Each lab includes instructions or questions requiring the use of the internet to complete the task. Please use complete sentences and appropriate headings where applicable. If included, refer to the rubric below to see how you will be graded. Note that links open a new browser window.
Submit your work as a file attachment using the dropbox.
This lab is worth 10 points.
UNIT 6 LAB
Part 1
For the following questions, please watch the TED Talk “Nina Jablonski Breaks the Illusion of Skin Color”
What were Darwin’s original ideas about skin color—where did darkly pigmented people tend to live, and where did lightly pigmented people tend to live? What was Darwin’s conclusion about the relationship between skin pigmentation and climate?
What part of the environment is most crucial to the development of skin pigmentation over human development and across geographic locations? How do we know that the earliest members of the human species were all darkly pigmented?
Why does skin pigmentation vary according to UV radiation? How is UVB helpful to humans? Explain how darker skin was a survival adaptation.
What are some of the health consequences of our ability to move about and live almost anywhere in modern times? In particular, how does it interact with skin cancer and with mental health?
Part 2
For the following questions, please start by visiting the Center for Disease Control’s guide to handwashing:
CDC: When & How to Wash Your Hands
Follow the instructions on the site for proper hand washing and then explore the site to help answer the following questions. Remember that there are links in the instructions that will lead you to more information about the science behind the recommendations.
Be honest—when you wash your hands normally, are you washing them as diligently as the site prescribes? Are you washing them as often? What could you do to be more conscientious about hand washing? Are there any particular circumstances on the list that you are especially diligent about? Are the instructions reasonable for you in your own life?
What are the strengths and weaknesses of alcohol-based hand sanitizers over soap and water?
What is the difference between a microbe and a germ? Why is using soap better for cleaning microbes than just using water? What does science say about using antibacterial soaps?
Part 3
Next, review this site to learn more about the CDC hand hygiene recommendations for healthcare providers:
CDC: Clean Hands Count for Healthcare Providers
What is one major difference between hand sanitization recommendations for healthcare professionals compared to average people?
For more on handwashing and controlling infectious disease, you can use the following links:
CDC: Hand Hygiene in Healthcare Settings
CDC: Infection Control Basics
Part 4
For the remaining questions, please review this site:
NIH: Skin Care and Aging
What are at least two health-related ways that our skin can change as we age? For each change, what can be done to prevent or mitigate those symptoms?
What are three aesthetic ways our skin can change as we age? Which one(s) could be indicative of a medical issue?
What two factors are major causes of skin issues as we age, across all kinds of symptoms? What might you be able to do even now, as a young person, to avoid some of the skin issues common to older people?