Posted: December 11th, 2022
BIO 328 Student Essay Fall 2022
BIO 328 Student Essay Fall 2022
Requirements: The essay should address ONE of the four prompts listed below. Each essay should be typed, be at least two pages in length but no more than three pages, double-spaced, 12-point font, and one-inch margins. References (official government sources or primary literature articles only — at least 3 references should be used) must be included at the end of the essay using APA, MLA or ACM formatting but are not included in the pages limits. Each essay should be peer-reviewed by a classmate and/or taken to the University Writing Center for review. Points will be rewarded for either mode of peer review. I will be happy to peer-review your essay and give you comments but I will need your essay by November 28. t ke sure I have enough time to get it back to you. This essay is due Monday, December PROMPTS: Pick one 1. Although not evident at irst, the history of world civilization has been shaped by microorganisms. Find and discuss one example of how a single microorganism has changed our society or even our medical practices. For example, the world pandemics of bubonic plague (Yersinia pestis) in the 1600’s, also known as the Black Death, changed how we viewed the infallibility of church clergy and also how we train modem physicians to treat disease.
2. The human gut microbiota has increasingly been implicated in both human health and human disease. Discuss one specific aspect of how our gut microbes are thought to affect our health and one way we as a medical community are attempting to alter our gut microbiota to improve our health. For example, Clostridium difficile infections have been notoriously difficult to treat using conventional antibiotic treatments, but amazingly simple fecal transplants from healthy individuals have recently shown success rates better than 85% – 90%.
3. Bacterial viruses, known as bacteriophages, were being used to treat infections as early as 1917, a process called phage therapy. However, their use quickly fell out of favor with the advent of antibiotics in the 1940’s. Today, there is a re-emergence of interest in their use because of extensive antibiotic resistance among common human pathogens. Give a brief overview of how this therapy works and then discuss two pros and two cons of using this type of therapy in modem medicine.
4. Choose your own adventure: Select a topic/microorganism that interests you from class or that has personal meaning to your life or profession. Write a short paragraph (similar to those above) discussing the importance of the topic and how it relates to microbiology. Email this paragraph to Taylor, who will approve the topic or offer suggestions to help improve or narrow the topic. Approval is required before November 28th to give you sufficient time to research and write your essay before review.
MEI