Reflection

Posted by Winnie Melda on October 5th, 2018

            The lecture provides a discussion of the viral outbreak and the science of emerging disease making reference to SARS and other viral mysteries. The lecture starts with a discussion of SARS as a global epidemic, its origin, and a case definition of how it started. The lecture also gives a vivid description of how SARS spread worldwide and the virochip that helped to identify SARS virus. A method of sequencing confirmed the disease as caused by a new coronavirus. According to the lecture, the epidemic was contained in six months which was a long period for such a deadly disease. The original SARS coronavirus came from horseshoe bat. Another disease described is the Proventricular dilatation disease (PDD) which is a mysterious parrot disease. The virochip investigations also reveal that bornavirus may cause PDD. However, it was necessary to have an advanced method of inquiry like the use of Ultra-deep sequencing that reads hundreds of millions of bases at once. Also explained in the lecture is the process of getting a viral genome and comparing the sequences with a known bornavirus genome.

            I find the lecture interesting to watch via video than reading a text since it has a rich array of visuals that reinforce my understanding of the topic. The concepts described are not easy to grasp, but the video makes them more vivid, and easy to follow. From the opening remarks to the end, the lecturer ensures that he takes each aspect one at a time to allow room for a clear explanation. The video is more of engaging than a lecture by the strategy of using diagrams, charts, and other visuals to explain the different phenomena.

            In respect to the organization of the content presented, I find it appropriate by starting with the simple ideas and illustrations and proceeding with the more complex parts. The lecturer starts with a definition of SARS, its origin, and a case definition which lay a sure foundation for the discussion of the viral disease. I think that lectures ought to adopt the format in which the instructor provides a glimpse of what he/she intends to cover in a simple way for the students to understand before getting into details.

            I find it appropriate that the information presented be availed through video other than handouts due to its effectiveness. As such, the level of comprehension is enhanced when students have an opportunity to ask questions in the middle of the lecture. The session allows the learners to arraign any uncertainties they have about the content of the lecture. I found the description of the virochip interesting and effective in identifying the SARS virus. The same was for the description of ultra-deep sequencing method of inquiry. The discussion of the comparison of the sequences of the known bornavirus genomes is timely after the discussion of the ultradeep sequencing technique in ensuring that one understands the content as required.

            There are several positive aspects from the lecture. The mode of presentation is good and encouraging to the learners to understand the concept better. The lecture is short but with a comprehensive analysis of SARS and other viral mysteries. Thus, it captures all the important details. The only concern from the lecture is the use of terminologies that are challenging to infer from the rest of the details of the lecture. Otherwise, most of the lecture is appropriate for use in research about SARS.

                                   Reference

Video on Solving SARS and other Viral Mysteries, Retrieved from   http://media.hhmi.org/hl/10Lect4.html      

Sherry Roberts is the author of this paper. A senior editor at Melda Research in customized research paper if you need a similar paper you can place your order for medicine essay writing.