Assignments

Unit 7 Overview 
The Human Practice of Science 
Scientists are, at their core, human beings. They make errors, they sometimes make bad decisions, and perhaps most importantly, they live in real communities and cultures. The work of science cannot, therefore, be thought of as indifferent and separated from the world in which it exists.
Real science is real life, and as everyone knows, real life can be complicated. This unit will explore some of these complications of science, from real-world mistakes made by scientists to complex choices and decisions prompted by scientific discoveries. As you will discover this week, science is a very human, imperfect pursuit - and that is often a very good thing.

Unit Outcomes 
•	Recognize the element of chance in scientific research 
•	Argue for appropriate socio-cultural boundaries to science 
•	Identify that human, non-scientific interests play a part in science 
Course Outcomes practiced in this unit 
SC300-1: Explain basic scientific principles and their limitations

What do you have to do in this unit?
•	Read pp. 255-259 of Chapter 12 and Chapter 24 
In course text, The Sciences: An Integrated Approach 
•	Review Key Terms 
See the Readings Page 
•	Watch the Video 
On the Reading Page
•	Respond to Unit 7 Discussion Questions 
On the Discussion Page 
35 Points 
•	Attend the Weekly Seminar 
Log in from the Students' Homepage 
•	Check out Extra! Extra! 
For additional Resources 

Reading 
Pp. 255-259 of Chapter 12 and Chapter 24 in The Sciences: An Integrated Approach 
Pp. 255-259 of Chapter 12 and Chapter 24 in The Sciences: An Integrated Approach 
This week’s readings will examine the dangerous, yet useful explosive energy – radiation. You will also delve a little deeper in genetics and explore some of today’s more controversial genetic issues. 

Seminar 
The goals of science might be to expand human knowledge and capacity to create change, but it is always important to keep in mind that science does not exist in a vacuum. On the contrary, science is part of social, cultural structures that have their own goals. The push and pull of society's complex interests sometimes make very simple-sounding discoveries into controversies. 
One such discovery is the process of cloning. Cloning, the act of creating an exact genetic copy of a creature, is something that happens naturally in some kinds of cells. It is also something that scientists have been trying to do on a much larger scale since the discovery of DNA. Do some background reading about cloning here and here. 
Think about the benefits and costs of cloning, as well as the tension and conflict that exist between the scientific drive to give humans new genetic tools and social, cultural and ethical concerns about creating copies of whole creatures. 
Come to seminar prepared to discuss: 
1.	What are some of the great benefits to being able to create genetic clones? 
2.	What are some of the great dangers? 
3.	If you were in charge of the nation’s cloning policy, what rules would you establish and why? 
4.	What creature is the most complex creature that should be allowed to be cloned, and why? 
5.	Should humans be cloned? Why or why not? 
6.	Complete one of the following options below: 
Option 1: Participate in a synchronous seminar. 

Cancer
A type of disease characterized by the uncontrolled growth of cells in the body.

Cloning
The process of engineering a new individual entirely from the genetic material in a cell from another individual.  A clone is genetically identical to the cell donor.

Gene therapy
A promising future technology that involves replacing a defective gene with a healthy one.

Genetic engineering
A technology in which foreign genes are inserted into an organism, or existing genes altered, to modify the function of living things.

Radioactivity
The spontaneous release of energy by certain atoms, such as uranium, as these atoms disintegrate.  The emission of one or more kinds of radiation from an isotope with unstable nuclei.

Gamma radiation
A kind of radioactivity involving the emission of energetic electromagnetic radiation from the nucleus of an atom, with no change to the number of protons or neutrons in the atom.

Stem cells
Undifferentiated cells that can differentiate into many different cell types when subjected to the right biochemical signals.