Fundamental Virology MIMM 324
Fall Term, 2004
TERM PAPER TOPIC ASSIGNMENTS
Students are assigned to groups based on alphabetical order of last names. If you are assigned
to a particular group, you must find a research paper concerning any virus of your choice that is within
that group, and write a summary of that research paper. Please follow instructions on term paper
handout (available on course web site http://132.216.13.9/virology).
Last name
begins with
Virus group
Lecturer
Rao-Z
Bacteriophages
Acheson
Leu-Rah
DNA-containing animal viruses
Acheson
F-Lee
RNA-containing animal viruses,
viroids, prions
Pause, Briedis
Retroviruses, Hepadnaviruses
Hiscott, Gotte
A-E
Fundamental Virology MIMM 324
Fall Term, 2004
MEMO on TERM PAPERS
Each student registered in this course will be required to find an original research paper in
the scientific literature, read the paper, and write a 2-3 page resumé of its principal findings. This
project will introduce students to finding papers in scientific journals and will allow students to
familiarize themselves with the way in which research in virology leads to the accumulation of new
knowledge about viruses. The resumé, along with a photocopy of the paper, must be handed in on or
before Friday, November 26, 2004 at 4:00 p.m. You are encouraged to carry out this project during
the course, and not wait until the last minute; we will accept completed papers at any time before
November 26. However, papers handed in after the deadline will not be accepted.
Since this course is organized into four sections covering different virus groups, term papers
will be assigned to each of the four sections of the course: bacteriophages, DNA viruses, RNA viruses,
and retroviruses/hepatitis B virus. Instructors teaching each section will grade the papers, which will be
graded and returned at the beginning of the winter term. Topics will be assigned by alphabetical order,
once the class list is established, and will be posted, probably during the second week of the term. If
you are assigned to a particular virus group, you will be required to find a research paper
concerning any virus of your choice that is within that group.
You can find papers on the virus you have chosen by looking at recent volumes of a large
number of biomedical journals, a brief but incomplete list of which follows:
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Journal of Bacteriology
Journal of Virology
Journal of General Virology
Virology
Virus Research
Molecular and Cell Biology
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Cell
Science
Nature
Nucleic Acids Research
Oncogene
Biochemistry
You should limit your search to papers that have appeared in the past four years: that is,
published in 2001, 2002, 2003 or 2004. These and many other journals can be found in the McIntyre
Health Sciences Library, and can be searched by computer using Ovid
(www.health.library.mcgill.ca/database/medline.htm), a program that locates references based on a
number of criteria, or PubMed (www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov), of the US National Library of Medicine. If
using Ovid you should use the Medline database. Both Ovid and PubMed are accessible directly at the
McIntyre Health Sciences Library, from computers connected to the McGill network, or from home
via your connection to the McGill server. There are a number of computers linked to the McGill
network and available for the exclusive use of undergraduate science students, located at level C of the
Lyman Duff Building, in the lobby in front of the student laboratories.
The paper on which you report must be an original scientific paper, showing data from
experiments, and must not be a review article. Review articles summarize information from other
papers containing data and conclusions, and are usually, but not always, in specialized review journals.
You may find it necessary to read a few other papers to understand background information in the
paper you have chosen. The paper you choose should be based on laboratory experiments, not on
surveys or epidemiological studies.
Your resumé must be submitted in the following format: 3 pages, 1 1/2 or double spaced,
12-point type, 1-inch margins all around. Do not use any figures; your resumé can refer to data figures
or tables in the paper covered. Add a title page listing the title of the article, the journal, year, volume
and first and last pages of the article, as well as your name and student number. Staple your resumé to
a photocopy of the article you have chosen.
This project will be graded on the following criteria:
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evidence that you have made an effort to understand and explain the contents of the paper you
have chosen;
clarity of writing and organization of your resumé;
interest and relevance of the article to virology as presented in this course.
The project will count for 10% of your final grade in this course.
IMPORTANT NOTICE! Please make all efforts to avoid plagiarism while writing this term paper.
Because this assignment asks for a summary of a published research paper, the possiblities of
plagiarism are reduced compared to, say, a term paper on a broader topic. However, you should not
simply copy passages from the paper you are reviewing, as that could be plagiarism. Once you have
understood the research paper, explain it in your own terms. For information and hints about how to
avoid plagiarism, which is a major academic offense, please see www.mcgill.ca/integrity/studentguide/