Introduction:
We typically think of research as being limited to scientists in laboratories and universities. Today researchers are using new technology to recruit non-specialists – that’s us – to contribute to research. Known as Citizen Science, this approach to science is becoming widely utilized in many fields as professional scientists collaborate with the community to solve complicated problems. Some popular examples of Citizen Science projects include the SETI Project (SETI@Home (Links to an external site.)). Here millions of participants have allowed scientists and astronomers to share the processing power of their home computers to perform complicated calculations in the search for extraterrestrial life. Citizen scientists contribute their observations of the night sky to the Galaxy Zoo (Links to an external site.) project, and they monitor the ecology in The Great Sunflower Project (Links to an external site.). In addition, websites like Experiment.com (Links to an external site.) allow anyone with an idea or research interest to appeal to the public for funding.
In the field of biochemistry, gamers can help scientists design complex proteins by playing FoldIt (Links to an external site.). Recently, players on FoldIt took ten days to map out the structure of an HIV protein, a project that scientists have been working on for over a decade.
In Campbell Chapter 3 we learned that proteins have a complex three-dimensional shape because of how they fold, and that the proper shape of the protein molecule is very important for proper function. Read about how citizen scientists helped elucidate the complex 3-D structure of proteins making up the HIV virus through the FoldIT project at: http://fold.it/portal/info/about (Links to an external site.)
Please respond to the following prompt using the format below. Your post should be 500 words. The approximate time required to complete this assignment is two hours.
Prompt: “Citizen Science has important implications in the way scientific inquiry can be conducted.”
1. Thesis:
Here you propose your thoughts and ideas about the prompt and provide support with examples and assumptions from sources.
Provide and describe an example of a citizen science project that demonstrates your point. Provide a link to that project’s website. Per the rubric you’ll receive more points for describing a project that has not been mentioned in the introduction to this post.
2. Antithesis:
Here you acknowledge the other side of the issue and explain the reasonings of the other side. Provide support with examples and assumptions from sources.
3. Synthesis:
Here you try to bring the two sides together by proposing solutions or by discussing future implications.
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