STEM
CELL RESEARCH
THE SKY
IS THE LIMIT OR HAVE WE GONE TOO FAR?
BY
ANGEL BOOKAL
Email: abookal@hotmail.com
Science Department
INTRODUCTION 
Your aunt’s health is deteriorating. The doctor’s say her only chance of survival
is for a cure which may be discovered the fastest through research done on stem
cells. The problem is that your state prohibits stem cell research.
TASK 
Your task is to provide your
state legislature with information that proves that stem cell research can be
beneficial without compromising morality and ethics. As a Science Public Policy Analyst you will:
1.
Complete the linked worksheets which will assist you in
gathering all of the necessary information.
2.
Create a visual presentation that briefly explains the problem
and evidence of it. Your visual
presentation will be accomplished via PowerPoint.
3.
Present your findings to your class in a 3-5 minute oral
presentation.
PROCESS 
1. You will use the
worksheets in each of the following links to complete these steps.
Discuss the
social problem that existed at the time your scientist was living.
b. Gather evidence of the problem.
2. Create a PowerPoint
presentation which contains the following:
a. 10 slides which
include the following:
- the problem with stem cell research
- the problem with not having stem cell research
- the evidence that stem cell research can be done without
compromising morality and ethics
b. 10 graphics
EVALUATION 
ORAL
PRESENTATION
|
ACTIVITY |
Exemplary |
Proficient |
Partially Proficient |
Incomplete |
Omitted |
POINTS |
|
Speech |
10 points The speaker
was enthusiastic, loud and clear. |
8 points The speaker
was clear and understandable. |
6 points The speaker
was somewhat clear but their volume fluctuated in a sporadic manner. |
4 points The speaker
was barely understandable. |
0 points The speaker
was not clear or understandable. |
|
|
Eye Contact |
10 points Eye contact
was made with the entire audience throughout the speech. |
8 points Eye contact
included one sided of the room more than the other. |
6 points Eye contact
was made but only with a few people. |
4 points There was
barely any eye contact. |
0 points There was no
eye contact. |
|
|
Familiarity with Material |
10 points The speaker
referred to note cards once or twice. |
8 points The speaker
referred to note cards a few times. |
6 points The speaker
heavily relied upon note cards. |
4 points The speaker
read from note cards. |
0 points The speaker
did not make use of note cards and seemed lost. |
|
VISUAL
PRESENTATION
|
ACTIVITY |
Exemplary |
Proficient |
Partially Proficient |
Incomplete |
Omitted |
POINTS |
|
# OF SLIDES |
10 points 13+ |
8 points 11-12 slides |
6 points 10 slides |
4 points 7-9 slides |
0 points 6 or less slides |
|
|
Content |
10 points The content is written clearly and concisely
with a logical progression of ideas and supporting information. The project includes motivating questions and
advanced organizers that provide the audience with sense of the project’s
main idea. Information is accurate, current and comes
mainly from * primary sources. |
8 points The content is written with a logical
progression of ideas and supporting information. Includes persuasive information from *primary sources. |
6 points The content is vague in conveying a point of
view and does not create a strong sense of purpose. Includes some persuasive information with few
facts. Some of the information may not seem to fit. *Primary source use is not |
4 points The content lacks a clear point of view and
logical sequence of information. Includes little persuasive information and only one or two facts about
the topic. |
0 points Information is incomplete, out of date and/or
incorrect. Sequencing of ideas is unclear. |
|
|
# of Graphics |
10 points 10+ graphics |
8 points 8-9 graphics |
6 points 6-7 graphics |
4 points 4-5 graphics |
0 points 3 or less graphics |
|
|
Word or Clip
Art images |
10 points 5+ images |
8 points 4 images |
6 points 3 images |
4 points 2 images |
0 points 0-1 image(s) |
|
|
Effects &
Sound |
10 points Meet requirements (1 effect & 1 sound per page) & enhance
presentation |
8 points Meet requirements |
6 points Meet requirements but are somewhat distracting |
4 points Elements missing on 1/3 of slides. |
0 points Few required elements and/or very distracting |
|
|
Writing Mechanics |
10 points The text is written with no errors in grammar,
capitalization, punctuation, and spelling. |
8 points The text is clearly written with little
or no editing required for grammar, punctuation and spelling. |
6 points Spelling, punctuation, and grammar errors
distract or impair readability. (3 or more errors) |
4 point Errors in spelling, capitalization,
punctuation, usage and grammar repeatedly distract the reader and major
editing and revision is required. (more than 5 errors |
0 points Obviously, there was no editing or revision attempted. |
|
|
TOTAL |
|
|
|
|
|
/100 |
RESOURCES
Search Engines
WEBSITES
/ LINKS TO ARTICLES
Institute for Regenerative
Medicine
President’s
Council on Bioethics
University
of Wisconsin - Madison
CONCLUSION 
As one becomes aware of the relationship between science and
politics, one can see that as scientists we have moral and ethical values that
we must uphold. Politicians play a role
in deciding which of our practices are moral and ethical and then, they make a
decision as to whether or not these practices should be performed. Everyone has their own agenda but, we must do
our best to advance science while maintaining values. As politicians debate whether or not to
terminate stem cell research, we are left with uncertainty in this field. Stem cell research has the potential to help
find cures but, we will never know if we terminate this type of research.
STANDARDS
MATHEMATICS, SCIENCE, AND TECHNOLOGY
Standard 1:
Analysis, Inquiry, and Design
Students will use
mathematical analysis, scientific inquiry, and
engineering design, as appropriate, to pose
questions, seek
answers, and develop solutions.
Standard 2:
Information Systems
Students will access, generate, process, and transfer information
using appropriate technologies.
Standard 4:
Science
Students will understand and apply scientific concepts, principles,
and theories pertaining to the physical setting
and living
environment and recognize the historical
development of ideas in
science.
Standard 5:
Technology
Students will apply technological knowledge and skills to design,
construct, use, and evaluate products and
systems to satisfy
human and environmental needs.
Standard 7:
Interdisciplinary Problem Solving
Students will apply the
knowledge and thinking skills of
mathematics, science, and technology to address
real-life
problems and make informed decisions.
SOCIAL STUDIES
Standard 4:
Economics
Students will use a variety of intellectual skills to demonstrate
their understanding of how the
develop economic systems and associated
institutions to allocate
scarce resources, how major decision-making
units function in
the
economy solves the scarcity problem through
market and
nonmarket mechanisms.
Standard 5: Civics, Citizenship,
and Government
Students will use a variety of intellectual skills to demonstrate
their understanding of the necessity for
establishing governments;
the governmental system of the
the United States Constitution; the basic civic
values of American
constitutional democracy; and the roles,
rights, and
responsibilities of citizenship, including
avenues of participation.
SCIENCE
S5d Proposes,
recognizes, analyzes, considers, and critiques alternative explanations.
S5e Identifies
problems; proposes and implements solutions; and evaluates the accuracy,
design, and outcomes of investigations.
S5f Works
individually and in teams to collect and share information and ideas.
S6a
Uses technology and tools to observe and measure objects, organisms, and phenomena;
directly, indirectly, and remotely; with appropriate consideration of accuracy
and precision.
S6d
Acquires information from multiple sources, such as print, the Internet,
computer data bases, and experimentation.