Cell Signaling Gone Wrong
Name
Winter Break Project
Logistics
1.
2.
3.
4.
Topics: “Luck of the Draw”
All topics will be researched only once (i.e., no repeats)
This project will be completed entirely during break and presentations will be given upon return to school. You will work
with a partner (of your choosing) so make sure you can communicate with each other over the break.
The presentation will be about 7 slides “long”, composed of:
a. Your 3 slides (max)
b. Your partner’s 3 slides (max)
c. A slide with 3 comparisons and 3 contrasts (similarities and differences, respectively)
The Goals
1. This project is designed to help you learn about cell communication and what can go wrong in an organism due
to faulty communication. It is also designed to stretch your skills in researching, understanding textbook text,
and independent learning.
2. You will develop a 3-slide maximum “poster” presentation that explains the basics of the topic and its
relationship to a cell communication pathway. Pictures and graphics are also necessary along with background
research. I do not expect you to work at the graduate level on this project, but I do expect you to be able to
explain, in your own words, the basics of the mechanism. On your slides, please use more graphics and less text.
3. You will be responsible for all the topics presented by all the groups in each class. The PPTs will be available on
the class website at the completion of presentations . You will have to find time (before school, after school,
study hall, lunch) to study the PPTs and take notes if you wish. There will be assessment questions on the full set
of topics on the next exam.
4. If, as you are researching, you don’t understand something being discussed, you will have to do your own
further research (online, in person, via email, etc) so that you develop an understanding of the topic so that you
can share the information in your own words.
How You Will be Scored
Total of 40 points
Slide(s) – 10 points
a. Slides explaining your disease
b. Pictures and graphics as needed
c. Text MUST be in your own words – NO cutting and pasting. You will be asked to elaborate and explain if it
appears as if you have plagiarized.
d. Neatness – including no spelling and grammatical errors
e. Organization – poster “flow” is organized and logical – remember other students will be studying your poster
Content – 20 points
a. Basics of topic
b. Cell signaling pathway involved
i. Signal mechanism (Is there a ligand? What is the ligand?)
ii. Type of receptor
iii. Discussion of the basics of the signal transduction pathway involved
iv. Specifics of cellular response (i.e., what happens to the cell) and organismal response (i.e., experience
or appearance of whole body)
c. Correct mechanism
d. Faulty mechanism (if this pertains to your topic)
e. Graphics of pathway
f. Current direction of research
Presentation – 10 points
a. An 8-10 minute presentation of “poster” to the class with your partner (or a solo presentation if you opted
for doing 2 different topics together)
b. Equal distribution of presentation between partners
c. Ability to put content into your own words and explain your “poster”
d. No direct reading from poster – make notes for yourself
Timeline
Email your project to stemplora@everettsd.org by 11:59pm on Sunday, January 5, 2014
Presentations will begin on Monday, January 6, 2014
10% per day deduction for late presentations on your project (i.e., not your partner’s)
If absent on presentation day, must make up presentation after school with a group of friends as audience
Planning!
Your topic:
Your partner’s topic:
Partner:
Partner Phone:
Partner Email:
Planned date for sharing powerpoints with each other for
the last slide?
CELL SIGNALING
TOPICS
Mini-Project on Disease and Cell Signaling Gone Wrong
Toxins
Poison Arrow Frog
Marine Cone Snails
Plant
Phototropism (Auxin)
Immune
B-Cells
T-Cells
Heroin
Ecstasy
Drug
Bacterial Infections
Botulinium neurotoxin (Botulism)
Salmonella inter-bacterial communication
Cholera
Human Disease
Congenital Heart Disease and Cardiomyocyte hypertrophy
Insulin Resistance and Diabetes
Cockayne syndrome
Glaucoma
Ataxia telangiectasia
Tuberous sclerosis
Werner syndrome
Waardenburg syndrome
Norrie disease
Kostmann Disease
Familial exudative vitreoretinopathy (FEVR)
Thrombasthenia
Cholera
Wiskott-Aldrich Syndrome (WAS)
Bernard-Soulier Syndrome
Parkinson's disease (calcium channels)
Chronic myelogenous leukemia
Multiple sclerosis
Pancreatic cancer
Chronic Myeloid leukemia
Alzheimer's disease
Tuberoussclerosis
Neurofibromatosis
Alopecia
Pertussis (whooping cough)
Bipolar Affective Disorder
Osteoporosis
Tourette Syndrome
Human Vision Muscle Contraction