Category Archives: Data-based Questions (DBQs)
“Changing Crops for a Changing Climate” Mark Lynas & a Nature Special on GMOs
Here is Mark Lynas at Cornell University, with his speech “Time to call out the anti-GMO conspiracy theory.” It runs almost half an hour, though he does have a transcript of the speech on his blog. The connections to IB Biology Genetics & Genetic Engineering here are obvious.
What should be noted for background is Lynas’ own story. In the 1990’s he was a prominent anti-GMO activist, but has recently apologised and is now on a mission to right the wrongs he feels he has done. It has not been easy, and has generated lots of controversy.
“Allowing anti-GMO activists to dictate policymaking on biotechnology is like putting homeopaths in charge of the health service, or asking anti-vaccine campaigners to take the lead in eradicating polio.”
Powerful and provocative stuff – and a great stimulus for discussion and debate. Lynas refers to a lot of studies, claims and organisations in this speech. Students could follow this up with finding out more about each of them.
We might never be able to get students to the absolute truth on GMOs – we may find it difficult ourselves – but it is useful to give some insight into just how delicate the balancing act can be and how cloudy the discussions of ethics in science can get. The issues around GMOs are complex: scientific, political, ethical, economical, environmental. They are far more complex than a couple of short assessment statements in a Biology syllabus can really do justice.
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Rise of the Superweeds. Click-through to the Nature Special.
Also recently, a very useful Nature special edition on GM Crops: the Promise & Reality. Look in for some in-depth articles and case-studies, including the true, the false and the still unknown on GM crops.
Nature articles often have presentations of data that can be used for data-based question practice (such as the one to the right – click through to see). Follow the patterns of the DBQ’s and make up your own questions based on different articles:
- Identify…
- Describe the trend in…
- Calculate the difference in…
- Compare…
- Suggest reasons for…
- Evaluate…
Are you replacing sleep with food? DBQ practice.
I came across this through Ed Yong’s weekly linklist, but @SciCurious often writes really interesting posts (Neurotic Physiology) on neurobiology. This one is particularly relevant to #IBBio students for a few reasons. First, you guys are up way too late, way too often. Second, it connects directly to our course – read this blog post (based on this paper), especially students working on option A: Nutrition, or anyone reviewing hormonal control.
Click for the graphs & article at the Neurotic Physiology blog.
Finally it is ripe for data-based question practice.
These graphs click-through to the originals posted at SciCurious’s blog. Here are some DBQ-style questions you might ask:
- Calculate the difference in post-dinner snack energy intake between having a ‘normal’ 9h sleep and the sleep-deprived 5h condition.
- Compare the trend in energy expenditure throughout the day between 9h sleep and 5h sleep.
- Describe the difference between 9h sleep and 5h in terms of eating patterns.
- Evaluate the hypothesis that “when we sleep less, we eat more” based on the data provided and information in the article.
- Explain the role of the appetite control centre of the brain on appetite, and suggest how it is affected by the conditions of the experiment.
Appetite Control: from the Wellcome Trust (‘The Anatomy of Appetite’ explainer page here).
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So there you go – you learned something.
Get to bed. And leave the snacks in the fridge.
i-Biology 