Biology
Round One
Ethiopia is one of countries most affected by malaria. The World Health Organization
(WHO) puts the number of Ethiopians at risk of malaria at 45 million. The seasonal and
unpredictable nature of its transmission has been one of the most challenging aspects of
addressing malaria in Ethiopia. Furthermore, there has been increasing drug insecticide
resistance of the malaria parasites.
One of the consequences of severe malaria is Acute Renal Failure. Although research has
found that there is a correlation between Acute Renal Failure and falciparum malaria (a
type of malaria prevalent in Ethiopia), scientists have not been able to conclude how the
parasites cause the failure.
With this in mind, your task is to write a research paper that discusses the different
possibilities with which the malaria parasite affects the renal system. Outline the different
options laid out by scientists and discuss the strengths and weakness of each of those
hypotheses. Note that a deep analysis of how the kidney works is expected of you.
The paper should be 8-10 pages (12 point font, double spaced), and should follow the
standard format of scientific research paper including a bibliography. The background of
the paper should give a brief overview of how the renal system functions, how malaria
affects the human body in general, and the consequences of renal failure. The main
discussion of your paper should explore the different hypotheses suggested for the
correlation between falciparum malaria and Acute Renal Failure (ARF). All sources should
be properly cited in your bibliography (please refer to the section on Plagiarism).
Successful papers will demonstrate a thorough understanding of not only the biological
explanations concerned with the hypotheses that you encounter during your research. But
they will also show your team’s initiative to critically analyze the information you gathered.
In sum, excellent papers will demonstrate the team’s understanding of the subject matter,
analytic research skills, critical reading and writing skills. Submissions should meet the
standard of academic writing but your overall score will not be significantly determined by
your English language ability.
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Plagiarism, under any circumstance, is strictly forbidden; submissions that are found to be
guilty of plagiarism will be automatically disqualified. It is wise to note that many papers in
the 2014
QPEC were disqualified because of some form of plagiarism. Below you will find a detailed
definition of plagiarism; you should review this information in order to ensure your work is
not disqualified.
A Note on Plagiarism
“Plagiarism (pronounced: play-juh-riz-um) is the act of taking someone else’s words,
ideas, or information and passing them off as your own. If you don’t give credit to the
author of these ideas in footnotes or endnotes and a bibliography, you are committing
plagiarism, which is a serious academic offense.
Everything you find that is written, whether in print in books and journals, or on the web,
should be considered copyrighted. That means that you should think of it as belonging to
someone else. Information that you find on the web is not free to take or use – it is someone
else’s intellectual property. Any material lifted from an original source, including web
resources, without proper acknowledgement or credit is considered plagiarized.
Inadvertent or accidental plagiarism is still plagiarism. Plagiarism can inadvertently
happen if you are not careful about taking notes while you research; it is sometimes
difficult to remember exactly where your ideas came from when you are doing research, so
remember to cite your sources while you work.
It is your responsibility to know what constitutes plagiarism. Not knowing citation
standards is not an excuse. When in doubt, err on the side of over-documentation and cite
the source. You can also ask your professor, teaching assistant, or a librarian for help in
determining what is and is not plagiarism.” (NYU Libraries Citation Style Guide).
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