How many professional sexuality peeps do you know?

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How many professional sexuality peeps do you know? Having been in the field for over 24 years, I can attest to the fact that we are a small and often misunderstood group of hard working folks. When people ask me “so what do you do for a living?”, I still find it amusing to watch people contemplate my candid response, “I teach sex”. Oh the assumptions that are made! The fear, the enthusiasm … the barrage of questions! This assignment is an opportunity for you to research the folks who have worked and/or who are working in the fields of Sexuality Education or Clinical Services (counselor, therapist, social worker) or Research or Medicine or Rights Activists. And to develop a richer understanding of what ‘the work’ truly is. Submit your paper in the following order / format. I. Author a biography:  use the Professional Sex Peeps List or identify another sex/ual/ity professional (per my approval)  2 pages (minimum), double spaced with no less than 12 pt font  as in all well-written research papers: identify the source in the text when the idea is new to you AND when you use any phrasing, statistics or quotes directly lifted from the source material ….in APA format. II. Complete Mapping the Research Process: The Road to Sexy Scholarship document (posted on canvas) and copy and paste into your paper III. Works Cited page should be in APA format  at least 3 credible sources from various media (1 each with a leftover)–journals, books, websites, interview IV. Author responses to the following in this format (a., b., c., etc): a. Why did you choose this particular professional sexuality peep? b. What, to you, is most interesting about their history? Work? Personal life choices? c. What surprised you? Made you stop and think? d. What do you feel was/is their most significant or relevant contribution? e. Could you trade places with them? Why or why not? f. How do you think their personal values support/conflict with their work? g. Write a question of your choosing with your response. This question would be a result of your research and can be factual or supposition or musing. spelling, grammar and format count so utilize a proofreader!!

 Genetic engineering and agriculture

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Choose one of the following topics and write a 400-500 word essay. You must cite at least 2 primary sources. Follow the proper citation format
(Links to an external site.)
Links to an external site.
for articles and or websites
(Links to an external site.)
Links to an external site.
. You must use direct (primary) sources of information (i.e., not Wikipedia or news articles). The essay must have the following sections: accurate title, 3-sentence abstract, introductory paragraph, 2-3 body paragraphs, conclusion, references. The entire essay should be less than 525 words; that includes everything. You will get a point deducted for going over the word limit, and 1 point each for missing any of the required sections listed above.
For all topics, you must write at least 1 paragraph that is 100% your own personal insight.
1. Genetic engineering and medicine
Choose one disease that has been cured by genetic engineering.
Briefly describe the disease; evaluate the cure.
2. Therapeutic cloning
Describe a disease that is caused by a malfunctioning gene and can be cured by gene therapy.
3. Genetic engineering and agriculture
Find an engineered agricultural crop or livestock.
Discuss the pro’s and con’s and any ethical concerns.
4. Reproductive cloning and conservation of endangered species
Find examples and discuss concerns.
5. Stem cell therapy
Find a disease that has been cured by this therapy.
What are some of the issues around stem cell therapy?
Please remember to use your own words and check for spelling and grammatical errors. The Turnitin results will always show some level of matching, but there should never be complete sentences and sections that are not from your own writing. Practice rephrasing and synthesizing ideas rather than transferring directly someone else’s words.

Characteristics of Living Things

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Characteristics of Living Things
What does it take to be a living organism?
Living things share eight characteristics (listed in Chapter 1 of your textbook on page 19). A living thing grows, undergoes metabolism, responds to its environment, reproduces, passes DNA to the next generation, maintains homeostasis, changes over time, and is made up of cells. A nonliving thing may seem to do one or more of these things, but to be classified as living, all eight characteristics must be present. Sometimes, you may see something that seems alive but is not. Water, for example, moves, responds to temperature, dissolves substances, erodes rocks, and so on, but it does not have DNA and is not made up of cells. Other times, you may see a thing and think it cannot be alive, yet it is. Coral looks like a rock, but a coral reef is actually made up of millions of tiny animals.
Focus your discussion on only 1 of the following topics:

  • Choose a living organism, and explain how it illustrates each of the characteristics of life.
  • Research and describe an organism or cell in which all 8 characteristics are not obvious. For example, coral looks like it does not move, red blood cells do not reproduce and have no DNA, frogs freeze in the winter and it therefore seems as if they do not maintain homeostasis, and so on. Describe the missing feature, and explain how this organism still meets the criteria of a living thing.
  • Compare a living thing with a nonliving thing of your choice that has some of the characteristics that define life. For example, a car exhibits metabolism (burning gas and producing heat), a characteristic of life, but is not alive because it cannot reproduce.
  • Compare and contrast the following pairs based on the 8 characteristics that define life:
    • A rock and a snail
    • A lamp and a tree
  • Discuss some of the characteristics that fire shares with living things (it can grow, it metabolizes, and so on).

Utilize at least 1 credible source to support the arguments presented in your post.

Steps of the Scientific Method

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Or any controlled scientific study, a scientist starts with an observation, does some research to develop a hypothesis, and then designs an experiment that compares some baseline group with a test group. Data are then collected to confirm or refute the hypothesis.
As you review the following study, consider whether the researchers correctly followed the scientific method.
In the late 1990s, gastroenterologist Andrew Wakefield, along with a research team, set out to determine whether bowel disease caused by vaccines led to autism.
He compiled a group of 12 children who had loss of acquired skills, developmental delays in language, diarrhea, and abdominal pain—essentially, those with both bowel disease and autism. He questioned each parent about the behavior and personality of the child before the child was vaccinated with the Measles, Mumps, and Rubella (MMR) vaccine. He then ran tests on the children to determine the health of the gastrointestinal tract, brain, and nervous system.
His reported data (tabulated below) included that children experienced either gastrointestinal or autism-like symptoms, sometimes within a short period after being vaccinated. From these data, the researchers concluded that there was no link between autism and the MMR vaccine. Wakefield though, contradicted this conclusion and stated that the vaccine caused changes in the gastrointestinal tract of the children, which then led to autism (Wakefield, et al., 1998). Currently, he still contends that the MMR vaccine contributes to autism (Ziv, 2015).
Many researchers tried to duplicate this study and could not replicate Wakefield’s results. In fact, they found no link between the vaccines, bowel disease, and autism. In the United Kingdom, the MMR vaccine was not introduced until 1988. If Wakefield’s conclusions were correct, one would then expect a jump in autism cases after 1988, but this was not observed, even when hundreds of children were studied (Taylor et al., 1999). In these additional studies, children who had not been vaccinated were included as a control group, and no difference in the rates of autism was observed.
In 2011, Brian Deer reviewed Wakefield’s study and all available records from the National Health Service (NHS) in the United Kingdom for these 12 children. He found that at most, two children showed symptoms days after vaccinations. At least five children showed developmental delays before being vaccinated. Six out of the 12 children may have had autism symptoms. None of the 12 children tested had all three—regressive autism, colitis, and symptoms days after vaccination.
SymptomWakefield
Wakefield NHS Records
(Deer)
Symptoms days after vaccination82?Non-specific colitis123Regressive autism96?Intestinal/autism/symptoms after vaccine120
(Wakefield, et al., 1998; Deer, 2011)
Wakefield’s statements led to a worldwide panic about the safety of vaccines, but after Deer’s report, Wakefield’s study was retracted and his medical license was revoked for falsifying data.
Recommended: Click on the following links to review materials to enhance your knowledge of biological molecules and the scientific method and to support your analysis of Wakefield’s experiment:

  • Steps of the Scientific Method: A simplified explanation of how the scientific method works, and the steps taken to investigate phenomena with diagrams
  • Do Vaccines Cause Autism?: A review of research demonstrating that vaccines and their components are not the cause of autism
  • Fifteen years after a vaccine scare, a measles epidemic: An analysis of vaccination trends and an increase in measles cases seen in the UK

Answer the following questions:

  1. What was wrong with Wakefield’s study? Discuss at least 2 variables or approaches that should have been controlled or assessed.
    • Consider the source of some of his data (parental memory, for example), the small sample size, and whether he considered other variables (genetics, diet, and so on) that could have resulted in symptoms in these children.
  2. Discuss the importance of a control group when using the scientific method.
  3. Did Wakefield deserve to be barred from medical practice?
  4. What were the consequences of his overblown conclusions?

Follow these guidelines for your paper:

  • Utilize at least 1 credible source to support the arguments presented in the paper. Make sure you cite appropriately within your paper, and list the reference(s) in APA format on your Reference page.
  • Your paper should be 1–2 pages in length, not counting the Title page and Reference page. In accordance with APA formatting requirements, it should be double-spaced and include a running head and page numbers

References
The College of Physicians of Philadelphia. (2017, December 6). Do vaccines cause autism? Retrieved from https://www.historyofvaccines.org/content/articles/do-vaccines-cause-autism
Deer, B. (2011). How the case against the MMR vaccine was fixed. BMJ, 342. Retrieved from http://www.bmj.com/content/342/bmj.c5347
Science Buddies. (2018). Steps of the scientific method: What is the scientific method? Retrieved from https://www.sciencebuddies.org/science-fair-projects/science-fair/steps-of-the-scientific-method#keyinfo
Taylor, B., Miller, E., Farrington, C. P., Petropoulos, M. C., Favot-Mayaud, I., Li, J., & Waight, P. A. (1999). Autism and measles, mumps, and rubella vaccine: No epidemiological evidence for a causal association. The Lancet, 353(9169), 2026-2029. Retrieved from http://www.thelancet.com/journals/lancet/article/PIIS0140-6736(99)01239-8/fulltext
Wakefield, A. J., Murch, S. H., Anthony, A., Linnell, J., Casson, D. M., Malik, M., et al. (1998). RETRACTED: Ileal-lymphoid-nodular hyperplasia, non-specific colitis, and pervasive developmental disorder in children. The Lancet, 351. Retrieved from http://www.thelancet.com/pdfs/journals/lancet/PIIS0140-6736(97)11096-0.pdf
Ziv, S. (2015, February 10). Andrew Wakefield, father of the anti-vaccine movement, responds to the current measles outbreak for the first time. Newsweek. Retrieved from http://www.newsweek.com/2015/02/20/andrew-wakefield-father-anti-vaccine-movement-sticks-his-story-305836.html