Keiser University Microbiology Staphylococcus Aureus and Bacteria Question

Microbes in The News

As we learned in Week 1, it is hard to think of examples in life in which microbes do not play an important but silent or hidden role. Many of these roles are positive. However, most students enter a microbiology class only hearing about how there is “this epidemic”, or “this infection going around”, or “stay out of the water” or “don’t eat this food”. We hear about this based on a problem in our lives, the lives of someone we love, where we work, or on the news when reading a paper, watching TV or browsing the internet. But is this information correct or complete? It is this aspect of learning about microbiology that we want to illustrate this week.

This week, you will discuss a MICROBE IN THE NEWS!
Feel free to download the Week Two Discussion assignment instructions and Grading Rubric.

1. For your main discussion post (first post),
   1. You must choose from among the microorganisms listed below. This microbe has been in the news in the past 12 months.
   2. It is required of all students to reserve their discussion topic using the following procedure:
      1. Click Week 2 Discussion, above, to enter the Discussion.
      2. Click Create Thread and type the number and scientific name of the organism you will discuss in the subject line to reserve your topic on a first come/first serve basis according to the classroom date/time stamp. Click Submit. Repeat main posts on the same organism are not permitted.
   3. To post your main discussion you will Reply to your topic intent post.

Please choose one of the following microbes for your main discussion:

1. Batrachochytrium salamandivorus
2. Bordetella pertussis
3. Borrelia burgdorferi (and B. mayoni)
4. Candidatus liberibacter asiaticus
5. Cryptosporidium parvum
6. Enterococcus faecium, E. faecalis, E. gallinarium, Vancomycin Resistant (VRE)
7. Influenza Virus, Strain H1N1 (Swine Flu)
8. Influenza Virus, Strains H7N9 and H5N1 (Bird Flu)
9. Karenia brevis
10. Klebsiella pneumoniae, Carbapenem Resistant (CRE, KPC)
11. Legionella pneumophila
12. Leptospira interrogans
13. Listeria monocytogenes
14. Microcystis aeruginosa
15. Mycobacterium chimaera
16. Norovirus
17. Poliovirus
18. Respiratory Syncytial Virus
19. Rubeola Virus (Measles)
20. Rubulavirus (Mumps)
21. Salmonella enteritidis
22. Staphylococcus aureus, Methicillin Resistant (MRSA)
23. Vibrio vulnificus
24. West Nile Virus
25. Xylella fastidiosa
26. Yersinia pestis

D. You must find a news article on your chosen microbe published in the last 12 months in a main stream, media-outlet based, mass-distributed news source where the general public (even Grandma or Aunt Sally) gets their daily news. This news article will be your main reference. You must read for understanding, then tell us about the news report in your discussion. You must write a review of the news article contents, discuss what type of microorganism it is, and if the organism is in nature or is used in industry or research or causes disease. If it causes disease you must discuss transmission, increasing incidence, factors contributing to the spread of the organism, lab culturing, etc

E. You may use government-based or other scholarly references only as secondary information, to explain details missing from your news article above, such as, what kind of organism it is, the gram reaction, how the organism affects us, or follow -up information not known at the time of the news release but has been provided since that time .

F. Your discussion should be well-written, in your own words, paraphrasing from only credible academic sources. You may not directly quote from your sources; minimum elaboration on the topic of a minimum of 300 words and maximum of 400 words.

G. You must also cite your credible academic reference sources with parenthetical in text citations (in parentheses), and provide full end ref information in APA 7th Edition format.

H. Due by 11:59PM ET Friday, on any day of the week other than the days you post your two comments, to meet the minimum three day posting requirement.

II. For your second post:

You will respond to another classmate with a substantive comment in a minimum 100, maximum 150 words, moving the science discussion forward in an area of interest after reading your classmate’s main discussion. You may report another news article on the microbe if you wish, though it is not required.

1. Again, you should provide student original writing, paraphrasing from credible sources, cite your source for this post in text in parentheses, and provide full end reference information in APA 7th Edition format.
2. Due by 11:59PM ET Saturday, on any day of the week other than the day you posted your main discussion and second comment, to meet the minimum three day posting requirement.

III. For your third post:

You will respond to another classmate with a substantive comment in a minimum 100, maximum 150 words, moving the science discussion forward in an area of interest after reading your classmate’s main discussion. You may report another news article on the microbe if you wish, though it is not required.

1. 1. Again, you should provide student original writing, paraphrasing from credible sources, cite your source for this post in text in parentheses, and provide full end reference information in APA 7th Edition format.
   2. Due by 11:59PM ET Sunday, on any day of the week other than the day you posted your main discussion and second comment, to meet the minimum three day posting requirement.

HELPFUL TIPS!

• Please refer to the Getting Started area of the classroom for information on Credible References and APA 7th Edition format under course resources.
• You may never use Wikipedia or any other Open Source to support your college level work! All assignments using these will earn zero score.
• You must paraphrase from all sources as direct quotation is not acceptable in science writing.
• It is highly suggested that you use the Safe Assign tool located in the Keiser Online Writing Laboratory (OWL) to check your writing for effective paraphrasing before submitting to the public discussion. Please check with your instructor for their specific requirements and course expectations!
• Please check the Getting Started area of the classroom for a copy of the Discussion Grading Rubric and your instructor’s Course Expectations.

Click on Week 2 Discussion, above, to enter the Discussion.