Analyzing News     Practice Story (chimp example)      Links to News Stories        What you need to know for the test or exam    Form for report back to Bio103 homepage OVERVIEW   You will work at a computer in a group of two or three  people to practice analyzing science news stories and discussing some issues which involve scientific research.  You may use the lab computers  (your own diskette will help) or your own laptop if you've already copied this page onto your hard drive.  Your group of CO-AUTHORS turns in one package of four summaries, and everybody will get the same grade unless your group agrees on some other grading arrangement. BOTTOM LINE:  Your group will turn in a a package of four experiment summaries due this Friday, at the beginning of the next class.

WHAT YOU NEED TO KNOW for future quizzes, tests, and exams
In other words, why are we doing this?

You will be analyzing science news reports all semester on quizzes, labs, tests, and the final exam.  You will have to write experiment summaries on every test all semester and on almost every quiz, especially those in the in the next few weeks.   All semester we will be evaluating the skepticism scientists (and real people, too, sometimes) have about scientific laws and facts; so you will have to sound smart when test and exam questions involve issues where people disagree about the facts.  On a few labs, you'll get to work with a partner in writing the "experiment summaries" and analyzing results; but most of the time, you'll have to do it all by yourself.

Analyzing News Stories.  The most important part of this lab is work with your group in figuring out how to apply the steps of the scientific method to news releases about scientific research.  From the first class you should remember these steps:

1. the hypothesis (or hypotheses for more than one hypothesis):  a hypothesis is usually the answer to a question about cause and effect. 

2. the design of the experiment which could disprove the hypothesis: the treatment, the controls or comparisons, the sample sizes, predicted results (the measurements).

3. the actual results, usually summarized on graphs or tables (and it's really important to be able to interpret graphs; making graphs yourself will be important on some labs and tests)

4. the logical conclusion:  did the results disprove the hypothesis?  And why: what results would be logically predicted for this hypothesis?

5. why the experiment was important:  does it disprove a theory?  are potential applications useful medically or ecologically or economically?  

Also, you should remember that the most important concept is ________________.  need help?

• News reports about scientific research are listed below.  Your group should pick one to analyze; try to fill in the experiment summary form.  
• You might want to get the instructor to check your answers before you do the second news story.  
• In fact, unless you want to look silly, you should start with the practice problem and then decide whether to spend more effort on practice and review.  
• You can use the chimp practice problem if you write it in experiment summary form.  
• Each summary is worth 25 points; do four summaries and submit them together, either        
  • on paper (stapled) with all your names included,  or
  •  (better) as four attachments to an email to jannr@queens.edu with copies sent to all of you.  This way all of you will receive copies of the grader's comments so that you will not repeat any mistakes on the many similar assignments in the future.. 

A PRACTICE PROBLEM. Questions below are based on this article:  HTTP://www.acs.ohio-state.edu/units/research/archive/chimpfer1.htm.   (Read it.)

The hypothesis tested in the experiments reported in this article is a. chimps are closely related to human beings. b. chimps can communicate with each other. c. chimps can perceive states of awareness in other chimps. d. chimps warn each other of potential danger. In some parts of the experiments reported here, both chimps involved saw the "predator" hide or the grapes being hidden.  These parts were a. controls. b. experiments to test another hypothesis. c. observations which led to the creation of this hypothesis. What predictions are based on the hypothesis?  What kind of results could have indicated that the hypothesis is true? a. chimps communicating about predators but not about grapes. b. chimps communicating about predators only when one was not aware of the predator. What kind of results could have indicated that the hypothesis (in #3) is FALSE  What are some implications or applications of this study?  (In other words, what are some important ideas which are not specifically part of the experiment but which make the experiment important?)  What limits our confidence in the results of the experiment?

You can look at some possible right answers; but you should try to answer the questions on your own first.  If you want to use the practice problem for one of your four summaries, you should check these answers first and make sure you understand them before you incorporate them into your summary, which requires slightly different information.

If you had trouble with the practice problem, you should

1. Review chapter 1 and the examples linked to the report form.
2. Ask Dr. Jann or one of her assistants for help.

If you think you've learned from your mistakes on the practice problem, go ahead-- start on the real report.  Pick a story.

Links to recent news stories  (more stories may be added by lab time)

Freshman fifteen:  another urban myth? http://www.news.cornell.edu/releases/July03/freshman.15.weight.ssl.html A binge gene?  http://sciencenow.sciencemag.org/cgi/content/full/2003/822/3 Can music lessons help you with academic classes?  http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A51319-2003Jul26.html (page down to last item) Do pets cause allergies and asthma? http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2002-08/nioa-mpm082702.php   When did human beings start wearing clothes?  http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A11847-2003Aug18.html Does the government mischaracterize scientific facts? http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A31318-2003Aug7.html Is self-awareness an exclusive human quality? http://www.boston.com/dailyglobe2/217/science/A_look_at_where_consciousness_lies_in_the_brain+.shtml Will the new Ebola vaccine work? http://www.chicagotribune.com/features/health/chi-0308070164aug07,1,4026278.story      or (technical details; choose only if you know something about antibodies)                  http://www.biomedcentral.com/news/20030807/01 why did the chipmonk cross the road? http://news.bmn.com/conferences/list/view?fileyear=2003&fileacronyn=ESA&fileday=day4&pagefile=story_1.html Could you see in your dreams if you were born blind? http://news.bmn.com/magazine/article?pii=S1364661303001554 Did the 9-11 disaster harm unborn babies? http://www.newsday.com/news/health/ny-hswtc06q3404130aug06,0,4615016.story Does alcohol really harm unborn babies?  http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2003-08/aps-nsp082503.php Are couch potatoes born or made?  http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2003-08/aps-cpm082503.php does lawn care reduce biodiversity? http://news.bmn.com/conferences/list/view?fileyear=2003&fileacronyn=ESA&fileday=day4&pagefile=story_2.html Will heart patients choose healthier diets?  http://www.hbns.org/news/fruits08-25-03.cfm Can scientists find the brain basis of the emotions of being touched? http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A12587-2002Jul28.html  Can a "touch therapy" healer feel the patient's biofield?  http://campus.queens.edu/faculty/jannr/bio103/jamasyoungestscientist.doc  Can broccoli prevent breast cancer?  http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2002-08/acs-nbc080502.php  Is global warming real? http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/chi-0307170362jul17,1,445628.story Can eyeless starfish see their predators?  http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2001-08/wi-buc082001.php  Does television violence impair memory for commercials?  This is an actual scientific report, written for other scientists.  It's not a news article; so it's more complete and more challenging.  It covers three experiments; so choose only one for answering the questions.   http://www.apa.org/journals/xap/xap44291.html   Other news stories may be added by lab time.   After you finish the experiment summary form for the first news story, pick three more news stories for writing experiment summary forms.   You can use the chimp practice problem if you write it in experiment summary form.   Your group needs to complete four experiment summary forms.   Working together will pay off in the long run.  If you foolishly divide up the assignment, at least review each summary as a group to make sure you understand. If you had trouble with the first story, you should 1. Review chapter 1 and the examples linked to the report form. 2. Ask Dr. Jann or one of her assistants for help. 3. Or try another story.

ANSWERS for the chimp article practice problem:                      back to the chimp article questions

1. c. chimps can perceive states of awareness in other chimps.
2. a. controls.
3. b. chimps communicating about predators only when one was not aware of the predator.
4. chimps warning about predators when both are aware of the predator.
5. Chimps are more like humans than we thought; maybe it's wrong to use them like guinea pigs or lab rats; maybe chimps are closely related to us; maybe chimps and human beings evolved from the same ancestors.
6. (since this is only a brief news story and not the entire technical paper, we have to make some guesses about what actually happened, but.....)
   a. more chimps.  a small sample size could lead to coincidences.  larger sample size (=more chimps) decreases the chances that these results were just lucky, like tossing heads three times in a row.
   b. wilder chimps.  how do we know that the strange upbringing in captivity with demented psychologist researchers did not really pervert these chimps' behavioral patterns?
   c. more precise results.  This report says, "Since the strongest reactions during the tests occurred with Kermit and Darrell...."  So how do we know that a "weak" reaction was a true communication?  How did the experimenters "draw the line" between a warning and not a warning?  How do we know that the experimenters were truly objective in deciding?
   d. lose the grapes.  the whole grape deal is confusing and not logically related to this hypothesis and this question.  The report should have separated the grape experiment from the predator experiment.
   e. seems like lots of chances for "anthropomorphic" bias.  Since the experimenters seem to have prejudged that chimps are like humans, maybe they're misinterpreting chimp behavior completely.
   f. an additional but different experiment with the same hypothesis would help convince us that these results were not just lucky coincidence or something.  Like lose the dart guns; get real tigers or something.
   g. you may have other ideas of other kinds of experimental procedures  or other improvements.  See what your partners think of your ideas.

back to the chimp article questions ~~~ back to the top  ~~~ Report Form

---

Report Form.

• You may copy the forms electronically into your own diskette or hard-drive file;
      click here to get the WORD software version.

• Each summary is worth 25 points; do four summaries and submit them together for your group, either        
  • on paper (stapled). List the names of all the co-authors (your lab partners this afternoon).   
  • or (better) as four attachments to an email to jannr@queens.edu.   be sure to put your lab partners' e-mail addresses in the "Cc" field so that you'll all get the graded report returned.
    

• BOTTOM LINE:  Your group needs to complete four experiment summary forms.   due Friday, 29 Aug, by 10 am unless nobody in your group is in the 10:00 section.  Then it's due by 11 am.