaken for circular.
*e. Besides its shape, what feature does an ellipse have that a circle doesn't? [1]* An ellipse has two focal points; an ellipse has two values of its radius; any sensible explanation.
*f. How does Kepler's second law show that a planet doesn't orbit at a uniform velocity? [2]*
3. Isaac Newton was inspired by seeing an apple fall – but not on his head. He started to wonder if the force that made things fall on Earth also worked in the heavens. In what way did this idea conflict with the Aristotelian view? … It contradicted the idea that the heavens were perfect and different laws governed them to those on the imperfect earth.
4. In Newton's theory, what are the two factors that determine the strength of attraction between two objects? [2] The strength of the two masses and their distance apart.
5. What do we mean by an “inverse-square law”? [1] Any law in which one factor decreases in strength compared to another according to one over the square; different wording expressing the same idea.
6. Explain why Newton's work made the Copernican model more acceptable. [4]
Points to make.
The Copernican model didn't accurately describe the positions of the planets.
Kepler's work fit the data, but it was a description.
Newton's work was able to explain Kepler's laws.
A model is more likely to be acceptable if there is a plausible explanation.
There is a coherence between the work of Kepler and that of Newton.
Halley used Newton's theory to predict the return of the comet, which showed the predictive value of Newton's work.
(Relevant arguments, clearly expressed.)

Copernican Revolution -- answers and comments

posted 04-30-2012

This work is due on Monday April 30.

The Copernican Revolution Part 1 / from the top of p.157-165
When I ask you to list, I want a list – one item per line – each item summarised briefly. Do NOT copy from the text.

1. List 6 important points of the philosophy of Thomas Aquinas that relate to the cosmos, given on pp.157-8. Be specific. [5]

The heavens were the realm of God, therefore perfect and unchaning.
Earth was imperfect and changeable.
Heavenly bodies are carried around on invisible crystalline spheres.
Each planet moves in a small circle & the centre of this circle moves around a larger circle centered on Earth.
God kept the spheres in Ptolemy's model moving.

2. You often see the idea that Copernicus feared persecution by the Church, so he delayed publication of his book. What is a more likely reason why it took so long to publish the book? [1]

Everyone "knew" that the Earth wasn't moving, so he was reluctant to publish such a ridiculous idea without arguing it carefully. Otherwise he would look foolish.

3. Many people think that Tycho Brahe was the greatest naked-eye observer of all time.

a.) What two aspects of his work made his observations so valuable? [2]
His observations were the most accurately measured of the pre-telescope age.
His observations formed a data base of twenty years of regular observing.

b.) What convinced him that Ptolemy's model needed to be improved? [1]
The great conjunction of Jupiter & Saturn in 1563 was predicted, but the prediction was several days out.

c.) List two reasons Tycho didn't accept the heliocentric model. [2]
The Earth obviously wasn't movement as there was no sensation of movement.
The stars showed no parallax.

d.) Tycho made two observations that challenged the accepted theory. The 1572 supernova challenged the idea that the heavens were unchanging. What other part of accepted theory was challenged? How did his observation challenge it? [2]
The orbit of the comet he observed in 1577 took it through the orbits of several planets. It couldn't do that if the planets were moving on crystalline spheres.

4. The Copernican model wasn't banned outright in Galileo's time. However what was not permitted? [1]

You weren't allowed to suggest that it represented reality, only that it was a calculating device.

5. Galileo's observations challenged the perfection of the heavens and the geocentric model. List three pieces of observational evidence that did this. [3]

He observed mountains on the Moon, so it wasn't a perfect sphere.
He saw sunspots on the Sun, so it wasn't perfect and unchanging.
The moons of Jupiter were bodies revolving around something other than Earth.
He observed the phases of Venus, including a 'full' Venus - this couldn't happen unless it were on the other side of the Sun to Earth.

Making the Copernican Model work

posted 04-30-2012

Visit to Greenwich

posted 04-25-2012

Date: Thursday, May 17,2012

Travel: Leaving school at 9.30 for Ladbroke Grove. We'll take the underground, changing at Baker Street for the Jubilee line. At Canary Wharf, we'll walk to the DLR and take that to Cutty Sark. Then walk up to the Old Observatory, fingers crossed it doesn't rain.

More details of the day later, but we have booked to visit the Planetarium and will also see the exhibits in the new learning area and tour the Old Observatory and visit the courtyeard where you can stand in two hemispheres at once!

Planetarium: We will be seeing the planetarium show "Solar System, Galaxy, University". "This new show explores the scale of the solar system, galaxy and universe and how we measure it, investigating the structure of the universe from the smallest planets to the largest galactic superclusters." We will have to divide the group in half and attend different showings.

Cost: £5

The Copernican Revolution

posted 04-25-2012

Introduction to some basic issues - answers

posted 04-24-2012

Intro to basic issues - discussions

Click on the above link for answers and comments on this assignment.

Discuss presentation drafts

posted 04-23-2012

You will get a mark for bringing in a reasonable draft.

During the lesson you will be discussing each others drafts in order to consider how you would improve them. I will also be looking at them.

Informatica - research

posted 04-19-2012

Research for your presentation.

Bring your draft on Monday.

Wednesday 18.04.12

posted 04-18-2012

People project

1. Introduce assignment for People project. You will all be assigned to research and make a presentation of some kind - poster, powerpoint, whatever. Some of you will work on your own and others in pairs. Click on the above link to get the assignment. *You will be told who you are researching during the lesson, but need to read through the assignment on your own.*

2. Spherical Earth vs Flat Earth. Discussion in groups. This link will take you to a copy of the discussion sheet. https://docs.google.com/open?id=0BxeSMmD_2GI0aHJTV09QX1JuSWM This needs to be completed for discussion during the lesson.

Genetics question mark scheme

posted 04-16-2012

Here is the link for the mark scheme:

https://docs.google.com/open?id=0BxeSMmD_2GI0Vm54VV9wakhIZFE

Back from the holidays

posted 04-16-2012

1. Post mortem on the exam.

2. Reading assignment due Thursday. All being well, there will be a printed version for you. But here's the assignment.

Name: ……………………………………………………….. ……….. / 15

Introduction to some basic issues in astronomy

Read pp. 154-7 / Some questions need some thought to answer, but they don’t need further research.

1. “Patterns and explanations do not simply ‘emerge’ from the date.” What do they mean by this? [2]
2. List 3 pieces of evidence available to the ancient Greeks that the Earth is spherical. [DON’T just copy the paragraph out of the book.] [2]
3. Eratosthenes worked out the diameter of the Earth. Even though his method was primitive, he got a fairly close answer.
a. Why would you do this experiment with places at different latitudes instead east-west of each other? [1]
b. If the Earth were flat, what would someone have seen in Cyrene when he did his measurement in Alexandra? [1]
4. Look at Figure 10.4.
a. How was the photograph made? [1]
b. How is this photograph evidence for the Earth’s rotation? [1]
c. If the Earth is not rotating, how could you explain this photograph? [1]
5. The constellations all seem to turn, but their patterns don’t change.
a. Which objects move against the background of the stars? [1]
b. When you observe these objects over a long period of time, what is odd about their movement? [1]
c. What phrase describes this odd movement? [1]
d. Why couldn’t the Pythagorean model of the cosmos explain the odd movement of the planets? [2]
6. What is the difference between a geocentric model and a heliocentric model? [1]

Research on your presentation

posted 04-15-2012

If you have questions that haven't been answered by email, be ready to get them sorted out at the start of the lesson. Use the lesson effectively for your research.

Question on cystic fibrosis

posted 03-17-2012

Mark scheme: question on cystic fibrosis

Click on the above link to see the mark scheme for this work. My profound apologies for taking so long to get the marking finished.

Critical Thinking

posted 03-15-2012

Video transcripts

Turn on the subtitles (CC). You can also get a transcript by choosing it from the menu below the picture screen, the one that includes LIKE etc.

Critical Thinking Part 1: A Valuable Argument
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iSZ3BUru59A

1. What are the four brain short cuts that it mentions?

Critical Thinking Part 2: Broken Logic
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VRZk62QNOsM

2. In logic, conclusions follow from premises. What do we mean by a "premise" in logic?
3. What is a logical fallacy?
4. What is a non sequitur?

Critical Thinking Part 3: The Man Who Was Made of Straw
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kgdDK4XMpm0

If the premises of an argument are flawed, then the conclusions won't be true. Straw-man arguments are ones that others can easily knock over, while still appearing logical.

5. A straw-man argument can be made by doing the following to your argument: changing the ---, o--- it, e--- it, or subtly --- it.
6. The premises may also just be ---.

Critical Thinking Part 4: Getting Personal
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=W_veZ24nC3g

Note: An argument that focuses on the person (rather than the argument) is called an ad hominem argument.

7. What is the main point of this video?
8. What is the role of an expert in making an argument?

Critical Thinking Part 5: The Gambler’s Fallacy
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=K8SkCh-n4rw

9. What is the gambler's fallacy?
10. If one event follows another, people tend to think that the first event caused the second one. (This is called the post hoc fallacy from the Latin post hoc ergo propter hoc – after this, therefore because of this.) Suggest three possible relationships between Event 1 and Event 2.

Critical Thinking Part 6: A Precautionary Tale
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vjaqM4yd_RA

11. What is a scientific theory?
12. What is the precautionary principle?

Work for Wednesday 14.03

posted 03-13-2012

Text Questions 4-11 (Reading 144-147)

Lesson for Monday 12.03

posted 03-11-2012

1. Discussion of the group work you did on Wednesday. Please be sure that you are prepared. (That includes Alex and Carlos.)

2. A simulation of selective pressure on an allele (sickle cell).

One theory to another - prepare a timeline

posted 03-08-2012

Here is some advance notice on what you'll be doing on Tuesday, so that you can be prepared.

One Good Theory to Another

Introduction
Scientists and other thinkers don’t come up with ideas/theories in isolation. They are influenced by other ideas from people who came before them or are publishing ideas at the same time. Sometimes one idea builds on another to develop a theory. In other cases, disagreement over the best theory (ie the one which fits the evidence best) leads to a new idea. In the following activity, can you see examples of this from the history of evolutionary ideas?
The Activity
In this activity, you will consider how long it took for scientists to develop theories about evolution, and the influences on Darwin and Wallace, including the scientific community.

Make a rough time-line for the theory of evolution. Include dates for the important stages in the development of the theory, and the most significant people. Explain briefly why these people’s ideas were crucial to the theory. You will find the statements below helpful but will also need to do some research, using your textbook and other sources. Your time-line could be an illustrated poster, or electronic, for example a document or image with hyperlinks.

Around the late 1800s and early 1900s, the age of the earth was very unclear but estimates ranged from 3 million years old to 2300 million years old.
Now we believe the earth to be nearly 4.5 billion years old.
Wallace and Darwin working around 1860 thought that natural selection would take a very long time – perhaps millions of years to show evolutionary change.
Charles Lyell between 1828 and 1835 showed how rock and fossil evidence formed a continuous pattern through long geological time.
Georges Cuvier in the early 1800s produced fossil bone evidence but thought that fossils were caused by “catastrophes” ie extinction.
Fossil animals found in older rocks are simpler and smaller than those in younger rocks. This has been known since the early 1800s and before.
In 1809, Lamarck proposed that species change through time but he could not say how long it would take.
Natural selection as proposed by Darwin in 1859, needs a way for variations to be inherited in living things.
By 1900, Mendel’s work on genetics was used to show how variation was inherited and from this an understanding of genes developed (see page 147 of your textbook for more on this).
In 1798 Thomas Malthus argued that human populations always increase more quickly than the food supply.
In the late 1700s and early 1800s farmers in Britain were learning how to use selective breeding to produce farm animals with the characteristics they wanted.

2. Do you think Darwin and Wallace could have developed their theory if they had lived 150 years earlier? Give some reasons for your answer.

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Put work on paper in my pigeonhole or give it to me on Monday.
Send electronic files to me at astronomy.teacher@yahoo.co.uk

Darwin's theory

posted 03-07-2012

Darwin's Finches - student sheet

1. Evolution cards. Match evolution cards to two examples. (Groups 15-20 mins)
2. Darwin's finches activity. Click on the above link for the activity sheet so that you can read through it in advance.

How to explain so much diversity

posted 03-05-2012

Preparation:

Revise “Natural selection” pp.140-1 if you're not sure of Darwin's theory of the mechanism of evolution.

Read pp.142-3 “Evolution before Darwin” to see what Lamarck's theory of evolution was.

Lesson:

There are some discussion questions about Darwinian and Lamarckian evolution for discussion in groups followed by class discussion.

Creation myths

posted 02-23-2012

Where we're going Friday

This is the sheet that sets out the task: http://tinyurl.com/86c537j

The Creation Myths powerpoint: http://tinyurl.com/6oac4lf

Assessment:

posted 02-09-2012

Exam-style question on cf.

There is only one question, so it will take only part of the lesson. You may use the rest of the time to work on something else.

Topic Review Questions

posted 02-08-2012

NOTE: Topic review questions are due on Thursday. HOWEVER I have agreed to accept them by email (astronomy.teacher@yahoo.co.uk) up to Wednesday of half term - before noon GMT, i.e., 13.00 in Spain. The penalty will be 10% per day after that, starting with Wednesday afternoon.

In Thursday's lesson there will be an assessment on cystic fibrosis. It's an exam-style question. You will need the material I gave out on cf, as well as the material in the textbook.

You can use today's lesson to work on the questions or to make notes on cf.

IVF, embryonic gene testing, taking notes

posted 02-06-2012

Be sure to bring the notes you made on the two pieces of reading. One of them already contains some comments from me. When you get the test back, you need to reflect on the notes you made and how useful they were.

How will you improve your note-taking?

NOTE: Topic review questions are due on Thursday. You might want to get started on those.

In Thursday's lesson there will be an assessment on cystic fibrosis. It's an exam-style question. You will need the material I gave out on cf, as well as the material in the textbook.

You can use Wednesday's lesson to work on the questions or to make notes on cf.

Genetic counselling and possible solutions

posted 02-02-2012

Genetic counselling and possible solutions, pp. 90-95
Work due Monday

Do Qs Qs 13, 15, 16, 21, 22

You can use the other material we've studied where it's relevant.
You can write in bullet points where this is appropriate to the answer.

Multifactorial Inheritance

posted 02-01-2012

Read Multifactorial inheritance 83-87
Work due Thursday

1. What are the differences between single gene inheritance and
multifactorial inheritance?
2. What do we mean by a balance of genetics and environmental risks as
influencing whether a person will get a disease or not.
3. How do case-control studies contribute to understanding complex diseases?
4. What does it mean to state that all cancer is genetic, but only a
small bit is inherited?
5. Answer Q7 on p.85.
6. What is the cause of most cancers? Give examples.
7. Answer Q9 on p.86.
8. There has been research on how genetic make-up relates to
developing heart disease.
9. a. What kind of research was done to get the data?
b. How is coronary artery disease related to heart attacks?
c. Why is it important to understand how gene changes increase the
risk of a heart attack?

Genetic counselling and possible solutions, pp. 90-95 – due Monday

link for reading

posted 01-26-2012

https://docs.google.com/open?id=0BxeSMmD_2GI0NDMwOTgzNDgtOGU3MS00ZWI4LTljYjQtMTdmM2VlOTRmNWQw

Making Sense of Text: Representing it in your own way

posted 01-19-2012

This is an exercise to help you in scientific reading.

Before the lesson: Read “Stem cells and cloning” pp. 70-71. This is so that you understand what stem cells are before you start the exercise.

The text is “Regenerative medicine” on pp.73-4 in your textbook.

The first part is an individual activity – no talking. Your aim is to to summarise the text, perhaps in a way that you haven't tried before. You could draw a picture, flow chart, or spider diagram for instance. This may help you to understand and learn the content more effectively than simply reading through it.

Afterwards you will look at other people's summaries and decide which things about them are useful.

Case study & Ethical Frameworks

posted 01-18-2012

1. Cystic Fibrosis activity.
Submit an improved discussion, giving facts and clearly stating your argument and reasoning.
Add an ethical dimension to your answers using the frameworks from Monday's lesson.
What further information would you want in order to explore the topic?
Submit the original work from last week as well.

2. Carry out your second discussion, using the other case study.
Ensure that you have covered the ethics involved in the decisions.
Make your arguments and reasoning clear, giving factual information where it is available.
What further information would you want in order to explore the topic?

Using Ethical Frameworks

posted 01-16-2012

Using Ethical Frameworks

BEFORE MONDAY'S LESSON

1. Read "Ethical frameworks for ethical decisions" pp. 65-67
2. Read through the activity so you can see what you're going to do. Click on the link for a copy.

BRING

Each group will need scissors and glue - or else you will have to copy your answers onto the paper. (I will get you a copy of the worksheet.)

IN CLASS

Each group's answers is to be submitted. Your work needs to be handed in.

Work for Thursday Documents Part 1

posted 01-12-2012

Each group will get one copy of the documents. You should probably make another copy.

The people on the side of the room near the door will do this:

http://tinyurl.com/7fhsm65

The people on the other side of the room will do this:

http://tinyurl.com/6t4co6j

There are 3 information sheets, one for each of the genetic disorders. I have pasted the information from each directly into a blog.

Genetic Breast Cancer

posted 01-11-2012

Genes and You: Genetic Breast Cancer
What is Genetic Breast Cancer?

There are two genes (BRCA1 and BRCA2) which that have so far been identified, and if inherited as faulty, increase a woman's chance of getting breast cancer. However, breast cancer is very common (about 1 in 9 women in the UK will develop breast cancer at some time in their life and about 34,000 new cases are recorded each year), and only a small proportion of these breast cancers (about 5-7%) are due to such an inherited susceptibility.
Genetic Breast Cancer: What can women do if they think they are at risk from an inherited susceptibility to breast cancer?

It is important to be aware that even if your mother, or another close female relative, has breast cancer, this does not automatically mean that there is an inherited susceptibility to breast cancer in your family. This could have happened by chance, particularly as breast cancer is so common. Women with a strong family history of breast cancer (i.e. three or more close relatives with the disease, or perhaps two if those relatives were diagnosed when in their 30s or 40s, and when all affected relatives are on the same side of the family), could ask their doctor to refer them to their local department of clinical genetics for further help and advice.
How is Genetic Breast Cancer passed on?

The pattern of inheritance of genetic breast cancer is called autosomal dominant. This means that in families affected by genetic breast cancer, each child of someone who has an inherited susceptibility has a 50% (1 in 2) chance of inheriting the faulty gene.
Women who inherit a faulty BRCA1 or BRCA2 gene have up to an 80% chance of developing breast cancer over their lifetime and can have an increased risk of ovarian cancer also. It is unusual for men to get breast cancer but they can do so, but their risk is about 6% if they carry a faulty BRCA 2 gene. They can also pass on the genetic susceptibility to their children. This means that a genetic susceptibility to breast cancer could occur in a family after a couple of unaffected generations because it has been passed on down the male line.
Other Information

Tests for changes in breast cancer susceptibility genes are not available to everyone, and tend to be offered only to individuals with a strong family history of breast/ovarian cancer; these tests are available at all specialist genetic units in the UK. Before any woman is offered a test, geneticists need to be certain that she is at high risk of genetic breast cancer and that she wants to have the test. While she is deciding whether or not to have the test, she will be offered counselling to help her think about her options and what the results of the test might mean for her and her relatives. It is usual to test a woman in a family who has had breast (or ovarian) cancer to identify the genetic "fault" in BRCA 1 or BRCA 2 in that family before being able to offer to test their unaffected but at risk relatives.
If a woman has a test and the results show that she has inherited a fault in one of the breast cancer genes, she has various choices. She should be 'breast aware', which means knowing what her breasts look and feel like normally and recognising when there is a change which needs investigating. She may also be eligible to be screened regularly at a specialist clinic. A few women chose to have surgery to remove both breasts before there are any signs of breast cancer which very much reduces their chances of developing the disease. This operation is called a prophylactic mastectomy. Removal of the ovaries not only very much reduces the risk of ovarian cancer, but also lowers the risk of breast cancer, so some women chose to have this type of surgery.
BRCA1 was found in 1994 on chromosome 17, and BRCA2 was found a year later on chromosome 13. Faulty copies of the BRCA1 gene are believed to be present in about half of the families in Britain with strongly inherited breast cancer and BRCA2 in about a third of families, so there are almost certainly other breast cancer genes still to be discovered.
If you are interested in finding out more about Inherited breast cancer, you can write (enclosing an A5 stamped addressed envelope) to: Jackie Harris CNS Family History and Breast Health, Breast Cancer Care, 5-13 Great Suffolk Street, London SE1 0NS. A telephone helpline for anyone with a breast-related problem or Breast Cancer enquiry is also open from Monday to Friday 10 am. - 5 pm Saturdays 10 am - 2pm Nationwide helpline (calls are free) 0808 800 6000 http://www.breastcancercare.org.uk/Home

Tay Sachs info sheet

posted 01-11-2012

Genes and You: Tay Sachs Disease
What is Tay Sachs Disease?

Tay Sachs Disease is rare, neurodegenerative metabolic disorder caused by the absence of an enzyme called hexosaminidase A(hex-A). Without this enzyme, a fatty substance called GM(2) ganglioside builds up in the body, particularly in brain cells, and destroys the central nervous system of affected children do not normally live beyond the age of five. There are different forms of Tay Sachs - infantile, juvenile, late onset and variant forms.
How is Tay Sachs Disease passed on?

The pattern of inheritance for Tay Sachs Disease is autosomal recessive.
A person who inherits one faulty gene for Tay Sachs will be a carrier. Carriers are usually unaffected but can pass the faulty gene onto any children they may have. If one or both parents is a carrier, there is a 50% (1 in 2) chance that each child of theirs will also be a carrier.
A child who inherits two copies of the faulty gene (one from each parent) will have Tay Sachs Disease. If both parents are carriers, there is a 25% (1 in 4) chance of this happening.

A CHILD WITH TAY SACHS DISEASE MAY BE AFFECTED IN SOME, OR ALL, OF THE FOLLOWING :

A baby with Tay Sachs seems to develop normally until about six months old although infantile form will start to show during the first three to five months. Development may be seen to slow down, the baby begins to lose his/her sight, and becomes hypersensitive to sound so that any sudden noise or movement makes him/her jump.
At about a year, the baby starts to have convulsions and fits and begins to lose the skills (s)he has developed (e.g. turning over, sitting, reaching out and crawling). Muscles become progressively weaker, swallowing becomes difficult and the lungs do not function well.
Children with Tay Sachs Disease usually don't live past the age of five because their nervous system has been severely damaged. Symptoms of the disease will include blindness, deafness, loss of skills, paralysis and seizures.
Treatment is symptomatic, anti-convulsants may be used for seizures. Treatment for individuals with this disease aims to provide relief for symptoms and support in the care of the individual. The symptoms, severity and rate of progression of this condition vary from one individual to another.

Other Information

Tay Sachs Disease occurs most often in people of Central and Eastern European (Ashkenazi) Jewish descent. Approximately 1 in 25 Ashkenazi Jews are unaffected carriers, compared to 1 in 250 of the general population. But the disease also occurs amongst other groups, for example non-Jewish French Canadians.

The disease is named after a British doctor called Warren Tay, who in 1881 described eye changes in a person with the disease, and an American neurologist called Bernard Sachs, who recognised that cell changes took place in affected children and also understood that the disease was inherited.

If you are interested in finding out more about Tay Sachs Disease, you can write (enclosing an A5 stamped addressed envelope) to: Children Living with Metabolic Diseases (CLIMB) Climb Building, 176 Nantwich Road, Crewe, Cheshire CW2 6BG. www.climb.org.uk

Cystic Fibrosis info sheet

posted 01-11-2012

Genes and You: Cystic Fibrosis (CF)
What is Cystic Fibrosis?

Cystic Fibrosis is an inherited condition which affects mainly the lungs and the pancreas. Thick, sticky mucus builds up in these organs causing infections and damage in the lungs and making digesting food difficult. The male reproductive system can also be affected.
How is Cystic Fibrosis passed on?

The pattern of inheritance for Cystic Fibrosis is autosomal recessive. A person who inherits one faulty gene for Cystic Fibrosis will be a carrier. Carriers are usually unaffected but can pass the faulty gene onto any children they may have. If one or both parents is a carrier, there is a 50% (1 in 2) chance that each child of theirs will also be a carrier.

A child who inherits two copies of the faulty gene (one from 5 each parent) will have Cystic Fibrosis. If both parents are carriers, there is a 25% (1 in 4) chance of this happening.

A PERSON WITH CYSTIC FIBROSIS MAY BE AFFECTED IN SOME, OR ALL, OF THE FOLLOWING WAYS:

To stay well, people with CF need to spend time at least twice a day (more if they are unwell) doing physiotherapy and breathing exercises in order to help clear the mucus from their lungs. They also need to take special enzymes with each meal to help them digest their food. As many will also be taking prescribed vitamin supplements and antibiotics, they may end up needing to take about 20 pills with each meal.

They may cough a lot. This cough is not infectious (you cannot 'catch' it).
They may be small for their age and puberty may be delayed.
Many will make regular visits to a CF clinic or local hospital to check how they are or for further treatment.

Other Information

Cystic Fibrosis is the UK's most common life-threatening inherited disease. Every week another five babies are born with the condition.

CF is most common in people of European origin.

It is estimated that approximately 1 person in 25 in the UK is an unaffected carrier (i.e. about 2 million people or 4% of the population).

There is no cure for Cystic Fibrosis. But treatments are improving and people with CF are living longer into adult life. Gene therapy (where working copies of the gene are introduced into the lungs of people with CF) holds hopes for the future. Heart and lung transplants have also improved the quality of life of some people with CF

If you are interested in finding out more about Cystic Fibrosis, you can write (enclosing an A5 stamped addressed envelope) to: Cystic Fibrosis Trust, 11 London Road, Bromley, Kent BR1 1B4 www.cftrust.org.uk

Q4 Term 1 Exam

posted 01-10-2012

Question 4

The above link is to the mark scheme for Q4.

Q 1-3 Term 1 Exam

posted 01-09-2012

Q1

http://tinyurl.com/899k976

Q2

http://tinyurl.com/7x3q66k

Q3

http://tinyurl.com/6rnzvp2

Q4

Not yet ready

Notes for Exam

posted 12-07-2011

Notes for Exam

Click on the above link to find a copy of the exam notes on Google Docs.

Clinical Trials

posted 12-01-2011

Suggested answers to questions
1. (a) The critics suggest two variables other than fish oil that might have affected the children’s SATs scores. Suggest one more variable that might be relevant.
Motivation and concentration of the children
Overall nutrition or health
Teacher’s expectations
(b) Can the research, described above, tell us which of these variables is most likely to have caused the improved scores?
No. Unless we can show that other variables have not changed between prediction and result there is no way of knowing.
(c) How could they have used a control group to minimise the possible effects of these other variables? How would they select the control group and the test group to do this?
A control group where all variables except the fish oil supplements were identical in both groups would reduce the effects of these other variables. (Some might still be a factor due to chance differences in the two groups). Half the class would have to be used as a control, (without anyone knowing who was in which group to eliminate the effects of teacher or pupil expectations). Sample size would then be an issue so several classes would have to be used.

2. Almost all randomised trials show no benefit from TENS, non-randomised trials nearly all show benefit. Which should we believe?
(a) If the doctors choose which patients go into the treatment group might they choose those in most pain or those in least pain? Suggest one other factor that might influence their choice. How would these choices introduce bias into the results?
They may select patients who believe that it would work or actively sought to receive it. This would bias the patients to report benefit.
(b) Explain how randomisation would reduce these sources of bias.
Randomisation is more likely to include patients with different characteristics in both groups as they will not be selected for any criterion, consciously or unconsciously.
(c) Do you think that bias was a significant factor in some of these trials. Explain your answer.
The fact that only the non-randomised trials showed benefit strongly suggests that bias is a factor and that the selection was biased so that patients most likely to report benefit are put into the treatment group.
(d) The two groups should be selected at random from the population. How would you describe the population to select from in this case?
People who have had an operation and are in pain.

3. (a) Is there a significant difference between the results of the blind and non-blind trials? Explain your answer.
In the non-blind there is almost no difference between the proportion with short term improvement in the treatment and control groups, (about 7% difference). In the non-blind studies there is a significant difference ( 30%)
(b) Bias might have been introduced in the non-blind trials by patients or doctors
(i) If you knew you that you were receiving real acupuncture might it influence your reporting of pain?
Yes I would be pleased that something is being done and would expect improvement. This could influence my experience of pain.
(ii) Might a doctor treat you differently if she knew that you were only getting the sham acupuncture?
Yes she would be less likely to communicate optimism and faith in what she was doing. This might affect how I felt.
(iii) Explain how the data in Figure 2 indicates that such bias is a real effect.
Any of the differences between the blind and non-blind would support this.
(c) Explain how double blind trials would eliminate these sources of bias.
Because no one knows what you are receiving these psychological influences are removed.
4. (a) (i) Suggest a reason for the different sizes of the treatment and control groups at the end of trial A
Some people may have dropped out
(ii) Does this difference matter for the conclusions?
No, very few dropped out in either group. If many people drop out then it is important to know why. It may introduce bias.
(b) This question is only about trial A.
(i) What percentage of patients on placebo reported pain relief?
51%
(ii) What is the benefit of receiving treatment X relative to receiving the placebo? (to calculate this divide the number reporting benefit on X by the number reporting benefit on placebo). 1.2:1
(iii) How would you describe the population from which the treatment and control groups were selected?
People with arthritis pain.
(c) This question is only about trial B.
(i) What is the benefit of receiving treatment relative to receiving the placebo?
1.33:1
(ii) If only one less person receiving X had reported pain relief what would this ratio be?
1:1
(iii)Comment on the effect of chance on results in this small sample.
The results are clearly unreliable because just one person can alter the conclusions.
(d) What conclusions would you draw about the effectiveness of X?
Possible small benefit.
In discussion the students could be told that the researchers who did trial A calculated that, even wit

Comp/Alt Medicines, Clinical Trials

posted 11-28-2011

Clinical Trials

1. Complete the discussion on complementary/alternative medicines

2. Clinical Trials - you need to get hard copy of these sheets to prepare for Wednesday. There is a lot of information to take in. There will probably be a relevant question on the exam, so make a big effort.

3. This is some good material for the medicines unit. Copy and paste the link into your browser and have a look to see what's there. I don't think you'll want to print the whole thing! http://tinyurl.com/6s5kqwr We'll spend some time on it on Thursday - by then you should see what material might be relevant to the Clinical Trials activity.

Argument and evidence

posted 11-21-2011

Argument & evidence activity

Although I'm going out earlier in the date, I will be back for your lesson.

The following is from an online forum discussion. The thread is about the Lunar Reconaissance Orbiter pictures of the Apollo landing sites.

There are two participants in this section, identified as A and B. I've numbered the contributions for the sake of discussion.

I have edited the material in order to correct spelling and grammar mistakes which might confuse you, to shorten it and to make it clearer to read.

You do not have to agree or disagree with either person, only look at the arguments.

I am expecting to see that you have written out your ideas on all parts of question 1. You will then do question 2 in class, followed by a class discussion.

1.For each contribution,
a. identify the argument(s) and the evidence.
b. comment on the reliability of the evidence
c. note anything that isn't relevant to the argument
d. note any counterarguments

2.For the thread as a whole
a. identify the main argument(s)
b. evaluate the evidence

Museum visit

posted 11-17-2011

Old Operating Theatre Museum and Herb Garret

Accompanying teachers: Jean, Mona, Pablo

Click on the above link to find out about the museum itself and its medical history.

Afterwards we will visit historic Borough Market. There has been a market here since at least the 11th century. There will be a worksheet on this and you'll be set loose in the market to look for things. (And no, it isn't based on my shopping list!) http://www.boroughmarket.org.uk/ is their website.

Testing new medicines

posted 11-16-2011

See the notes from the previous lesson for this work.

Ibuprofen / Testing new medicines

posted 11-14-2011

1. The first part of the lesson will be to discuss the Ibuprofen actvity from last Monday's lesson.

2. Developing & testing new medicines. This activity will take the rest of this lesson and will be finished in Wednesday's lesson.

Read pp.52-58 down to "Regulation of animal experiments".
Notes on Questions 2-9 for discussion in the last half hour of Wednesday's lesson.

Some technical explanations:

Testing new medicines

A new medicine should work and be safe. If the company says it will work, there should be scientific evidence for this.

"In vitro" means "in glass". It's testing that's done in the laboratory, not in a living oranism.

"In vivo" is testing done in living organisms.

Sampling

You can't test a new medicine on everyone in the world! So you have to sample, that is, choose some individuals to test.

A large sample is more reliable, but it also costs more.

Random sampling means that the people are going to reflect the general population. This means the group is representative of the population in terms of sex, age, social class, etc. [Remember John Snow was careful to consider this when he compared the two groups of people who got water from the two different companies. He showed that both groups had a mixture of ages and social classes. The difference between the two groups of where they got their water.]

A sample should be divided so that they randomly put people into the group that gets the treatment or the control group. The control group is treated like the other group EXCEPT it doesn't get the medicine they are testing.

The 'gold standard' for clinical trials

A randomised test puts people into two groups. Overall the groups should be similar to each other except in getting or not getting the new treatment.

In blind testing the people in the test don't know whether they are getting the medicine or a placebo. (A placebo is something that has no medicinal value, but is given just like the treatment.)

In a double blind test the experimenters also don't know who gets the medicine and who gets the placebo. This means that the experimenters can't unconsciously influence the tests.

Evaluating clinical trials

What is a peer-reviewed journal? It's a journal for people who are specialists in a certain area of science. If you send your article with your results and conlusions to them, they will asks other people to read it who have a good reputation for work in this field. These people understand what's going on and will probably notice careless work and unlikely conclusions. In other words, they review your work. Since you are all scientists in the same field, you are peers. This is peer-reviewed work.

Assignment

posted 11-10-2011

Infectious diseases now assignment

Click on the above link to get the assignment.

Remember:

You'll get the marks for good use of the course material for examples and arguments.

You won't get marks for unsupported opinions.

More is not better. You will lose marks for writing too much. It shows you aren't focusing.

Disease Articles

posted 11-09-2011

Disease articles - copy of notes

Disease articles: You need to read them and make notes on the following points. You will have Wednesday's lesson to work on this. You will have Thursday's lessons to do extension work on the articles. You will also get an end-of-topic assignment related to this work.

Copy & paste URLs from here or click the link above to get a copy of these notes with active links.

Cholera http://tinyurl.com/3n43wff

There are two reports here. How far apart are the reports?
What may have been the source of the original outbreak?
After the original outbreak, what factors kept the epidemic going?
Why was the outbreak in July less deadly than the first one?
Extension http://www.guardian.co.uk/commentisfree/cifamerica/2011/sep/11/haiti-unitednations-minustah-cholera

Contraception & HIV: http://tinyurl.com/3sucxtp

1. Why is contraception important for women living in poverty – both for individuals and for society.
2. Give two reasons why the injectable contraceptives are useful.
3. Think of some reasons why men wouldn't give permission for their partners to use contraception.
4. Why would using injectable contraception make it more likely that a woman would contract HIV from her partner or pass it to her partner?
5. What are the two major factors that need to be balanced in considering this problem with injectable contraception?
6. Extension: http://www.nytimes.com/2010/05/20/opinion/20kristof.html

Antibiotics & bacterial resistance: http://tinyurl.com/6buhvyv

1. How is the antibiotic carbapenem given to patients? Why is it a particularly important antibiotic?
2. By how much have cases of bugs resistant to carbapenem grown in the UK since 2003?
3. Name two major factors that have brought about extensive drug resistance?
4. How many people in the EU die of antibiotic-resistant infections each year?
5. Why are antibiotics not harmless?
6. Extension: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2011/10/10/gonorrhea-drug-resistant-uk-doctors_n_1003444.html

Parents refusing vaccines: http://tinyurl.com/6hdks65

1. In 2010 a sudden increase in whooping cough affected how many people in California?
2. Legislation requires middle & high school students (ages 11-18) to get vaccinations before going back to school. However there are two types of exemptions. What are they?
3. What are the two dangers of unvaccinated children going to school?
4. Barbara Lowe Fisher of the National Vaccine Information Center says ““We’ve had families whose children have had reactions to vaccines, and some of them have become injured or even died. They want to make an independent, informed decision for their other children, and they can’t find doctors who will write medical exemptions.” She says that because of this more parents are asking for personal belief exemptions. Suggest some good reasons why doctors would not give medical exemptions.
5. The story quotes Catherine Flores Martin of the California Immunization Coalition and makes a point of saying that it “receives some of its funding from vaccine manufacturers.” What does this suggest to you?
6. The story doesn't mention who the “partners”of the National Vaccine Information Center are. Who do they mention on their home page? http://www.nvic.org/ United Way is an organisation that helps charities in fund raising. Click on the other one to go to the site of Joseph Mercola. Is Mercola's company a charity?
7. Extension: Here is Mercola's view on HIV. http://tinyurl.com/cpjdmod Here is more information about him: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Joseph_Mercola

Medicines to treat disease - introduction

posted 11-07-2011

Ibuprofen worksheet

This is your work for Monday:

Part 1.
Medicines to treat diseases – Introduction
Read pp.50-52 (down to “Treating new medicines”)

I have made notes on this for you. (Don't expect this service all the time!)

The issues:
1. New medicines can make a big difference to people's lives, but they are expensive to develop.
2. The benefits of new medicines must be balanced against risks and development costs.
3. Before prescribing medicines the UK National Health Service needs to consider scientific evidence, costs and public priorities.
4. The effectiveness of complementary medicines is a matter for debate.

The science behind the trials:
1. Clinical trials are needed in order to test new medicines and methods.
2. If you want to know more about clinical trials, http://www.fda.gov/forconsumers/byaudience/forpatientadvocates/hivandaidsactivities/ucm121345.htm The information is available in English and in Spanish.

What this tells us about science and society:
1. Medicines are assessed for safety, quality and effectiveness.
2. What other issues are considered when trials are carried out?
3. Many complementary/alternative medicines are tested for safety, but not for effectiveness.
4. Note: alternative treatments are medicines that are not part of conventional science-based medicine. Complementary medicines are often the same as alternative ones, but are used with conventional medicine. http://nccam.nih.gov/health/whatiscam/

Health and medicine:
1. Science-based medicine emphasises cures targeted at particular symptoms or causes.
2. Conventional may ease symptoms of some conditions, but not cure them.
3. Other conditions don't respond to conventional treatments and many people may use alternative ones.
4. About 25% of modern medicines are based on chemicals originally found in plants. Note the examples given in the text.
5. Note the difference between drugs and medicines.

Developing new medicines:
1. You don't have to memorise the flow chart, but you should understand the general principles of developing new medicines from the research stage to Phase IV trials.
2. The action of a medicine is closely linked to the structure of its molecules.
3. Four critical barriers for a research compound before it becomes a marketed product: (1) safety; (2) meet a need for the product; (3) be technically possible to manufacture the product; (4) have a big enough market to make it profitable for the company.

Part 2
Ibuprofen

Click on the above link. (I will - photocopier willing - bring copies of the Ibuprofen sheet to the class.)

HIV - IT room

posted 11-03-2011

Create your own factsheets

HIV discussion statements:
https://docs.google.com/open?id=0BxeSMmD_2GI0YmUwZDY0ZjYtMTFhNy00ZTVmLWFkOGYtZjYxNGQyOWQwZTdh

Newspaper Articles & Presentations

posted 11-02-2011

Before this lesson you need to study a news article. These news articles are available in GoogleDocs and the URls are below. I will try to put one hard copy of each up in the classroom, but you will have to get your own copies if you need them. (BTW the printer in the staffroom is currently not working.)

In the lesson, in your groups you will plan a short presentation and give it to the rest of the class.

1. The class will be divided into 4 groups of 6.

Group 1 will be the first two rows from the front on the side of the classroom nearest the door. These students will need to study:

http://tinyurl.com/6buhvyv
Antibiotics losing the fight against deadly bacteria

Group 2 are the back two rows on the side of the classroom nearest the door. They should study:

http://tinyurl.com/3n43wff
Cholera in haiti - 2 articles (in the classroom)

Group 3 is the front two rows on the side of the classroom where the teacher's table is and their article is:

http://tinyurl.com/3kt2zz5 OR try this link: http://tinyurl.com/6hdks65
California parents refuse to vaccinate

Group 4 is the back two rows, behind Group 3. Their article is:

http://tinyurl.com/3sucxtp
HIV could spread if birth control injections increase

2. I will be adding some questions to this blog to help you prepare. Every member of the group should have bullet point notes on the articles, using my notes and any other ideas they have.

3. During the lesson the groups will have the first 30 minutes to discuss their articles and plan a short presentation. So you need to be on time, have your notes ready and be ready to start.

Each group will then have 5 minutes to give the important points of their article and their reaction to it.

4. Next week all members of the class should have read *all* of the articles and be ready to: ask questions of the groups who made presentations, be ready to explain your own ideas, be ready to respond to the other articles.

-----

Responding to a news article

There are three general areas of focus on.
1. What has the article actually said?
a. What are the arguments that it makes?
b. What evidence does it give to support them?
c. If the evidence is correctly reported, how reliable do you think it is?
2. Consider the source of the article.
a. Is it a good source for this kind of information?
b. Do you see evidence of a political – or other – bias in the article? Specify.
c. If you answer “yes” to Q2b, how could you check the information?
3. Give a personal response to the article, relating it to what you've learned in the course (or learned elsewhere). Your response should relate to the story itself and to the reporting.

Monday 31/10: Influenza

posted 10-31-2011

How well does the flu vaccine work?

Read pp. 29-31

Here are notes + questions to focus on during the reading before the discussion in the last 15 minutes of the lesson.

Bullet point answers are fine.

1. Influenza is much more serious than the common cold.
2. How many people die annually because of flu - even when there is no epidemic.
3. What part of the body does the virus invade? What dangerous secondary effect does it have?
4. Q.19 on p.30
5. Q.20 on p.30*** (Click on the link above for further information about flu vaccination.)
5. What is the main difficulty in developing effective antiviral drugs?
6. An epidemic is a large increase in the incidence of a disease as it spreads through a population. A pandemic is a set of epidemics across a wide region.
7. Q.21 on p.31 ***

***The answers aren't really in the text - these are thinking and discussion questions.

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Be sure to read the next blog on Newspaper articles & presentations. This is your preparation for Wednesday's lesson.

Koch & TB

posted 10-16-2011

Well done to the follow students to achieved a Notable in this assignment: Rodrigo; Selma, Racquel, Diego & Natalia.