CHEM 1A INTERNET RESEARCH SKILLS --Spring 2025
Preeti Srinivasan, Ph.D.
Topic Title: COVID-19 - Changing the Future of Vaccine Science!
When scientists began seeking a vaccine to battle the COVID-19 pandemic in early 2020, they were careful not
to promise quick success. The fastest any vaccine had previously been developed for approval, was four years,
back in the 1960s. To hope for one even by the summer of 2021 seemed highly optimistic. But by the start of
December 2020, the developers of several vaccines had announced excellent results that showed promise. And
on December 2, 2020, a vaccine made by drug giant Pfizer with German biotech firm BioNTech, was rolled out
as the first fully tested immunization to be approved for emergency use. This shows how fast vaccine
development can proceed when there is a true global emergency and sufficient resources. Revolutionary
research on making vaccines, such as by using messenger RNA (mRNA), have been validated by the
COVID-19 response.
Find at least four (4) good sources of information on this topic, spanning the years 2019-2021. As you
investigate each source, keep in mind the five criteria for evaluating sources (accuracy, authority, objective,
currency, and coverage). Focus your research in some of the following areas:
• What is the general structure of the SARS-CoV2 (COVID-19) coronavirus?
• What is the coronavirus spike protein?
• What is the mechanism of the coronavirus infection?
• What are clinical symptoms of the coronavirus infection?
• What tests and treatments are currently available for the COVID-19 infection?
• What were the recent approaches made in the COVID-19 vaccine field?
• What components of the coronavirus can be used for vaccines?
• What is the COVID-19 mRNA vaccine?
• What is the safety profile of COVID-19 vaccines?
• What were the challenges faced in the COVID-19 vaccine development?
Required Essay (10 points)
Integrate your sources of information exploring this topic, to write a short essay of no longer than two (2) typed
pages (12 font size, double space), using a standard word processing application. Please use the paragraph style
and not the question-and-answer or bullets format for the essay. Use your critical thinking and judgment and
draw your own conclusions. Include page numbers and the citation of each source. Report citations using the
APA format and include the date of access. Submit your assignment in Canvas as per the due date.
ChatGPT is a chatbot developed by OpenAI and launched on November 30, 2022. Based on a large language model, it enables users to refine and steer a conversation towards a desired length, format, style, level of detail, and language. Wikipedia
Developer: OpenAI, Microsoft Corporation
Initial release date: November 30, 2022
Should I use my real name on ChatGPT?
You should avoid sharing any private information while interacting with ChatGPT. Consider using a pseudonym or removing your name from the queries. Dec 6, 2023
You need to create an account on the OpenAI website to log in and access ChatGPT, but it is free.
How do you use ChatGPT effectively?
1. Be specific. The more specific you are in your prompt, the better. ChatGPT will be able to understand what you want.
2. Use examples
4. Set a length limit
5 Be patient
Hw to use ChatGPT for Beginners
Privacy concerns: When you share personal information with ChatGPT, you run the risk of that information being accessed or intercepted by unauthorized parties. This could happen if the data is stored insecurely or if the system has a vulnerability that allows hackers to access the information. Apr 16, 2023
Risk of Using Personal and Professional Information in ChatGPT
Why you should not substitute your own essay for a ChatGPT result
Essay on Ethanol
OpenAI. (2024). ChatGPT (3.5) [Large language model]. https://chat.openai.com
Weisberg, E., Sattler, M., Yang, P. L., Parent, A., Gray, N., & Griffin, J. D. (2020). Current therapies under investigation for COVID-19: potential COVID-19 treatments. Canadian Journal of Physiology & Pharmacology, 98(8), 483–489. https://doi.org/10.1139/cjpp-2020-0286
Hills, F. R., Eruera, A.-R., Hodgkinson-Bean, J., Jorge, F., Easingwood, R., Brown, S. H. J., Bouwer, J. C., Li, Y.-P., Burga, L. N., & Bostina, M. (2024). Variation in structural motifs within SARS-related coronavirus spike proteins. PLoS Pathogens, 20(5), 1–19. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.ppat.1012158
Lackey, K. A., Pace, R. M., Williams, J. E., Bode, L., Donovan, S. M., Järvinen, K. M., Seppo, A. E., Raiten, D. J., Meehan, C. L., McGuire, M. A., & McGuire, M. K. (2020). SARS‐CoV‐2 and human milk: What is the evidence? Maternal & Child Nutrition, 16(4), 1–12. https://doi.org/10.1111/mcn.13032
McLean, H. Q., Grijalva, C. G., Hanson, K. E., Yuwei Zhu, Deyoe, J. E., Meece, J. K., Halasa, N. B., Chappell, J. D., Mellis, A. M., Reed, C., Belongia, E. A., Talbot, H. K., & Rolfes, M. A. (2022). Household Transmission and Clinical Features of SARS-CoV-2 Infections. Pediatrics, 149(3), 1–13. https://doi.org/10.1542/peds.2021-054178
Kondo, T., Higa, R., Kuniba, M., Shinzato, H., & Takaesu, Y. (2024). Successful treatment with guanfacine in a long‐COVID case manifesting marked cognitive impairment. Neuropsychopharmacology Reports, 44(3), 585–590. https://doi.org/10.1002/npr2.12466
Peng, F., Yuan, H., Wu, S., & Zhou, Y. (2021). Recent Advances on Drugs and Vaccines for COVID-19. Inquiry, 58, 1–12. https://www.jstor.org/stable/27153228
Karyagina, A. S., Gromov, A. V., Grunina, T. M., Lyaschuk, A. M., Grishin, A. V., Strukova, N. V., Generalova, M. S., Galushkina, Z. M., Soboleva, L. A., Dobrinina, O. Y., Bolshakova, T. N., Subbotina, M. E., Romanovskaya-Romanko, E. A., Krasilnikov, I. V., Polyakov, N. B., Solovyev, A. I., Grumov, D. A., Zhukhovitsky, V. G., Ryabova, E. I., … Lunin, V. G. (2021). Development of a Platform for Producing Recombinant Protein Components of Epitope Vaccines for the Prevention of COVID-19. Biochemistry. Biokhimiia, 86(10), 1275–1287. https://doi.org/10.1134/S0006297921100096
COVID-19 Basics. https://www.cdc.gov/covid/vaccines/how-they-work.html
Prabhu, M. M., Palaian, S., & Ansari, M. (2022). Safety profile of COVID-19 vaccines, preventive strategies, and patient management. Expert Review of Vaccines, 21(8), 1087–1095. https://doi.org/10.1080/14760584.2022.2078311
COVID-19 vaccines: resolving deployment challenges. (2021). Bulletin of the World Health Organization, 99(3), 174–175. https://doi.org/10.2471/BLT.21.020321
Ethanol is a renewable fuel made from various plant materials collectively known as "biomass." More than 98% of U.S. gasoline contains ethanol to oxygenate the fuel. Typically, gasoline contains E10 (10% ethanol, 90% gasoline), which reduces air pollution.
Find at least four (4) good sources of information on this topic. Focus your research in no more than two (2) of the following areas: • Discovery of ethanol • Chemical properties of ethanol • Methods used in the commercial production of ethanol • Uses and benefits of ethanol • Various grades of ethanol • Ethanol as an alternative fuel/biofuel • Impacts and issues of ethanol • Ethanol and alcoholism • Metabolism of ethanol in humans For each source, provide the following: • Citation including the date of access using APA format. • Short description of the source. • Reason(s) why you rate it highly, keeping in mind the five criteria for evaluating sources (accuracy, authority, objective, currency, and coverage)
You are required to use ChatGPT on the assigned topic, only for the following: 1) To create an outline 2) To find four (4) key words Type in the ChatGPT-acquired content before your essay. Then integrate your sources of information (from your bibliography) to write a short essay of no longer than two (2) typed pages (12 font size, double space) exploring this topic. Please do not use the question-and-answer format for the essay. Use your critical thinking and judgment and draw your own conclusions. Include page numbers and the citation of each source. DO NOT USE CHATGPT TO WRITE YOUR ESSAY! You must do both, the bibliography and essay, on the computer, using a standard word processing application. Submit your completed work (both parts) as one .pdf file on Canvas. Submission is due Saturday, March 9 on Canvas.
Google Search : Outline APA format RESULTS
