​Level 4 Investigations - Optional
(Due on Test Days - No Late Submissions)

Rubric

​Example 1
Example 2​

School AI Link: Level 4 Investigations

​1st Quarter: Ecology - Ideas and Content Links

• Endangered Species
• Pollution Effects on Specific Ecosystems
• Climate Change and Ecosystem Research
• Utah's Ecosystem
• Great Salt Lake
• Colorado River
• Antelope Island
• ​Strategies of Specific Organisms to Maintain Energy Balance
• Maintaining Energy Balance in Humans
• Energy Balance in the Animal Kingdom
• Calculating Energy Transfer in Animals
• Human Involvement in Food Webs
• Grasslands - Contribution to Food Webs and Ecosystem Sustainability
• How Cyanide Disrupts the Electron Transport Chain
• Detailed Analysis and Description of the Three Parts of Cellular Respiration
• Detailed Analysis and Description of the Process of Photosynthesis
• What is ATP and How is it Used?
• Mitochondrial Disorders - Choose a Specific Disorder to Research
• Fermentation Research
• How Cells Retrieve Glucose from Glycogen
• U. researcher leads study into what microscopic fossilized shells say about climate change
• Wildlife officials on Alaska island urge all residents to help find one possible rat
• Researchers make stunning discovery after examining farmland treated only with organic fertilizers for decades: '[Will] help us to move forward'
• Global coral bleaching crisis spreads after hottest year, scientists say
• Florida homeowner finds 98 iguana eggs in backyard: 'It’s the most we’ve ever removed from one site'
• One Utah man's quest to track the bugs fighting invasive trees on the Colorado River
• Switched on for the first time: The largest wind turbine ever seen and it causes an unexpected effect
• Tree stumps that should be dead can be kept alive by nearby trees
• Great Salt Lake's dry lakebed 'big' producer of greenhouse gas emissions, study finds
• Surprise: Bees Need Meat
• Brigham City battles algae on Mantua Reservoir, hopes to avoid another trout kill
• Scientists issue warning after observing troubling behavior shift in coastal bird species: 'Adverse effect[s] ... on its productivity'
• Methane-Producing Microbes Unlike Any Seen Before Found In Yellowstone’s Hot Springs
• Deep-ocean floor produces its own oxygen
• The US government gives nuclear energy a big boost
• Rising seas wiped out an entire US species for the first time. Scientists say it’s a sign of things to come
• A House Cat Was Brought To A Remote Island In 1894—A Year Later A Species Was Extinct
• “Planting parties” at Utah Lake working to rid the lake of invasive phragmites
• Utah has the fourth most toxic chemical releases of any state. The majority come from one source.
• Stop setting your thermostat at 72
• U.S. officials plan to kill hundreds of thousands of barred owls to save another species from extinction
• Microplastic Map Reveals Countries Consuming the Most
• It's a Nasty Hungry Pest and Scientists Just Mapped Its Genome
• Biologist's Fears Confirmed on the Lower Colorado River
• This 500-Year Old Tree in California Has a Story to Tell
• ​Scientists Find A Whole New Ecosystem Hiding Beneath Earth's Seafloor
• Why a conservancy nonprofit purchased a 320-acre plot of land in Bears Ears
• Harmful algal blooms may have killed 30 ducks at Liberty Park, Utah wildlife biologists say
• Scientists Say Recycling Has Backfired Spectacularly
• Florida community ordered to quarantine due to invasion of giant African land snails
• ​Watermelon snow turns Utah mountains red
• ​Here's how many times you need to reuse your reusable grocery bags
• Peering Into the Frozen Desert
• Future of American agriculture a 'wild ride,' analyst says​
• ​Massive ocean discovered beneath the Earth's crust containing more water than on the surface
• The remarkable resilience of Utah's state crustacean
• Green groups sue, say farmers are drying up Great Salt Lake
• Utah data helps researchers highlight how urbanization impacts wildlife

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​2nd Quarter: Structure and Function - Suggestions and Idea Links

• Ribozyme - the Only Enzyme that's Not a Protein
• Lactose Intolerance
• Specific Enzyme Disorders
• Macromolecule Make-up of Organs and Organ Systems
• Diseases/Disorders Related to Specific Macromolecules
• In-depth Investigation on Differences Between Specific Large Carbohydrates (i.e. Amylose vs Cellulose)
• Methods of Studying Macromolecules
• In-depth Analysis of Glycogenesis and Glycogen Synthesis
• Best Foods for Building Glycogen
• Glycogen Metabolism for Athletes
• Trans Fats
• Essential Fatty Acids
• Peptide Bonds vs Other Bonds
• Amino Acid Functions - Essential vs Non-essential
• Motor Proteins - Dynein and Kinesin
• Glycogenesis
• Cholesterol's Role in Cell Membranes
• Pain could be reduced by watching nature scenes, new study suggests
• Scientists Identify Specific Bacteria Linked to Multiple Sclerosis
• Obesity changes the brain, with 'no sign of reversibility,' expert says
• New forms of life discovered inside human bodies
• Bear attack survivor laughs, speaks out after completing jaw reconstruction treatment
• Byproduct of sucralose, a chemical in Splenda, found to cause 'significant health effects' in new study
• ​Psychedelic medicine is coming - but who's going to guide your trip?
• A new way to kill tumors
• The great egg debate is over as science weighs in about the food's cholesterol impact
• How your senses change as you age - and how to keep them sharp
• The groundbreaking promise of cellular 'housekeeping'
• Deep sleep can keep two big health problems at bay, new studies suggest
• What’s in melatonin—and is it giving you nightmares?
• Engineered ribosomes could make new polymers
• Stunning Images Reveal the Complex Beauty of Life Under a Microscope
• How Fat Signals Us to Eat More of It
• A synthetic embryo, made without sperm or egg, could lead to infertility treatments
• Dementia risk may increase if you’re eating these foods, study says
• 5 Lifestyle Factors Linked to Dementia
• Scientists Grew Stem Cell 'Mini Brains'. Then, The Brains Sort-of Developed Eyes
• New psychology research indicates that higher general cognitive ability is linked to reduced emotional responding
• Aggressive Cancer Cells Transformed Into Healthy Cells in Breakthrough
• New Alzheimer’s research reveals ‘quiet’ phase of the disease, before symptoms appear
• UW professor wins prestigious Nobel Prize in chemistry for work on proteins
• People who consume more ultra-processed foods are more likely to experience psychological distress later in life​
• Exposure to Certain Fragrances During Sleep Dramatically Boosts Cognitive Function
• Intermountain team first to implement new aortic aneurysm treatment outside clinical trial
• Blocking one protein supercharges the immune system against cancer
  

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​3rd Quarter: Genetic Patterns - Suggestions and Idea Links

• Any topic that has to do with genetics . . .
• Specific genetic disorders
• Gene therapy
• Genetic manipulation
• Ethics of genetic manipulation
• In-depth history of genetics pioneers and their contributions to the discovery of DNA: Rosalind Franklin, James Watson, Francis Crick, Maurice Wilkins, Erwin Chargaff, Oswald Avery, Linus Pauling, Friedrich Miescher, Richard Altmann, Frederick Griffith, Phoebus Levene, Colette and Roger Vendrely, André Boivin, Robert W. Holley, Har Gobind Khorana, Marshall W. Nirenberg
• Meselson-Stahl Experiment
• Mechanics of crossing over - chemistry component
• Genes that typically stay together during crossing over and why; where genes typically cross over - does it happen more often between some genes than others?
• Nondisjunction disorders
• Scientists Map Networks Regulating Gene Function in the Human Brain
• Scientists starved worms — then discovered the switch that controls aging
• A genetic test may predict which weight loss drugs work best for patients
  
• Mapping cells in time and space: New tool reveals a detailed history of tumor growth
• The answer to a cat's loud meow might be buried in its genes
• Gene variant found linking people of African descent to higher Parkinson’s risk
• 8 Babies Born Using New IVF Technique to Prevent Rare Genetic Diseases
• Babies made using three people's DNA are born free of hereditary disease
• Drosophila study pinpoints a genetic cause for virgin birth for the first time
• Restoring healthy gene expression with programmable therapeutics
• New “evolution engine” creates super-proteins 100,000x faster
• Williams Syndrome: The people who are too friendly
• New Breakthrough Paves the Way for Extending Human Lifespan – Scientists Successfully Transfer Longevity Gene​
• Genes influence infants' walking age, study finds
• This genetic breakthrough could help thousands of species cheat extinction
• A single protein makes lovesick flies spill their guts
• New cloned monkey species highlights limits of cloning
• Study Illuminates the Genetic Architecture of Bipolar Disorder
• How RNA travels between cells to control genes across generations
• Defeating Superbugs: Researchers Uncover New Weapon Against Antibiotic Resistance
• Finding sheds light on what causes Huntington's disease, a devastating fatal brain disorder
• A deletion at the X-linked ARHGAP36 gene locus is associated with the orange coloration of tortoiseshell and calico cats
• New Gene Delivery Method Paves the Way for Advanced Brain Therapies
• A New Cat Color is Defying Genetic Expectations​​

4th Quarter: Evolution

• Research of evolutionary biologists, such as Thomas Henry Huxley, Barbara McClintock, Sean B. Carroll, Stephen Jay Gould, Peter & Davidson
• View the Evo-Devo video again - lots of ideas there
• Hox gene examples and mechanics
• Genetic development programming
• Cis-regulatory elements
• Gene enhancement
• Signal genes
• D. melanogaster - use in genetics
• Maternal --- Gap --- Pair Rule --- Polarity --- Hox
• Comparing epigenetics between species
• Cascading genes
• Urbilateria in genetics
• Hedgehog genes
• Switch genes
• Gene sequences
• Molecular clock
• Snake vs lizard development/evolution - role of distal aminos
• Glow tags' use in genetic mapping
• Controlling gene expression with short oligo morpholinos
• How proteins steer the genome
• Veto mediation of genes
• Rare Fossil Suggests Some Dinosaurs May Have Sounded Like Birds and Shared Similar Vocal Anatomy
• War, politics and religion shape wildlife evolution in cities
• The surprising evolution of the weirdest animals on Earth, according to a new study
• Evolution is not as random as previously thought, finds a new study
  
• Sunlight shapes our evolution — and may explain why some people have curly hair
• Something Strange Is Happening to Tomatoes Growing on the Galápagos Islands
• Evolution itself can evolve, new study argues
• Research suggests natural selection can slow evolution, maintain similarities across generations
• What’s a Potato? A Nine-Million-Year-Old Tomato.
• The evolutionary twist that could have helped dinosaurs rule Earth
• New discoveries of Australopithecus and Homo from Ledi-Geraru, Ethiopia
• Ancient predators and giant amphibians found in African fossil treasure trove
• Through Much of Human History, Women Have Shaped Evolution Through Food Processing
• Why human brains were bigger 3,000 years ago
• Our outer ears may have come from ancient fish gills, scientists discover
• How Did Humans Learn to Walk? New Evolutionary Study Offers an Earful
• Genetic study reveals hidden chapter in human evolution
• The body parts evolution still can't explain
• Whale study findings explore the evolution of menopause across species
• Why your fingers wrinkle in water (and what it can reveal about your health)
• Why evolution can explain human testicle size but not our unique chins
• New study peers beneath the skin of iconic lizards to find ‘chainmail’ bone plates – and lots of them
• New “evolution engine” creates super-proteins 100,000x faster
• Scientists just uncovered three ancient worlds frozen beneath Illinois for 300 million years
• Study sheds light on the genetic changes that shaped human brain evolution
• Ancient giant sea turtle with never-before-seen features found in Europe, scientists say
• New Findings Rewrite the Story of the “Neolithic Revolution”
• More flowers are selfing, scientists say. That could spell trouble for other species.
• How to lose weight the healthy way: more exercise won’t cut it, but switching your diet will, says professor who studied hunter-gatherers
• Tomatoes randomly mated with another plant 9 million years ago. The result? Potatoes.
• The Dogs of Chernobyl Are Experiencing Rapid Evolution, Study Suggests
• Ribosomes Optimized for Speed, Flexibility​​​