Independent Research Project: Information Gathering Document
Topic: Click here to enter text.
Connection to Genetics or Biotechnology (From the Learning Goals):
Click here to enter text.
Why is the topic interesting (what is the “hook?”):
Click here to enter text.
Information/Resources collected:
In the items below you should list the resources that you have found. Include both a title and URL or other way to find it.
Following the title and reference, you should give a brief summary of the content for easier review. You can have more
than what is list. The minimum is below.
Informational website:
Click here to enter text.
Informational website:
Click here to enter text.
News or Magazine Article (Science Daily, Scientific American, Nature):
Click here to enter text.
Collection of Multimedia Resources (pictures, links to videos and podcasts):
Copy and paste resources you’ll eventually use in your final product. Include a one sentence description for each and
why it is important for the project. This can be pictures or links to videos and podcasts.
How to Organize Your PPT Presentation
1. Title (5 pts)
a. Topic title
b. Your name
c. The most relevant learning goal(s) from the class
2. Summary of Topic– This should be three to five sentences introducing your topic. Bullets are preferred. (10 pts)
3. Body of Presentation – At least five slides detailing important information on the topic. (50 pts)
a. For a genetic disorder presentation –
i. Inheritance Pattern- autosomal dominant, autosomal recessive, sex-linked, or chromosomal?
ii. Causes - What type of mutation?
iii. Symptoms – What are the characteristics? How does this affect an individual?
iv. Incidence Rate – Are there trends in who, where and when this disorder occurs?
v. Treatment – What are the treatments?
b. For a presentation on the history of genetics –
i. Personal history and background
ii. Describe their research/major experiment
iii. What was their major contribution to genetics?
iv. Impact - Why is this important? How does it affect society?
c. For a presentation on biotechnology –
i. Describe the topic or technique
ii. Development – Who, What, Where, When?
iii. Impact - Why is this important? How does it affect society?
d. Include pictures, video-clips, graphs, or other multimedia from your resources for support. (15 pts)
e. If possible or reasonable - Include an Experiment/ Demo – Be Creative!
4. References - At least one slide with a list of resources.
Total points for content of PPT: ___________/80 pts
Professionalism/Presentation - font and information should be professional, but the overall PPT should be visually
appealing and attract viewers to the key elements of the PPT that they should notice.
____________________/ 5 style pts
Progress points – each day attributed to working will help to set a baseline for your evaluation. The only way that this
can negatively affect you would be if you need to be corrected for being off task or distracting others.
____________________/ 15 progress pts
Total __________100 pts
Possible Topics
Topics are ranked in difficulty where “1” least is challenging and “5” is most challenging. You may
propose a topic not on this list but be prepared to explain its relevance to the unit.
Genetic Disorders
Cystic Fibrosis - 1
Genetic Biotechnology
DNA fingerprinting in forensics - 3
Down Syndrome - 1
DNA fingerprinting in evolutionary
Tay-Sach’s Disease - 1
relationships - 4
Klinefelter’s Syndrome - 2
Gel Electrophoresis - 3
Sickle Cell Anemia - 1
Modern DNA Sequencing Technology - 5
Turner’s Syndrome - 2
Cell Differentiation and Types of Stem Cells - 4
Muscular Dystrophy - 1
Uses of Stem Cells - 4
Hemophilia - 1
Controversy in Stem Cell Research (not just
Marfan’s Syndrome - 2
embryonic) - 4
Dwarfism - 2
Gene Therapy - 3
Triple X Syndrome - 2
Agricultural/Industrial GMO Technology - 3
Color Blindness - 1
Controversy in GMO foods - 3
Cancer (in terms of genetics/DNA) - 2
Cloning - 3
Epigenetics - 5
History of Genetics
Charles Darwin (in terms of genetics) - 2
Metagenomics (microbiome in humans) - 5
DNA Microarray - 5
Watson and Crick - 3
Personalized Medicine - 4
Rosalind Franklin - 3
Genetic Discrimination - 5
Gregor Mendel - 2
Intellectual Property and Genomics - 5
Frederick Griffith - 4
Overview of Careers in Genetics - 2
Hershey and Chase - 4
Human Genome Project - 4