BIOL 103 How the Vaccine Works Research Paper
Step 1: Innovations in Biology and Technology – Finding Information Sources and Outline (1%)
Choose one of the provided topics (see list below, a-e).
Search the library and/or the internet to locate 3 reliable information sources that you may use for this assignment. The purpose of this step is to get the research process started; you are not required to use these information sources in the final version of your assignment.
Write 1-2 sentences for each information source explaining why you believe these sources are reliable using what you learned from the UMGC library article.
Write references to the 3 information sources in APA format: https://libguides.umgc.edu/apa-examp.
Create an outline for the writing assignment. The outline should be in a bullet list format and include the major topics that you plan to include in your assignment, with some supportive detail for each topic. It should not be a draft with full sentences and paragraphs.
BIOL 103 How the Vaccine Works Research Paper
Topic Choices:
a) Vaccines. Your friend is worried about the many vaccines that his newborn son is scheduled to receive and asks you for advice since you are taking a biology course. Start with an explanation of how vaccines work. Briefly contrast the traditional methods used to create vaccines with more recently used biotechnology techniques, including the COVID 19 mRNA vaccines. Explain how the mRNA vaccines work based on your knowledge of the Central Dogma of Molecular Biology. What are some of the diseases that infants and children in the US are routinely vaccinated against? How have vaccinations impacted the frequency of these diseases over the past 100 years? Why are some people worried about giving their children vaccines? Why do some people believe that the MRR vaccine can cause autism? Is there scientific evidence to support these concerns? Conclude with advice to your friend in regard to getting the recommended vaccines based on what you learned from reliable information sources.
Step 2: Innovations in Biology and Technology. Writing Assignment (9%
recognize and explain how the scientific method is used to solve problems
make observations and discriminate between scientific and pseudoscientific explanations
weigh evidence and make decisions based on strengths and limitations of scientific knowledge and the scientific method
use knowledge of biological principles, the scientific method, and appropriate technologies to ask relevant questions, develop hypotheses, design and conduct experiments, interpret results, and draw conclusions
