These assignments are designed to let you practice what you have learned during the semester. They are open-ended so you can experience the same uncertainty researchers do when initiating research on a new gene/protein. To maximize the educational value of these assignments, you may work in groups on the process of your in silico research, but the writing must be done on an individual baiss. This work is covered by the Honor Code and if you have any doubts, please ask me. See the Department's plagiarism policy for further guidence.
There are certain guidelines I want you to follow for all your web pages for this course:
Before you create your first web assignment, you should take a few minutes to think about your overall web site. You are going to produce at least 4 web pages. To make it easier for everyone to read your pages, you should have a "front page" that you must call "home.html". I will create a link to your front page and it will be easier for me if all of you use the same file name. From this front page, you can gradually add relative links to your web pages as you produce them. This front page is where you may put any bells and whistles that you want to have fun with your web page. I will only grade its functionality (i.e. do all the links work, are all the images visible, etc.)
I have provided a list of web resources that may help you with some aspects of creating web pages. If you have never created a web page before, tell me ASAP.
Your first project is to select a trait that the popular press has dubbed "the gene for _______" (fill in the blank). One example you cannot use is the "the fat gene" of leptin. You may not use any of the traits from previous classes either. The trait may be "a disease gene" but it does not have to be. You may choose your trait from any species as long as it has been published. You should find both a popular press citation and a scientific publication when choosing your trait/gene pair. I strongly encourage you to choose a species whose genome has been sequenced (at least in draft form if not finished completely). To see a list of sequenced species, you can refer to this web page. Also, it probably will be easier to search for the popular press source first.
The purpose of this web page is to explore the commonalities and differences when a new gene discovery is announced. In your description, you should tell your readers about the trait as well as the gene/protein. Be sure to explore any other genes that may play a role in the trait you have chosen since this is one of the central features of genomics.
Before you write your web page, you should read this paper that describes what a good popular press science story should do:
As a bare minimum, you must have the following features (in addition to the ones required on each of your web pages):
Your second project is to choose one of two papers and summarize the paper. You should summarize what YOU learned in this paper and your opinion of it. Then, go through the paper one figure at a time to explain to me the main points of each figure. This should not be a super long review of the paper but I want you to demonstrate you facility with the material and the big picture addressed in the paper.
Your third project is to choose one of two papers and summarize the paper. You should summarize what YOU learned in this paper and your opinion of it. Then, go through the paper one figure at a time to explain to me the main points of each figure. This should not be a super long review of the paper but I want you to demonstrate you facility with the material and the big picture addressed in the paper.