First Place Essay. Katie P.

Transcription

1 First Place Essay Katie P. Eighth Grade West Reading, PA Bioscience research is seeking information by exploring life's processes and diseases. It has helped many scientists understand how the body works, and has led to numerous treatments for injuries and sicknesses. When scientists conduct research, they use the scientific method and follow certain steps. First, they observe the world around them and ask questions about how it works. Then, they form hypotheses and test them through experiments. Lastly, scientists analyze the data for patterns or trends, then draw conclusions to explain them. Although this may sound simple, bioscience research can be a complex process. There are three main types of bioscience research: basic, applied, and clinical. These three types are very useful in conducting your research. Basic bioscience research is very important. It helps scientists understand life's processes and how diseases work. Although basic research isn't directed to curing specific diseases, it provides us with much needed information to develop cures. Once scientists conduct their basic research, they can apply what they know towards something specific. Applied research can help scientists develop a new drug, treatment, or prevention for a disease. After scientists complete basic and applied research, they move on to clinical research that takes place in humans. There are three phases of clinical research. In the first phase, a small number of volunteers are given a drug to see how it works in the body. If the testing goes well, the drug is then given to a larger number of patients. In this second phase, scientists want to see if the drug will have an effect on a disease or its symptoms. If the drug is successful, it will be given to an even larger number of patients in a third phase. Scientists will look for long-term side effects that might not have been detected in earlier research. In addition to these three types of bioscience research, there are five general categories of research methods that scientists use: simulations, in vitro tests, animal models, human clinical trials, and epidemiological studies. Since these methods work together, scientists use more than one method to conduct their research. To better understand this complex process, you must first understand how each of the five methods is used. Simulations are used in the early stages of research. Through chemical, mechanical, mathematical, and computer simulations, scientists understand and simulate living systems.

2 The next method used is in vitro tests. In vitro tests are conducted in labs using special lab dishes or test tubes. They often use cells or tissues from a human, animal, or plant. They are "cultured" or grown in lab dishes containing all the needed nutrients. Through cell and tissue cultures, scientists can view effects of a substance without interference. Since in vitro tests are easily controlled, the results are simple to reproduce. Due to the complexity of the human body, it is sometimes necessary to conduct research on animals. Research on animals is useful in finding out how people might recover from surgery, or how we might respond to a drug or chemical in our environment. Animal models give scientists a way to view how a substance will react before testing it on humans. Human clinical trials are tests using human volunteers who have been given information about the study and have agreed to participate. Scientists use human clinical trials to determine how a substance will work in humans and if it is safe. Epidemiology is the department of medicine that deals with the causes, distribution, and control of diseases in groups of humans. In order to conduct epidemiological studies, scientists must first collect information on which people get diseases, how they get them, and where they get them. Scientists then must look for things that relate to the disease, like air, diet, or a type of job. Epidemiological studies are usually conducted after exposure to the disease. These studies help prevent future people from being exposed to certain diseases. Bioscience research is very important. We need to know about science and what it can do for humanity. There are still so many diseases without cures- AIDS, Alzheimer's disease, cancer, cystic fibrosis, diabetes, heart disease, multiple sclerosis, and schizophrenia. By conducting more bioscience research, we might find the cures for these diseases and we can make better decisions for our own health and the health of others in society.

3 Second Place Essay Meghan M. Eighth Grade West Reading, PA The purpose of bioscience research is to develop new drugs, new vaccines and treatments to help cure diseases. Bioscience research affects our lives everyday, though we may not realize it. Bioscience research is the process by which a team of scientists uses the "scientific method" to solve a problem. First the scientists observe and ask questions. They form a hypothesis and then test it. Then they analyze the data and draw conclusions. During bioscience research scientists use five methods: simulations, in vitro tests, animal models, human clinical studies, and epidemiological studies. Simulations are useful to scientists when they are beginning their research. There are four types of simulations: mechanical, mathematical, chemical and computer. Scientists use simulations to test ideas about new research topics. In vitro tests are used in the intermediate stages of research. These tests, done in lab dishes, allow the scientist to observe how a cell reacts with the substance in isolation. With in vitro tests, scientists use cultured cells of animals, humans, and plants. Cultured cells are used to make sure that the cell has all the nutrients it needs. Animal models have proven to be one of the best tests to see how humans will react to the new drug or vaccine. Although animals and humans are very different, our similarities overshadow our differences. Because it is too dangerous to test new drugs on humans too early in the research process, animal models are used. Human clinical studies are another type of research. During this stage of research the new drug or vaccine is tested on humans. These tests supply scientists with the knowledge of knowing if the drug is effective and safe. The test on the new drug or vaccine is tested in a "control" trial. Some of the members of the experiment are given the experimental drug or vaccine while others are given a placebo or a "control" substance. The last type of research is epidemiological studies. This part of the research deals with diseases in groups of people. Before these experiments are conducted, scientists must gather information about the disease, how people get diseases and where they get them. Scientists also investigate anything that might correspond with the disease such as air, food, water, or a job. From epidemiological studies scientists discovered that exposure to tobacco smoke can lead to lung cancer.

4 When scientists are focusing on finding a new type of drug for a certain disease such as AIDS, they use three main types of bioscience research: basic, applied, and clinical. These are the "building blocks" to finding cures. Without basic bioscience research scientists wouldn't have the information they need to develop cures. A phenomenal find from basic research is penicillin. Something as simple as a moldy piece of bread led to this major breakthrough in medicine. When scientists discover something by chance it is called "serendipity". Basic research has also brought us blood transfusions, organ transplants, and gene therapy. Once scientists have an understanding of how a disease works inside the body, they apply their knowledge to the facts to find treatments and cures to prevent disease. This is called applied science. This method is used when you are looking for something specific. Clinical research is done on humans. These tests measure the efficiency and safety of the product. At first the new drug is tested on a small group of people. If all goes well, the drug is tested on larger and larger groups of people. The researchers, at this point, want to know if the drug will treat the disease or symptoms or if there are any long-term side effects. Bioscience research has resulted in treatments for heart disease and cancer. It has contributed to the discovery of protective vaccines such as smallpox, measles, mumps, and polio. It has also helped in the development of organ transplants such as the heart, kidney, skin, and bone marrow. Through bioscience research, scientists have discovered fluoride, penicillin, insulin and antibiotics. Bioscience researchers are looking for cures for many diseases including AIDS. Through testing, scientists have discovered treatments that keep HIV "in check" for many years. These treatments aren't cures, but it does mean that fewer people infected with HIV will develop AIDS. Finding a winning drug or vaccine can take as many as ten years, and cost hundreds of millions of dollars. Though drug production is being sped up, it can still take many years before research discoveries become a treatment.

5 Third Place Essay Kelly M. Eighth Grade West Reading, PA When thinking of bioscience, many things come to mind. For instance, cloning, stem cells, genetics, and antibiotics. After researching the topic, there are many other things that make up bioscience. Medications and vaccines for diseases, animal testing, and product safety are also part of bioscience. Most people are aware of these things, but what they are not aware of is the research that goes into making these medical advancements. Many do not know the different methods involved in researching, such as simulations, in vitro tests, animal models, human clinical trials, and epidemiological studies. A simulation is a method of researching that uses nonliving models to evaluate the consequences of a medication or vaccine. It gives the scientists an estimation of the results of the overall experiment. Since this method only gives an estimation of the results, further testing will be needed, but in some cases, it speeds up the process. An in vitro test is a method of research that is conducted in a lab using test tubes or dishes. The test tubes and dishes often contain the cells of an organism, which are then used to test possible cures to malfunctions of that particular cell and its reactions. An in vitro test is a good research method because it is easily controlled and can be done more than one time. Using animal models in research shows the reactions of the medication in an actual body. The animal is kept in a controlled environment with its necessities as a constant. It is important to use animal models because at this stage in testing it is too dangerous to use humans. Human clinical trials are performed after animal tests and in vitro tests. It is conducted with human volunteers and is supervised by scientists. Most times, the group is split and one half is testing the medication while the others are getting a placebo. Human clinical trials are done to see the consequences of the medication. Epidemiological studies are conducted to see if a particular disease infects people in a certain environment. Scientists perform these studies to see if a popular disease in a certain place can transform into an epidemic. After the testing is over, they see how they can prevent the disease from spreading. Simulation, in vitro tests, animal models, human clinical tests, and epidemiological studies are the five methods of research. Also, there are 3 types of research; they are basic, applied, and clinical research. Basic research is investigating the bodily processes and how diseases affect them. Basic research isn't directed to finding a cure, it just observes the human body and its functions.

6 Applied research is testing to see if a medication will work against a disease. It involves working with a treatment as well as prevention. Clinical research is testing groups of humans who volunteer to test a medication for a disease. Usually there is more than one group being tested. The scientists also look for side effects of the medication. Opinions on bioscience are closely related to ethics. Animal Rights groups are against the animal tests. The Catholic Church is against cloning and stem cell research. Many labels on products now say, "Not tested on animals." All of these things are results of bioscience. Personally, I think that bioscience gives advancements in technology to the medical field, and in that case, it is very good. But, I also think that we have gone too far in some of these advancements like cloning and stem cell research. I think that we need to monitor what some scientists are researching and restrict the things that are questioning the individuality of each human being.