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20.109(S22): Laboratory Fundamentals of Biological Engineering

Sp17 20.109 M1D7 chemical structure features.png

Spring 2022 schedule        FYI        Assignments        Homework        Class data        Communication        Accessibility

       M1: Drug discovery        M2: Metabolic engineering        M3: Project design       


Overview

The major writing assignment for Module 1 will consist of a thorough summary of your data in figures and supporting text – including context for understanding the work and insight into the broader implications.

The figure format is similar to that of a scientific journal article, but the traditional Results and Discussion sections found in journal articles are to be condensed into succinct bullet point form accompanying each figure. The purpose of this assignment is to prepare you to write a full journal article at the end of Module 2 by encouraging you to practice writing concisely using bullet points.

The target audience for this report is a scientifically literate reader who is unfamiliar with your specific field. Thus, you can assume rapid comprehension – but not a priori knowledge – of technical information, and consequently should strive to present your work in a logical, step-by-step fashion.

Logistics

You will complete this assignment with your laboratory partner.

Please review the 20.109 statement on collaboration and integrity as you proceed.

As you prepare your assignment be sure to review the resources provided on the Communication tab.

Please submit your completed Data summary draft and revision on Stellar, with filename TeamColor_LabSection_DS.pptx (for example, Rainbow_TR_DS.pptx. The file should be submitted as a powerpoint!

Data summary draft is due by Saturday, March 12th at 10 pm

Prof. Koehler and Dr. Noreen Lyell will comment on your submission and assign it a grade. The BE Communication Instructor, Dr. Prerna Bhargava, will provide feedback concerning the Title and Abstract and also assign the grade for this portion of the assignment. You will receive all comments on Wednesday, March 16th.

You will then have the opportunity to revise your report for up to a one and one-third letter grade improvement. In other words, a C can be revised up to a B+, a C+ to an A-, a B- to an A, etc.

Data summary revision is due by Sunday, March 20th at 10 pm

For your final report, all changes need to be in a different colored font so the improvements you made are clear. You should also include a cover letter with your final draft that explains how you addressed the concerns raised (e.g. "paragraph x was completely rewritten to better explain….” or “Results for the agarose gel analysis were clarified by ….").

Formatting and length guidelines

Create your report as a series of PowerPoint slides. This will allow you to create figures that are representative of those found in the literature (i.e. sized appropriately with sub-panels if necessary). See example of appropriate format here.

Format details

  • Layout: Portrait, not landscape.
  • Font: Arial 14pt for text; Arial 12pt for figure captions.
  • Text should be written as bullet points, not full sentences and paragraphs.


Content details

  • First page: Title and Author information (section/color/names)
  • Second page: Abstract
  • Body: 8-12 pages (not including Title and Abstract pages). Recommended section lengths (including both text and figures):
    • Background and Motivation: 2 slides
      • Contents of Background and Motivation: The majority of this section will be bulleted text. Include schematic figures when appropriate.
    • Results and Interpretation: 4-6 slides
      • Contents of a Results and Interpretation slide: Top half: figure(s) with caption(s). Bottom half: bullet points that present and interpret the data. (Remember that captions should not contain interpretation.)
      • Figure presentation: In published research figures are rarely a full page in size; rather each plot is usually only 3 inches x 3 inches.
      • Present you Results and Interpretation such that the figure, caption, and interpretation bullet points all fit on a single slide. Remember that when you shrink a figure, you must make sure it remains legible.
    • Implications and Future Work: 1-2 slides
      • Contents of Implications and Future Work: This section will be bulleted text.

Content considerations

Title and Abstract

Please review the Title and Abstract workshop slides presented in the BE Communication Lab workshop.

Background and Motivation:

The framework you provide for why your research is important depends on what you think is most interesting about your results. The topics below are examples of how you can focus the scope of your Data summary. In each example, the topic is the problem that tells the reader why your research matters.

  • Topic: Why is studying TDP43 important in human health?
  • Topic: Why are small molecule microarray screens an important tool in drug discovery?

Results and Interpretation:

Keep in mind that you described the detailed methods in a separate homework assignment and it does not need to be included in this report. Therefore, figure captions and/or supporting text should include only the most relevant aspects of the methods, such as the names of the diagnostic enzymes, experimental techniques, or assays.

Purification of TDP43

  • Schematic: Experimental approach.
    • Do not include minor technical details that are not necessary to understand the goal of the experiment.
  • Topic: Evaluation of purity and concentration.
  • Figure: Image of polyacrylamide gel results.
  • Figure: Graph of BCA assay results.

Measuring aggregation of purified TDP43

  • Schematic: Experimental approach.
    • Do not include minor technical details that are not necessary to understand the goal of the experiment.
  • Topic: Aggregation +/- small molecule.
  • Figure: Images of TDP43 aggregation assay +/- small molecule.
  • Figure: Graph or table quantifying aggregation of TDP43 +/- small molecule.

Visualizing TDP43-localation in CAD cells

  • Schematic: Experimental approach.
    • Do not include minor technical details that are not necessary to understand the goal of the experiment.
  • Topic: Location of TDP43 +/- small molecule.
  • Figure: Images from TDP43-localization experiment +/- small molecule.
  • Figure: Graph or table comparing TDP43 localization +/- small molecule.

Implications and Future Work:

It is important that all of the results from your research are tied together such that the research question is answered. The topics below address specific points that should be addressed such that the reader understands the important results and implications of your research.

  • Topic: What are the main conclusions from key experiments?
  • Topic: How do the main conclusions answer the research question?
  • Topic: Did your results match your expectations?
    • If no, provide a putative explanation. If yes, how can you further test if your hypothesis is correct?
  • Topic: Based on the results, whether they matched your expectations or not, what experiments might you recommend next?
    • Follow-up experiments could distinguish between competing explanations of a given outcome or broaden the sample set for a question you already asked, to give just two examples.
  • Topic: What are the limitations of your experimental approach?
  • Topic: How might your experimental approach be improved?

References

References are generally used in the Introduction and Discussion sections to support any claims that are not common knowledge. For this class, you should list the references alphabetically by the first author's last name. Include all the authors, the title, the name of the journal in which it was published, the year of publication, the volume number, and page numbers. Please use the example below as a guide:

Pavletich NP, Pabo CO. Zinc finger-DNA recognition: crystal structure of a Zif268-DNA complex at 2.1 Å. Science 1991; 252:809-817.

In the body of your report, this article would be cited as follows:

"The crystal structure of the Zif268-DNA complex has been solved (Pavletich 1991)."

If two or more articles can be cited for this finding, then they are listed alphabetically, separated by a comma.