A hypothesis-driven experiment

Describe a hypothesis-driven experiment

Instructions

Write a short (1,000 word maximum) description of a molecular biology experiment (or series of experiments) that advanced our understanding of molecular biology by testing a specific hypoth- esis. The experiment you write about must test a hypothesis, it cannot be purely descriptive. The experiment you select must meet the following criteria:

1. It must test a hypothesis, it must not be simply a descriptive study or development of a technique. If you are not sure about the meaning of the term “hypothesis”, a simple explana- tion can be found at https://www.sciencebuddies.org/science-fair-projects/ science-fair/writing-a-hypothesis.
2. It must be in the field of molecular biology. Experiments in classical genetics, physiology, biochemistry, etc. are not acceptable. If you are not certain if your chosen experiment counts as molecular biology, contact Dr Miller.
3. Do not use following experiments – DNA; Griffith; Avery; Streptococcus pneumonia; genetic material; DNA replication; Meselson; Stahl; semi-conservative; experimental data; experimental design,, the experiment done by Reiji Okazaki discovering okazaki fragments, “PaJaMo” experiment,
4. Do not use following experiment metioned in following website: https://www.jbc.org/content/early/2017/01/04/jbc.M116.770982.short https://www.jbc.org/content/early/2017/01/04/jbc.M116.770982.short

Your work should include the following sections:

1. Divide your work into sections with the following headings:

• Background and hypothesis
• Approach
• Results and interpretation

Write the heading at the top of each section. Write your answer, as instructed above for each section in the relevant section. Do not write parts of your answer that belong in one section in another section.

Background and hypothesis

What was the motivation for the experiment? What was the question the experimenters set out to answer, and why. What was the hypothesis?

Approach

What were the experimental methods that were used? Why were these methods appropriate (or not) to the question at hand and the hypothesis to be tested?

Results and interpretation

What were the results of the experiments? How did the results support or refute the hypothesis?
Grading

Your work will be graded out of a total of 20 points. Each of the required sections will be graded on 5-point scale according to the following rubric.

Points Description

5 Thorough answer, provides clear summaries of relevant details, logic of experiments and conclusions
4
3 Partial answer, lacking some important details, poor summarization or explanation of logic
2
1 Basic answer, very few details, lack of summarization, no explanation of logic
0 Section missing

There are an additional 5 points for the overall organization and clarity of your answer, graded according to the following rubric:

Points Description

5 Well-organized and clearly-written. Each section presented in a logical order with all required information and no irrelevant material.
4
3 Somewhat organized, can be understood with some effort. Logic not always entirely clear and/or some irrelevant material.
2
1 Poor organization, can only be understood with difficulty and/or substantial irrelevant material
0 No organization, cannot be understood.