Biology 12

UNIT 2 Project ASSESSMENT

After you complete this project,

• Assess your report or presentation based on how clearly
  your information was conveyed;


• Assess your research skills during the development of
  your project. How have your skills improved?


• Use the rubric you developed to assess your project.

208 MHR • Unit 2 Homeostasis

Is There a Cure for Diabetes?

Background

In Canada, it is estimated that five to six percent

of the population over the age of 12 has diabetes.

About one third of these cases are undiagnosed.

Approximately 779 000 Canadians, however,

have actually been diagnosed with this disease.

Diabetes is the seventh leading cause of

mortality in Canada. Typically, damage to small

blood vessels in people who have diabetes can

also lead to serious, and potentially life-

threatening, complications involving the heart,

eyes, and/or kidneys. Currently, people who are

diagnosed with Type 1 diabetes may have their

life expectancy shortened by 15 to 27 years.

Type 2 diabetes reduces life expectancy by five

to 10 years, depending on when the disease

is diagnosed.

Despite these rather gloomy statistics, there is

great optimism that science will one day triumph

over diabetes. People who have diabetes are

encouraged by current advances in medical

research that are providing a more complete

understanding of the physiological, genetic, and

lifestyle factors that contribute to the onset of

this disease. While the goal of developing a

proven cure for diabetes has yet to be achieved,

newly developed medications and technology

are helping many patients with diabetes to

manage their blood sugar levels more effectively.

Managing blood sugar levels will, in turn,

reduce the risk of developing some of the more

serious complications typically associated with

this disease.

New medications are being developed that may replace

insulin injections for people who have diabetes.

Before you begin this project, reread section

4.3 in Chapter 4, which introduced the topic

of diabetes.

Challenge

Many people believe that Canadian scientists

Dr. Fredrick Banting and Dr. Charles Best

“cured” diabetes when they isolated insulin.

However, as you have seen, the number of

people who have diabetes is increasing rather

than decreasing. Nevertheless, many researchers

are convinced that modern science and

technology will one day find a cure for diabetes.

Working individually or in a small group,

research, design, and present a report on the

future of diabetes treatment. Your report should

include a section on the problems the disease

presents to individuals who have diabetes and

to those involved in the treatment of it. You may

wish to include interviews with patients,

doctors, and/or researchers. Your teacher and

team members can help you determine the

format of your report, which may include any

of the following:

an oral, video, or computer presentation

a written report

a web site

any combination of the above approved by

your teacher

Materials

Print sources and/or the Internet; a tape

recorder; appropriate materials to present your

project (such as video equipment, computers,

audio/visual equipment, computer presentation

software, and so on).

Design Criteria

A.Choose a format for a report on the

treatment of diabetes.

B.The introduction to your report should

include a discussion of the differences

between Type 1 and Type 2 diabetes and

how each of these disorders affects the

homeostatic systems of the body.