Biotechnology poster project
The manipulation of biological processes has been going on for thousands of years, from the fermenting of grains and fruits to create alcoholic beverages up through the discovery of penicillin in the 1920s. When the dot.com bubble burst in the late 1990s, the spotlight shifted to biotech as the next hot investment prospect. Many fund managers shifted their money into biotech stocks because they believed that the health care industry was recession-proof. Excitement over the mapping of the human genome bid up biotech stocks to record highs, as investors concluded that this scientific breakthrough heralded a new era in medicine. The boom peaked in 2000 with 68 initial public offerings, and record levels of venture capital.
Your final project for the first semester will be a poster and a 5 minute presentation about your poster during the first week of January, 6, 2016. An outline/plan for this project should be hand in on Dec, 8, 2015. The project is an opportunity to explore a topic in biotechnology that includes:
- What is Biotechnology?
- Choose one of these branches and in your poster answer the questions below.
- Branches and Application of Biotechnology
- Branches and Application of Biotechnology
- Major biotech companies in the US for the branch you chose
- What obstacles your Biotech branch expanding industry faces?
- Explain how clinical trials are conducted, how long it takes and how this affect the stock price?
- Explain advantages and disadvantages of your branch.
- Explain how discovery of new and alternative drugs or treatment will help patients and economy.
- Do you want to study or invest in Biotechnology industry and why?
- Remember to have fun with it!
Your poster (due in the first week of January) must:
- Be interesting.
- Be 36"X36" or larger *
- Include graphics (photos &/or diagrams) as well as text.
- Be readable from about 4 feet away
- Thoroughly relate the central concepts of your topic clearly and simply to someone who looks at it for 5 or 10 minutes. Include major scientific controversies, breakthroughs, or mysteries
- Be directly relevant to the course, focusing on form and function, organ systems, &/or comparative anatomy and physiology
- In addition include a title, your name, and a list of at least four bibliographic references.
- The poster and presentation count as a test grade of your final grade in the course.
You will be graded on the following:
- Academic rigor: Do you explain your subject thoroughly? Is your material superficial or in depth? Did you include any scientific controversies or recent scientific breakthroughs? Did you examine any available primary literature?
- Organization and presentation: Can someone examine your poster for 5 or 10 minutes and glean the key points? Is your poster neat and readable or clutters and confusing? Did you pare down the material to easily understood parts or did you try to cram all the information onto the small space? Is it fascinating and easy to look at or is it boring and overwhelming?
- Have you included too much irrelevant detail at the expense of the relevant information?
Some advice:
- Start early so you have time to refine your text and carefully assemble your poster.
- Have someone at the Writing Center read your text before you commit it to a large format printer or glue onto poster board; they may help you catch typos, trim extraneous material, help you redirect to address the assignment, etc..
- Do a preliminary literature search to see if there is any information out there available?