“Why is THAT microbe in the news?”
Microbes end up in the news every week. Sometimes it is for positive reasons but most of the time it is because they cause an issue for humans or the environment in which we live. Sometimes the reporting is accurate, sometimes it is not. Your job is to take note of one of those “microbiology” news stories published in any common press (newspaper, online news site, magazine, blog, etc) and develop a more complete picture of the microbe through further investigation. Here is the assignment:
- Identify a “microbiology” news article (written/published during our Fall 2017 academic semester) and write a maximum two page (single spaced) paper explaining the microbe, why it is in the news, and all the interesting stuff the article left out.
- You must base your paper onthe news story and also a minimum of three additional credible (peer-reviewed) information sources. These sources can be peer-reviewed web sites, published primary research articles, published review articles, etc. (If you are uncertain if a source is credible/peer-reviewed, just ask. Wikipedia or related open-source material is not acceptable.)
- Include a reference citation list at the end of the essay. If you are referencing a published research or review paper, use any reference list format you feel comfortable with but please model it after a typical science journal citation format. (If you want a good reference, visit the Journal of Applied and Environmental Microbiology as a model). When referencing a web site, include some web page title and the web page’s URL.
- The news article and your paper must be about a specific microbial species, not just microbes in general. For example, a news article focused on a fish kill due to algal blooms is not acceptable. An algal bloom does not identify a specific species of microorganism, only that the algae family of microbes was involved. If you gain insight on a microbe in the news by means of FaceBook, Twitter, or other social media, you must link to the referenced full news article.
- The news article is just the wayto identify the microbe and why the general public should care. Give a quick summary of the news article and the slant it takes. Include the source and date of the published article. Now, fill in the blanks. Use your additional sources to include more in-depth information than provided in the news article. Make it interesting for someone studying microbiology. (It is difficult for me to provide you more detailed guidance in this area since every microbe will have unique aspects that may or may not be covered in the news article. But, consider more details about diseases, how it causes disease, transmission, epidemiology, benefits to people, benefits to the environment, strain differences within the species, history of the microbe, treatments/preventions, and much more.)
- Provide some analysis of the news article. Was it written accurately? Are there knowledge gaps in the news article? Were important aspects left out of the article? Etc.
- Assimilate information from your sources and summarize butdo not copy! COPYING IS PLAGIARIZING!...and will result in an automatic score of zero on this assignment. This includes copying thoughts, ideas, phrasing, etc from your classmates. If this occurs, both parties will receive a score of zero.
- This project is worth 30 points and will be scored based on all the above instructions as well as the clarity of writing, quality of writing, and accuracy of the science. Make sure this essay is edited, without typos, and grammatically correct.
- Submit a hard copy of your essay and attach a copy of the news article. DUE DATE: Monday, Dec. 4th, 2017, 4pm.