Welcome to the fascinating study of human health and disease.  In this independant research project you will be given the opportunity to explore your choice of an area of human health and disease from a list of approved topics.  You will be learning more about the basic biology of disease-causing organisms (pathogens) and human defense mechanisms (the immune system).  You will also find out more about some modern solutions to the treatment of disease.

Task

Your task will be to produce a thorough presentation on one human disease.  The report may take one of several forms.  You may produce a traditional written report, a PowerPoint presentation, a website, or a poster board.  Whatever final form of presentation you choose it will need to include all the elements listed on the presentation rubric that will be provided.

In brief, the following elements are necessary for a complete presentation:

1. An short introduction to the disease which will include a short statement on each of the following topics:
1. The nature of the disease (what symptoms does the disease produce, or what body system does the disease attack).
2. The cause of the disease (typically a pathogen, although you may also choose a genetic disease).
3. The prevalence of the disease (How many people are affected by the disease).
4. The range of the disease (How is this disease distributed worldwide).
5. The severity of the disease (How "bad" is the disease?  Is it fatal?  How many people who catch the disease actually die of this disease?)
6. Any other interesting facts about the disease.
   
2. The basic biology of the pathogen including at least the following:
1. An illustration, animation or photograph of the pathogen.
2. An illustration, animation or photograph of the appearance of any diseased organ or body part (However, you may not show any illustration of a sexual organ.)
   
3. The classification of the pathogen.
4. The typical life-cycle of the pathogen.
5. How the disease is transmitted in humans.
6. What human systems does the disease affect.
   
3. The immunological response to the disease.
1. How the immune system responds to the disease.
2. How long does the immune system take to respond.
3. What immune systems are involved in fighting the disease.
4. How the disease is diagnosed and treated including:
1. Typical symptoms
2. Prevention of the disease
3. Medical treatments including:
   
1. Modern medicine or drug therapies
2. Vaccines
3. Cutting-edge research
4. The course of the disease and its prognosis. (What is the typical fate of the individual who catches this disease?)
5. Fully annotated with the proper citations embedded in the presentation.
1. For every fact, group of facts or illustrations that you find on the web, you must provide a proper citation with the web address of the site where you found that information.
   
6. Extensive notes and a printed bibliography from Notestar.

1. Choose a topic from the following categories:

• Viral and Prion diseases
• Common cold
  
• Pox
  
• Herpes
  
• Rabies
  
• Mad cow disease and variants.
  
• Ebola
  
• Influenza
• Hepatitis
• Warts, including genital warts
  
• Mumps
• Rubella
• Diarrhea
• Viral Meningitis

• Bacterial diseases
• Anthrax
• Pneumonia
• Bronchitis
• Tuberculosis
• Peptic Ulcer
• Cholera
• Legionnaire's Disease
• Leprosy
• Malaria
• Bacterial Meningitis
• Strep throat
• Salmonellosis
• Toxic Shock Syndrome
• Syphylis
• Gonorrhea
• Bubonic (Black Plague)
  

• Fungal infections
• Candidiasis
• Aspergillosis
• Ringworm
• Athlete's foot
  

• Cancers & other non-infectious diseases
  
• Any cancer listed on the National Cancer Institute Most Common Cancers Webpage
• Lupus

• Parasitic infections
• Chagas disease
• Malaria
• Ascariasis
• Elephantiasis
• Leishmaniasis
• Scabies
• Trichinosis
• Sleeping Sickness

• Any disease found on the Discovery Disease Database
• Any disease found at the Merck Source
  
• Any disease found in the Health Illustrated Encyclopedia
  

1. Collect basic information that you need for your presentation.
2. For each slide that you create, copy the URL into the notes section under the slide.
3. For your own reference, you may copy and paste the information into the notes section as long as you copy the URL as well and as long as you select only a part of that information for the bullets on the actual slide.    
   
4. I have created a TrackStar Track to help you navigate through the various tasks in your project. After reading the description, please click on the "View in Frames" button at the bottom of the page.
   

Due Date:  The due date will be announced in class.

Human Disease Project Rubric (doc file)
Use this rubric as a guide while creating your presentation

Grading rubric in rich text format (rtf file)
Use this rubric if you do not have Microsoft Word

doc file: You need the Microsoft Word program, a free Microsoft Word viewer, or a program that can import Word files in order to view this file. To learn more about the free Microsoft Word Viewer, visit the Microsoft Word website.

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