Assignment: SCI115 Week2 Discussion-STR
SCI 115 Week 2 Discussion STR
Biochemistry & Structure of Living Cells.

Select one of the following discussion topics for your primary post, which should address the discussion question in your own words. Your primary post should be at least 125 words. Also, please respond to a fellow student on any topic.

Topic 1: Internet Research on Carl Woese. Carl Woese (1928-2012) worked out a new method for classifying organisms. Research his activities on the internet, and then address issues (a), (b) and (c), that are given below, and cite your source(s).

(a) Carl Woese used ribosomal RNA (rRNA) to look at relatedness between organisms. Describe the basic logic of this approach. How can you tell if two organisms are closely related or distantly related from their rRNA?
(b) Name one of Woese’s most important findings.
(c) Describe one way that this relates to this week’s lesson.
Don’t forget to cite your source or sources.
Topic 2: Chemicals of Life Video. Watch Dr. Cox’s video on the “Chemicals of Life” (1)* in the “Instructor Insights” area of Week 2. Then, answer questions (a) and (b).

(a) Describe three things you learned from this video.
(b) Describe at least one way that this video relates to this week’s lesson.
To get credit for this topic, your post must be based on the video. Answers based on other materials will receive a grade of zero.
Topic 3: Lokiarchaeum Article. Read about Lokiarcheum in the article by Yong (2)* and/or the article by Zimmer (3)*. Both articles describe recently discovered evidence about a previously unknown organism. Address issues (a), (b) and (c), that are given below, and cite your source(s)

(a) Lokiarchaeum may be a “transitional form” between archaea and eukarya. What evidence suggests this?
(b) Describe one way that this relates to this week’s lesson.
Cite whichever article you use. If you use both, cite them both. There’s no particular reason why you should need any other source, but if you do use any other source, you must cite it, too.
*References:

1. James Cox, 2016, The chemicals of life – revised, see “Instructor Insights” (Week 2) or Media Gallery in this course shell.

2. Ed Yong, May 6, 2015. New Loki microbe is closest relative to all complex life, http://phenomena.nationalgeographic.com/2015/05/06/new-loki-microbe-is-closest-relative-to-all-complex-life/

3. Carl Zimmer, May 6, 2015, Under the sea, a missing link in the evolution of complex cells, http://www.nytimes.com/2015/05/07/science/under-the-sea-a-missing-link-in-the-evolution-of-complex-cells.html?_r=0

You must proofread your paper. But do not strictly rely on your computer’s spell-checker and grammar-checker; failure to do so indicates a lack of effort on your part and you can expect your grade to suffer accordingly. Papers with numerous misspelled words and grammatical mistakes will be penalized. Read over your paper – in silence and then aloud – before handing it in and make corrections as necessary. Often it is advantageous to have a friend proofread your paper for obvious errors. Handwritten corrections are preferable to uncorrected mistakes.

Use a standard 10 to 12 point (10 to 12 characters per inch) typeface. Smaller or compressed type and papers with small margins or single-spacing are hard to read. It is better to let your essay run over the recommended number of pages than to try to compress it into fewer pages.

Likewise, large type, large margins, large indentations, triple-spacing, increased leading (space between lines), increased kerning (space between letters), and any other such attempts at “padding” to increase the length of a paper are unacceptable, wasteful of trees, and will not fool your professor.

The paper must be neatly formatted, double-spaced with a one-inch margin on the top, bottom, and sides of each page. When submitting hard copy, be sure to use white paper and print out using dark ink. If it is hard to read your essay, it will also be hard to follow your argument.