Difference between revisions of "20.109(F21):Homework"

Due T/W Sep 14/15

• Review the Orientation and laboratory tour exercises to prepare for the Orientation quiz that you and your partner will complete together during at the start of the laboratory session.
• Complete the following online training courses offered through Environmental Health and Safety (EHS):

☐ Emergency Preparedness (access at this this link)
☐ General Chemical Hygiene (access at this link)
☐ General Biosafety (access at this link)
☐ If you have completed EHS training in a UROP or in another laboratory class, you do not need to repeat the training. Instead submit the certificates of completion or your training record which can be found at "My Training Needs" on Atlas. To access, go to atlas.mit.edu then click the Learning Center tab on the left side of the screen.

• Prepare for the first day of Module 1 by reading the M1 Project overview and the M1D1 Introduction.

Due R/F Sep 16/17

• The major writing assignment in Mod1 is the Data summary. As part of this assignment you will provide details concerning the relevant background information important for understanding your project. In addition, you will use this information to motivate your specific research question.

To get you started, answer the questions below:
☐ What is your research question?
☐ What important problem is addressed by your research question?
☐ What topics / concepts should be explained to ensure a reader understands why your research question is important?
☐ What experiments / techniques will you use to answer your research question?
☐ Hint: review the information provided on the M1 Project overview for help!

Due T/W Sep 21/22

• An important part of scientific research is documenting the details regarding how experiments were performed. To practice this skill, you will work with your laboratory partner to draft a methods section that details the procedures that you completed on M1D1 and M1D2.

Use the checklist below to assist you as you complete this assignment:
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Due R/F Sep 23/24

• In scientific communication, data are represented as both figures and in text. For this homework you will craft a data figure from the gamma-H2AX results you analyzed.

Use the checklist below to assist you as you complete this assignment:
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☐ Hint: you can find the information provided during the Comm Lab workshop on the Communication page for help!

• In addition to data figures, scientists use experiment overview schematics to illustrate the key steps of an experiment to better explain how the data were acquired. For this type of figure the important steps are represented using images and labels while the minor steps are omitted for clarity. To gain experience in this type of figure design you will work with your laboratory partner to craft an experiment overview schematic that shows the key steps in the gamma-H2AX assay.

Use the checklist below to assist you as you complete this assignment:
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Due T/W Sep 28/29

• When tasked with preparing your science for written communication it is often helpful to review articles that present similar types of experiments and results. Through reading the literature that is related to your research you can better understand how to effectively present the data. To assist you in preparing your Data summary assignment, we will discuss a paper published from the Engelward Laboratory.

☐ In preparation for this discussion, read the article and guidelines provided on the M1D5 wiki page.

• Using feedback to improve your writing is an important step to developing your scientific communication skills. For this homework, work with your laboratory partner to incorporate the feedback you received to revise your methods draft. In addition, include the protocols you completed on M1D3.

Use the checklist below to assist you as you complete this assignment:
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Due R/F Sep/Oct 30/1

• Remember that for the Data summary you are presenting your results in an outline format to practice clear and concise writing. In addition, the Data summary is organized such that it is apparent what figures correspond to what text. Specifically, each data slide contains one figure and the bullets that explain the figure. The in-class exercise on M1D5 detailed how to present your results in your Data summary. For this homework, complete the data slide for your gamma-H2AX results.

Use the checklist below to assist you as you complete this assignment:
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☐ Hint: you can find the information provided during the Comm Lab workshop on the Communication page for help!

Due T/W Oct 5/6

• The final section of your Data summary will discuss the Implications & Future works of your research. In this section the main results are summarized and used to answer the research question. Also, experiments are proposed that will expand upon your results in an effort to address new research questions that are raised by your data.

To get you started, answer the questions below:
☐ What is the main conclusion for your gamma-H2AX results?
☐ What is the main conclusion for your CometChip results?
☐ How do the results answer your research question?
☐ Did you observe any unexpected results or contradictory results?
☐ What follow-up experiments (include at least two!) would be helpful in further addressing your research question?

• The major verbal assignment in Mod1 is the Research talk. As part of this assignment you will provide a brief, yet detailed, presentation of your results. For this homework, draft an outline of what you will verbally present for your Research talk.

Use the checklist below to assist you as you complete this assignment:
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☐ Hint: review the information provided on the Research talk page for help!

Due R/F Oct 7/8

• Prepare for the first day of Module 2 by reading the M2 Project overview and the M2D1 Introduction.

Due R/F Oct 14/15

• The major verbal assignment in Mod2 is the Journal club presentation. As part of this assignment you will present a published, peer-reviewed research article to the class. For this homework, select and review an article for your presentation from the curated lists on the Journal club presentation assignment page. If you prefer, you can find your own paper and send it to the Instructors for approval.

Use the checklist below to assist you as you complete this assignment:
☐ Reserve your article on the Journal club presentation page according to the directions provided under the 'Article selection' header.
☐ Review the abstract and introduction for the selected article.
☐ Submit a brief summary of the selected article that highlights why you think the research is interesting.

Due T/W Oct 19/20

• For your Journal club presentation, you will only have 10 minutes to present a clear, cohesive story from the data in your selected research article. Given the number of figures in most research articles it is impossible to show all of the data from your paper in a short presentation. In this, it is important to identify which figures are the most important to the main conclusion(s) of the research article. For this homework, read through the paper you selected for the Journal Club presentation and choose the four figures that you think are most important in telling the story presented by the authors.

Something that guides in choosing figures from article for presentation

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Due R/F Oct 21/22

Draft presentation slide with corresponding script (need to make more effective / useful)

Due R/F Oct 28/29

Methods for D1-D4

Due T/W Nov 2/3

Data figure with corresponding Results / Discussion text

Due R/F Nov 4/5

Outline of introduction (expand upon question prompts used in M1 homework)

Due T/W Nov 9/10

Outline of discussion (expand upon question prompts used in M1 homework)

Due T/W Nov 16/17

Overview schematic

Due R/F Nov 18/19

Identify interesting problems and papers that provide context for current field of research related to problems

Due T/W Nov/Dec 30/1

Pick problem / idea with partner, brief writeup

Due R/F Dec 2/3

Shared partner document with developed idea / aims