Honors Assignments

Instructions and Policies for Honors Assignment:

1. Research your assigned topic using multiple resources (books, journals, newspapers, internet or even your text) and create a Power Point presentation. Minimum of 5 references, 3 charts/graphs.
2. Use as many biological terms and concepts as possible when doing this assignment. Define all new terms.
3. Your power point project must be completed and presented to the class in no less than a 10 minute presentation followed by no more than a 5 minute Q & A no later than week 9 of the quarter.
4. Know your topic well enough to present it without reading continuously from your notes. Do not write a paper.
5. Provide the instructor with an electronic copy of your presentation.
6. There should be a minimum of 15 slides including charts, photos or graphs. Present your research to the class. The topic and day of presentation must be approved by instructor.
7. Honors students are expected to exceed class expectations and demonstrate initiative and responsibility for their work that is deserving of an honors designation.  ABSOLUTELY no plagiarism is tolerated on this or any other assignment.  Plagiarism is cheating and students who cheat will receive an F grade in this course. 
8. Students who do not adequately complete the honors project as it was assigned, will have their final course grade lowered no less than one whole letter grade.  Students who DO adequately complete the honors project as assigned will receive the letter H on their transcript next to the grade they earned (per the greensheet) to indicate this course was taken as an honors cohort.  No additional points are credited to their course grade.

Project topics

• Colony Collapse Syndrome: Sometimes also called Colony Collapse Disorder. What is this disorder? Describe the causes, symptoms and who is affected. Is honey from affected colonies OK to eat? Describe the ecological role of bees and their importance. In what areas of the world has this Disorder been found?
  
  
• Photochemical Smog: Describe the layers and chemical make up of our atmosphere. Include the tropopause and mesopause in your description. Where should ozone be? What produces ozone, and why is this a problem? What are primary and secondary pollutants? Define photochemical smog, its causes and what it looks like. Why is photochemical smog a problem?
• The biologically endangered blue whale is the world’s largest animal. Describe this organism, its life cycle and what threatens it. How many are there today and where are they found? Describe its low reproductive rate. How is their extinction hastened by melting polar ice? Opponents of commercial whaling contend that resuming commercial whaling for some whale species such as minke, pilot and gray could lead to illegal harvesting of blue whales. Japan contends that excess population of minkes in Antarctic waters is threatening the blue whale population by consuming much of the krill they eat. What scientific evidence would you require to resolve this issue?
• Human Genome Project (HGP): What is the HGP? When and where did this endeavor take place? What's a genome? And why is it important? Briefly explain the science behind this project. What are some practical benefits to learning about DNA? What are some of the ethical, legal, and social challenges presented by genetic information, and what is being done to address these issues?
• Define Carbon offsetting. Define this term. Who can offset carbon? What is the intended goal of this process? What does it mean to be “carbon neutral”? How can one calculate their carbon emissions? Demonstrate a mock calculation. There are a wide variety of offset actions available for the individual as well as an organization. Discuss 5 offset actions that an individual can make. For each action, discuss whether the carbon offset is achieved by reducing emissions of carbon or increasing absorbtion of carbon. What is the controversy about carbon offsets? Arguments for and against it.  Are there any technologies being developed, discussed or currently employed to sequester carbon?

• Alternative Fuels:  What is bio-fuel?   What is diesel fuel?  What is the process of getting fuel into our homes and our automobiles?  What is ethanol?  How does this impact the agriculture industry?  How realistic is it to use electricity to power our cars?   What if wind farms are used to generate the electricity?  What are the pros and cons of these alternative energy sources?  Compare and contrast these alternative sources of fuel.  How are other countries handling these energy challenges? 

•  What is HPV?  Describe the morphology of this virus and how it spreads.  What are the symptoms?  What is the gardacil vaccine and how is it made (both the process of making it and its contents).  Describe some of the clinical trials that were done on this vaccine prior to it being FDA approved.  Is it approved outside the US?  What company owns this vaccine?  What are some of the concerns about this vaccine?  Discuss the incidence of cervical cancer  and HPV.    Has the incidence of these diagnoses changed since this vaccination has become widely used?  Are all populations (ethnic groups, age categories, socioeconomic groups etc)  of women in the US being vaccinated?  If not, why not?

• Breast Cancer:  Do a brief overview of genetics (what is a gene etc) and explain what is BRCa1.  When was this gene discovered?  How do doctors test for this gene?  Does having this gene mean you are going to have breast cancer?  How can you prevent breast cancer in women who have this gene?  What is the p53 tumor suppressor?   Another gene is the HER2 (human epidermal growth factor receptor 2).  Describe this gene and how it influences breast cancer.  Describe various treatments for Breast cancer and how they influence this aberrant cell behavior.

• Overfishing is threatening marine biodiversity.  How many people in the world rely on fisheries for food, employment etc.   Explain the term Sustainable maximal yield and how this applies to specific fish industries.  What damage has already been done to the marine environment.  What is being done currently to prevent this problem.  Is there a way to eat marine organisms sustainably and responsibly?   Define the term bycatch.   If you are a person who generally does not eat fish, is there anything you can still do to help protect the oceans?  Why should this matter to you?