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Murder by HIV? Undergraduate Edition
Co Authors: |
Naowarat (Ann) Cheeptham Laura B. Regassa Michèle I. Shuster |
Abstract: | This case study gives students an opportunity to draw a conclusion about an actual crime that was prosecuted in Louisiana. A physician was accused of intentionally infecting his ex-girlfriend with HIV-tainted blood drawn from a patient in his practice. The scientific investigation uses bioinformatics tools and relies on the ability to interpret phylogenetic trees. Students develop hypotheses about the crime, then use sequences and online tools to generate a phylogenetic tree to test the hypotheses and render a verdict. The authors have designed and implemented three parallel cases - one for Grades 5-8, one for Grades 9-12, and one for upper-division undergraduates, specifically for a course in molecular evolution. This is the undergraduate version. |
Objectives: |
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Keywords: | Phylogenetic tree; nucleotide sequences; human immunodeficiency virus; HIV; viral life cycles; mutation rates; reverse transcriptase sequences; murder; crime; criminal investigation; forensics; Louisiana |
Topical Area: | Ethics, Science and the media, Social issues |
Educational Level: | Undergraduate lower division, Undergraduate upper division |
Formats: | |
Type/Method: | Analysis (Issues), Directed, Discussion |
Language: | English |
Subject Headings: | Biology (General) Molecular Biology Bioinformatics Forensic Science |
Date Posted: | 1/29/2013 |
Date Modified: | N/A |
Copyright: | Copyright held by the National Center for Case Study Teaching in Science, University at Buffalo, State University of New York. Please see our usage guidelines, which outline our policy concerning permissible reproduction of this work. |
Teaching Notes
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Answer Key
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