PBL in Biology
PBL in Biology
Biology
with 20 Case Examples
By PETER OMMUNDSEN
Problem-based learning (PBL) is an exciting way to learn biology and is readily incorporated into large
classes in a lecture hall environment. PBL engages students in solving authentic biological case
problems, stimulating discussion among students and reinforcing learning. A problem-based learning
environment emulates the workplace and develops self-directed learners. This is preferable to a mimetic
learning environment in which students only watch, memorize, and repeat what they have been told.
The examples given here are suitable for use in a first year college biology lecture theater, but the method
is applicable to any class size and educational level. [A more detailed explanation of PBL in Biology may
be found in Chapter Four of INSPIRING STUDENTS, published in 1999 by Kogan Page.]
METHOD FOR INSTRUCTORS
(1) Form Small Groups
You may decide to devote all or part of a class session to PBL, but students must form small work groups
during that time. Ask the students to form groups of 3-5 people, or assign the groups yourself or by lottery.
(2) Present the Problem
Present the students with a brief problem statement (preferably on a printed work sheet, an example of
which is shown below), e.g., "A 28-year-old man appears to have osteoporosis." In some cases a video
clip or specimen might be used as a trigger. Emphasize to the students that they are dealing with an
authentic case history. Bizarre problems work best [more examples follow]. Prior to class you should
review the case history and arm yourself with data that can be released incrementally (progressive
disclosure) as the case proceeds. There is a comprehensive data set for the osteoporosis problem in the
New England Journal of Medicine, 1994, 331:1056-61; 1088-9. Needless to say, the students should not
be given the reference, as the objective is to solve a problem, not read a solution.
(3) Activate the Groups
Ask the groups to brainstorm possible causes of the osteoporosis. Each group will have to discuss,
review, or investigate the biology of bone, including the role of osteoblasts, diet, vitamin D, parathyroid
hormone, growth hormone, calcitonin, kidney function, etc. This is when much learning occurs, as the
students help each other understand the basic biology. PBL students must reflect upon biological
mechanisms rather than just memorize facts (as might occur in some traditional lecture-only courses).
The instructor circulates among the groups, providing assistance but not solutions. The groups may well
explore avenues unanticipated by the instructor. This is highly desirable and should not be discouraged.
The instructor should avoid controlling the agenda of the groups. Each group ranks its hypotheses in
order of priority and prepares requests for more data. (E.g., for calcium deficiency hypothesis -- "What did
he usually eat?")
(4) Provide Feedback
Ask that a rep from each group place their top priority hypothesis or data request on the chalkboard (if
already entered by another group, place their second choice, etc.). If this is not practical, ask for oral
suggestions from the groups when the small group work is halted and the class is reconvened. Student
suggestions may include -
Immobility
Calcitonin deficiency
Excessive PTH
The small group work can be stopped and the instructor can briefly discuss the ideas with the entire class.
It is important to value every contribution, to assist the students in analysis of the biology involved, and to
provide further information [he was not immobile, he had a normal diet, etc.]. The students can be
prompted for data requests: "If you could ask for just three test results from examination of this man, what
would they be?"
It is not likely that the students will solve a problem on the first pass, and the feedback from the instructor
motivates the next round of small group work. The students could now be told that the man's lumbar spine
density is 3.1 standard deviations below the average age-matched healthy female (osteoporosis = 2.5+
SD), his height is 204 cm, his left middle finger is 10 cm, and knee films show open epiphyses. (The
students should now be able to figure out that the man may still be growing at age 28). The cycle of small
group work and instructor feedback can be continued during the current class session or on future
occasions. The key to managing a PBL session is providing continual feedback to maintain
student enthusiasm while simultaneously prolonging the resolution of the problem to ensure that
adequate learning occurs.
(5) Ask for a Solution
At this point in our example the groups will likely focus on the hormones required for epiphyseal closure
and bone mineralization. They may ask you for serum estrogen levels (high) which will suggest estrogenresistance. Were estrogen receptors defective? (Yes.) When a reasonable number of groups have solved
the problem, you might request a brief written analysis from each group describing the biology involved in
the case. Students may be asked to include certain key words in their reports. If you wish to further
pursue this case at a later date you could tackle the genetics of the defect. (C to T transition in the
estrogen receptor gene in both alleles causing a premature stop codon; both parents heterozygous with
consanguinity in the pedigree.)
METHOD FOR STUDENTS
Effective problem-solving requires an orderly approach. Problem-solving skills do not magically appear in
students as a result of instructors simply throwing problems at them.
Our students use the following heuristic: "How to make a DENT in a problem: Define, Explore, Narrow,
Test."
(1) Define the Problem Carefully
What exactly are you trying to determine? Does the problem have several components? If several, state
them separately. Does everyone in the group agree with the way the problem has been framed? Ask
group members to "think out loud," as that slows down their reasoning and enables people to check for
errors of understanding.
(2) Explore Possible Solutions
Brainstorm ideas that may contribute to a solution. Justify your ideas to group members. Clarify for them
the biology involved. Have them paraphrase your ideas. Listen carefully to the ideas of other group
members and give positive feedback. Make a list of learning issues. What do we know? What don't we
know? Is this problem analagous to any past problem? What core biological concepts may apply to this
problem? Assign research tasks within the group.
(3) Narrow Your Choices
After developing a list of hypotheses, sort them, weed them, and rank them. List the type of data required
to test each hypothesis. Give priority to the simplest, least costly tests. It is easier to get information on
the diet of a subject than it is to do sophisticated biochemical tests.
(4) Test Your Solution
Seek from your instructor the data that you need to test your ideas. If all your possible solutions are
eliminated, begin the cycle again: define, explore, narrow, test. When you encounter data that confirm one
of your hypotheses you may be asked to write a biological explanation of your solution and justify it using
the available evidence.
MORE CASE PROBLEMS
Following are examples of typical case problems that have been culled from biological journals and that
have been successfully class-tested at the first-year college level.
A sample student work sheet may be seen by clicking here.
Case problem SOURCES for these examples are shown here for the benefit of instructors, but normally
sources are NOT given to students as that would defeat the purpose of PBL.
This is a good introductory case, as the students are able to generate a wide range of ideas: Alzheimer's
Disease, trauma, alcohol abuse, atherosclerosis, arrhythmia, hypotension, cancer, epilepsy, diabetes,
hypocalcemia, emphysema, dehydration, hypoglcemia, stroke, etc. The students perceive that the class
as a whole is a credible learning resource, and the instructor can help the class reflect upon the biological
implications of each suggestion.
Eventually the students will ask the circumstances of the woman's attacks (e.g., "Following alcohol
consumption?") When the students learn that the attacks occurred in the late afternoon, they will likely
focus on diet and blood sugar. The instructor might at this point present a short talk on carbohydrate
function and blood sugar regulation. This can be done using a transparency, with copies available to the
students. It is important in a PBL environment to minimize the time required for note-taking.
The students will ask for information on the woman's blood glucose level (1.6 mmol/L) and urine glucose
level (zero). The student groups can now brainstorm and investigate possible causes of the low blood
glucose: glucagon deficiency, insulin poisoning, anorexia nervosa, extreme exercise, etc. They may ask
for an x-ray image of her abdomen, which the instructor can display as a transparency copied from the
article. The students can be assisted in identifying the anatomy, including an abnormal mass in the
pancreas (an insulin-secreting tumour). Additional discussion and learning opportunities can be generated
by displaying copies of the ultrasonogram, angiogram, histopathology, etc.
The students in each group may then collaborate in writing a brief report that explains the biology of the
case.
(2) A Case of Falling Cats
Sabrina the cat fell 32 stories from a New York skyscraper and easily survived, as do most cats that fall
from skyscrapers, especially those that fall more than several stories. Not so for humans. Why? [Natural
History Magazine, August 1989: 20-26.]
This intriguing case requires students to confront (or review) fundamental concepts that have wide
application in biology, including allometry, momentum, stress, compliance, friction, surface area,
acceleration, equilibrium, adaptation, and natural selection.
(3) A Case of Puzzling Parenthood
A woman with type AB blood gave birth to a child with blood type O. A second type-O child was born six
years later. [Nature 277:210-211.]
This case appears to contradict Mendelian inhertiance, which the students will be obliged to thorougly
review, but it also demands that they make a rigorous examination of meiosis, gametogenesis,
fertilization, and early development in order to propose some credible explanatory mechanisms.
(4) A Case of Wilting Plants
A farmer was alarmed to notice tomato plants that were stunted and withered.
This case initially requires the students to carefully reflect upon many basic concepts of plant anatomy,
histology, physiology, ecology, and pathophysiology. Students might discuss and explore possible effects
of soil quality, water relations, humidity, transpiration, hormones, and nutrition. Students should be
encouraged to explore examples of pathogenic mechanisms, perhaps involving TMS, wilt fungi, wilt
viruses, stunt viruses, and wilt bacteria.
Ultimately the cause may be attributed to ABA deficiency, and the instructor might suggest this by
introducing evidence of viviparity. Students can then focus on the roles of ABA and ethylene, and further
work might address the genetics of the defect. .
There is a comprehensive literature on ABA-deficient mutants, and many easily accessible web
resources, e.g., Plant Biology 2000 Abs 706, XVI International Botanical Congress Abs 6158, etc.
(5) A Case of an Unusual Pregnancy
A 94-year-old woman admitted to hospital for pneumonia had a swollen abdomen. A CT scan revealed a
fetus. The woman had dementia so was unable to explain what had happened. [New England Journal of
Medicine 321:1613-14.]
This case prompts exhaustive brainstorming of all aspects of reproductive physiology and will produce
many imaginative hypotheses.
(6) A Case of Declining Biodiversity
In a coyote-control experiment coyote population density was greatly reduced. The number of rodent
species then declined from ten to only two! Rodent species richness did not change on comparison areas
where coyote density remained high. [Journal of Wildlife Management 63:1066-81.]
This case opens many avenues of biology for exploration, including trophic levels, population regulation,
population limitation, competitive exclusion, niche breadth, keystone species, umbrella species, predator
control policy, biodiversity, and species richness.
(7) A Case of Aversion to Sugar
A 24-year-old man experienced abdominal pain, diarrhea, and distention whenever he consumed sugar.
This was a life-long problem. [New England Journal of Medicine 316:438-442.]
This case ensures that students master the taxonomy of carbohydrates, and the physiology of
carbohydrate digestion and absorption.
(8) A Case of a Tight Grip on the Toothpaste
A woman encountered her 30-year-old daughter squeezing the toothpaste and unable to let go. Later that
day the daughter was found holding the doorjamb and unable to move forward. [New England Journal of
Medicine 317:493-501.]
(9) A Case of Murder
Obtain a selection of DNA-typing profiles (RFLP autorads or STR electropherograms) from local police,
and construct a brief but equivocal fictional case history. Divide the class into to groups of five each
group with one judge, two prosecutors and two defense attorneys. Each student should have a copy of
the case and copies of raw DNA profiles. (The old autorads force the students to measure by hand.) Each
side must argue the evidence before the judge and submit to the instructor a brief written report along
with a written decision from the judge. This exercise demands that students help each other to thoroughly
understand the genetics, and the proceedings result in much hilarity. It is desirable to introduce some
complexity, for example we included an autorad from blood on a knife that contained specimens from
several people.
Another good source of DNA typing problems is wildlife census data from hair traps (e.g., grizzly bears).
A forest patch was logged, then replanted, but within seven years the newly planted trees began to die.
[Local example -- acid precipitation, leaching of soil nutrients, inadequate woody debris left on ground as
a soil nutrient bank after logging.]
(19) A Case of a Rattlesnake Warning
A rattlesnake can flick its tail 90 times per second. (Compare that to the speed at which you can flick a
finger and address the possible differences in muscle biology.) [Science News 150:53 July 27 1996.]
(20) A Case of Lassitude
A 26-year-old woman complained of weakness and lassitude. Her blood pH was 7.56 and her arterial
pCO2 was 45.2 mMol. Blood pressure was 90/60.
This is a terrific case, well presented, with a wealth of data on blood gas and electrolyte values. The case
requires students to consider the functional interaction of several organ systems. [Nephrology Dialysis
Transplantation 16:1066-1068.] A printable pdf copy is available at Teaching Point.
Note the brevity of these introductory cases. Brief quotations help students focus on the fundamental
scientific issues without distraction and provide ample substrate for group discussion. Students may of
course progress to the analysis of longer articles, scientific papers, advertisements, and web pages
assigned as homework or term papers.
In each case, the students must evaluate the reliability of the claim being promulgated. Reliable
knowledge is evidence-driven. The students musk ask, "What is the quality of evidence supporting
this claim?"
Reconvene the class and solicit responses from the groups for an instructor-led discussion with the class
as a whole. Comments may be similar to the following.
1. Outcome measure: Was the claimed treatment outcome actually
measured?
In this case the answer is yes. The claimed outcome pertains to the risk
of breech births, and that is the outcome that was measured -- the
number of breech births. In some cases fraudulent claims are
pseudojustified by measuring irrelevant variables or by citing speculative
assertions by "authorities" (argumentum ad verecundiam).
2. Control: Was the treatment outcome compared to that of an otherwise
similar untreated group?
In this case the outcome of treated women was compared to that of a
control group of 130 untreated women that should have been otherwise
similar. However, this control group was not otherwise similar. Treated
women knew that they were being treated and untreated women knew
that they were different -- they were not being treated. Differing
expectations between the two groups may have affected the motility of
the fetuses. For example, the treated women may have been less
worried about birthing because they knew that they were being treated
and therefore had different levels of stress hormones. A better
investigative design would blind the women to their treatment status. The
control women would receive a sham treatment such as heating of a
non-acupuncture point.
3. Replication: Was the treatment replicated?
The answer is yes. One hundred and thirty pairs of women were
used in the investigation. If only one pair of women was studied
(no replication) there would be little confidence that a difference
in outcome between them was other than happenstance.
Adequate replication establishes a statistical benchmark against
which to judge the treatment, that is the likelihood of breech
births among untreated women.
4. Randomization: Was the treatment allocated randomly?
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Critical thinking skills may be tested in large classes using multiple-choice exams. [An example is
shown below.]
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This case introduces skills and practice in weighing conflicting evidence and detecting publication
bias. It is a surprise to many students that a multitude of apparently similar experiments may
produce somewhat differing results, but this is a crucial point to address in teaching critical
thinking skills.
Have the students participate in a two-stage analysis:
1. Ask the students to form groups of three to five in the lecture hall or
assign groups by lottery.
Provide the students with practice in analyzing funnel plots. Display or
issue copies of funnel plots such as Exhibits A and B, below. Each dot
shows the outcome of a published controlled trial. Exhibit A is a plot of
the outcomes of 34 trials that investigated the effect of hostility on the
risk of developing coronary heart disease (adapted from Petticrew et al.
1999). Exhibit B shows the results of 19 trials that studied the effects of
maternal smoking on risk of preterm delivery (adapted from Shah and
Bracken 2001).
Remind the students that reproducibility is an important criterion of
reliable knowledge. Ask the students to spend ten minutes or so
preparing an interpretation of the plots: Is there an effect of the
independent variable (hostility and smoking)? Why are the results within
each exhibit so variable? How might we account for the shape of the
plots?
When the class reconvenes, solicit suggestions from the student groups,
and assist the class in explaining the plots. The students might suggest:
(1) The shape of each plot is consistent with the Law of Large Numbers:
greater variability among estimates from small samples. (2) Results from
the larger sample sizes in each plot may be worthy of greater weighting
in drawing a conclusion. (3) The hypothesis that hostility increases the
risk of coronary heart disease is not well justified by the pattern in Exhibit
A. (4) The weight of evidence is consistent with the inference that that
maternal smoking may be a cause of preterm delivery.
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2. Now the students can progress to the stroke case. Ask them to form
small groups again. Display or issue copies of Exhibit C, the effect of
acupuncture in the treatment of stroke (adapted from Tang et al. 1999).
Ask the students to spend ten minutes or so discussing the shape of the
plot and proposing explanations. Then reconvene the class, solicit
suggestions from the various groups, and assist the class in explaining
the shape of the plot.
The students may suggest: (1) The position of the outcomes of trials with
large sample sizes suggest little evidence of a treatment effect of
acupuncture on stroke. (2) The lack of symmetry is suspicious -- we
would expect additional points to the left of the plot (in this case negative
outcomes). (3) The lack of symmetry suggests the possibility of
publication bias, a tendency for negative outcomes to not be published.
(4) Other factors also could explain the shape, such as disproportionately
poor responses of control subjects in small trials. Recognition of the
possibility of publication bias is an important learning outcome.
JUDGING CONFIDENCE
Case Example: Treatment of a Cold
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This case introduces the concept of confidence. At first glace it appears to involve some heavy slogging,
but the numerical values used in this example are very easy to work with and the educational benefits are
immense.
Display or issue copies of the plot below and ask the students to form groups of three to five in the lecture
hall. The graph shows the last reported day of cold symptoms in (a) a group of 100 people treated with an
experimental purported cold remedy designed by a biotech company (dark bars) and (b) a group of 100
people treated with placebo (light bars).
1. Ask the student groups to discuss the graph for ten minutes. Ask them to
decide if the treatment "worked," and ask them to decide how much
confidence they have in their decision. The students will soon realize that
they must formulate an arbitrary criterion in order to make a decision,
and criteria may vary among the groups. Also they will notice that
experimental data do not necessarily segregate nicely: in this case many
subjects who consumed the placebo fared as well or better than those
who used the remedy.
2. Reconvene the class and tally the results of the decisions, solicit criteria
employed, and discuss these as appropriate.
Inform the students that they will be asked to further interpret the data,
but should use some specific tools. You may wish to suggest that they
weigh any or all of the following:
Difference in mean recovery time
The mean of the treated group is six days and the mean of the control
group is seven days.
Relative risk of still showing symptoms beyond six days can easily be
computed (= 0.6). The number of subjects showing symptoms beyond
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six days in the treatment group was 37 and in the control group was 61.
[(37/100)/(61/100) = 0.6].
Comparison of standard deviations between the groups
These are 1.9 and 2.1, respectively, or for purposes of this exercise
could be rounded to 2.
Confidence intervals
By rounding, a ninety-five percent confidence interval around the mean
(plus or minus 0.4 days) can be calculated in the students' heads simply
as plus or minus two standard errors. This simplified process gives the
students an intuitive feel for a confidence interval. If the confidence
intervals do not overlap, the students would be justified in rejecting the
statistical hypothesis that the difference between the groups was random
variation.
P value
A simple explanation of a P value can be presented regarding the data. P
is the probability of observing the data (or more extreme data) if the
statistical null hypothesis is true, that is assuming samples were drawn
from the same population. In this case the likelihood of observing such a
difference between sample means (per unit of standard error) is
improbably small (P=<0.05).
Risk of error
Weighing risk of error requires considering whether to set the P value
rejection criterion high (P=0.05) or lower. The latter protects against a
type I error (false positive). Setting a high value protects against a type II
error (false negative).
Effect size
Effect size (difference between the means/mean standard deviation) is a
function of sample size. The results of fifteen pairs of random
subsamples of n = 5 and fifteen pairs of n = 60 are shown below:
3. Ask the students to return to their groups and spend fifteen minutes
reassessing the graph using their new tools. Ask the students (a) Do the
confidence intervals overlap? (b) What does a P value tell us about the
probability that the treatment works? (c) Does the data pattern justify the
inference that there is a biologically or clinically significant difference
between the groups in this trial? (d) How might a different relative risk
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statistic be derived from this plot? (e) What factors could haved biased
the outcome of the trial? (f) What further research, if any, would they like
to view before inferring that the treatment is effective?
4. Reconvene the class, solicit opinions from the students, and discuss
these as appropriate.
Likely the students will point out that although there is a statistically
significant difference between the groups, the two confidence intervals
are very close, which raises questions about the biological significance.
Cold symptoms are subjective and to infer symptom clearance within a
time frame of a fraction of a day is likely fraught with problems. The P
value tells us nothing about the probability that the treatment works (the
biological hypothesis). The P value tells us only that the chances of
obtaining our sampled data are small given a statistical null hypothesis.
This may or may not justify inferring a clinical treatment effect. Many
other aspects of the trial require scrutiny.
Make a list of potential sources of bias and confounding variables
suggested by the students. It would be desirable to know what
operational definition of a "cold" was used by investigators. Were all
subjects infected with the smae cultured virus? "Colds" may be caused
by many viruses, which may show differences among them in response
to a particular drug. The students should note that the numerical value of
the relative risk statistic depends upon the end point that is chosen. In
this case the end point was six days. Is there a more meaningful end
point? Ultimately, the students may state that they would like to know if
the results could be consistently reproduced by other investigators.
Time permitting, you may wish to demonstrate how to derive a
confidence interval on relative risk (in this example the 95% interval is
0.46 - 0.78) and introduce the students to graphical methods of plotting
confidence intervals such as forest plots.
Finally, you may wish to introduce some discussion of Bayesian analysis,
in which the probability of the statistical hypothesis, given the data, is
calculated, P(H I D), rather than the probability of the data given the
hypothesis, P(D I H), as above. A Bayesian approach allows the
likelihood to be modified by a prior estimate of probability of the
hypothesis. The effect of assigning a low prior probability is to require the
accumulation of more data to reach the same conclusion as a less
skeptical researcher.
Major outcomes of the discussion should focus on (a) the difficulty of
hypothesis-testing as the treatment effect moves toward zero, (b) the
difference between rejecting a statistical null hypothesis and making an
inference about a biological treatment effect, two separate operations,
and (c) the reasons why the literature on many useless alternative
medicines may be plagued by false positives.
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Judging Confidence
Judging Testability of a Claim
Science vs Religion
SCIENCE VS RELIGION
Case Example: Evolutionary Biology
This case provides practice in discriminating scientific explanations from nonscientific explanations.
Most students are aware that some religious organizations lobby to have supernatural claims, particularly
intelligent design creationism, taught in science classes. Media attention given to this issue is fortuitous,
as it provides a dramatic substrate upon which to confront the question "What is science?"
Rather than lecturing students on science as though it were dogma, such as the "evidence for evolution"
as is presented in many textbooks, it is preferable to actively engage the students in examining and
comparing scientific and nonscientific theories. Ask the students to bring to class lists of criticims of
evolution that they find on the Internet. These can be analyzed in small groups and students can
themselves generate a list of criteria to discriminate science from religion.
Example -Ask the students how they would go about testing a phylogenetic hypothesis. This forces them to
confront a question that many have never before contemplated.
Have the students form groups of three to five in the lecture hall or assign groups by lottery. Ask them to
suggest an investigation to test the phylogeny hypotheses in the following quotation. ALSO ask them to
reflect on their methodology and brainstorm a list of characteristics of science.
Evolutionary biologists have proposed that new kinds of living organisms arise sequentially through time
via genetic modification. For example, it is hypothesized that amphibians evolved from fish and that birds
evolved from saurischian dinosaurs. By contrast, there are "scientific" creationists [members of the
Creation Research Society] who believe that all basic kinds of life (birds, amphibians, reptiles, etc.) arose
within a six day period.
The students will likely suggest that the evolutionary explanation predicts that the fossil record would
show a sequential emergence of fish, amphibians, reptiles, and birds over a span of time geologically
dated at significantly longer than six days, whereas the creation hypothesis predicts that all life forms
would appear together throughout the fossil record, inhabiting the earth from the beginning of the record
of life. The students may have other suggestions, such as seeking transitional fossils, quiescent ancestral
genes, and present-day mutants.
The creationist claim, by contrast, predicts that the fossil record would show the emergence of birds and
reptiles (and all other major life forms) simultaneously without transitional forms.
When the class reconvenes, the students' ideas can be elicited, and an instructor-led discussion can
include a review of the the fossil record, transitional forms ( Archaeopteryx, Tiktaalik, etc.), and genetics
(such as Hoxd13 pattern found in Australian lungfish, tooth genes in birds, the Talpid specimen, etc.)
Of most interest, however, is the list of characteristics of science contributed by the students. Any of the
following might emerge and are worthy of discussion.
1. Scientific ideas are provisional
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An ad for an herbal product that has failed large clinical trials contained
the following testimonial as evidence of its effectiveness: "I was very
pleased with your product. It certainly works for me. My headaches now
disappear within a few hours of taking the pills." Critique the quality of
evidence in support of a treatment effect for this product in this customer,
and suggest a better source of evidence.
[This is an interesting claim, because it is quite possible that a drug may
show no significant effect on a test population yet benefit a unique subset
of people. This was seen with the drug bucindolol in treating heart failure.
Therefore the question in this case is whether the product is better than
placebo in this one person. The "target of inference" from any evidence
is this one single person, not a population. That rules out replication.
However, randomization is possible. An experiment could be designed in
which the subject was randomly given (blindly) either the herb or a
placebo each time he/she suffered a headache. The outcome measure is
headache duration.]
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c. Lack of randomization.
d. Lack of replication.
[The answer is (d), this is an example of pseudoreplication. It is the tanks
that must be replicated (Hurlbert 1984).]
A web page promoting the health benefits of "touch therapy" claims that
"Healing Touch provides an energetic liver cleanse." What evidence
would you like to see in support of such a claim?
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Iridologists claim that by examining the eye they can detect diseases in
other body organs because the iris is neurally connected to them.
Biologists say that there is no neural transmission between the iris and
the major organs. What evidence would be required to validate iridology,
for example, to diagnose kidney disease by viewing only the eye? See if
you can find if such evidence exists.
The web site of The American College or Orgonomy states that this
branch of psychiatry is based upon the theory of Wilhelm Reich that "in
almost all individuals, the flow and release of orgone energy [which 'fills
the universe and pulsates in all living things'] is blocked by chronic
muscle contraction in various areas of the body." Orgone therapy [of
emotional illness] is thus aimed at relief of spastic muscles. Critique this
theory. What type of investigation would be necessary to test this theory?
What type of evidence would you like to see prior to accepting this
proposition and spending money on orgone therapy?
REFERENCES
Angell, M and Kassirer, JP (1998) Alternative medicine: The risks of untested and unregulated remedies.
The New England Journal of Medicine, 339:839-41.
Chiesa, M (1994) Radical behaviorism: The philosophy and the science. Author's Cooperative, Inc.
Debre P and Forster E (1998) Louis Pasteur. Johns Hopkins University Press.
Giere RN (1998) Understanding scientific reasoning. Holt, Rinehart, and Winston.
Hurlbert, SH (1984) Pseudoreplication and the design of ecological experiments. Ecological Monographs,
54:187-211.
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Johnson, D (1999) The insignificance of statistical significance testing. Journal of Wildlife Management,
63:763-772.
Langmuir, I (1989) Pathological Science. Physics today, October:36-48.
Nussbaum, MC (1997) Cultivating humanity. Harvard University Press.
Peters RH (1991) A Critique for Ecology. Cambridge University Press.
Petticrew, M et al. 1999. Relation between hostility and coronary heart disease. British Medical Journal
1999;319:917 ( 2 October ).
Rorty, R (1991) Objectivity, relativism, and truth. Cambridge University Press.
Shah, N and MB Bracken. 2001. A systematic review and meta-analysis of prospective studies on the
association between maternal cigarette smoking and preterm delivery. Journal of Nutrition.
2001;131:1032S-1040S.
Skalski JR and Robson DS (1992) Techniques for wildlife investigations. Academic Press.
Tang J-L, Zhan S-Y, Ernst E. 1999. Review of randomised controlled trials of traditional Chinese medicine.
British Medical Journal 319:160-161.
Western D (1997) In the dust of Kilimanjaro. Island Press.
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References:
AAAS. (1989). Project 2061: Science for All Americans and
Benchmarks for Science Literacy, N.Y: Oxford University Press.
Barrows, H.S. (1997). Problem-based learning is more than just
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