Literature Review

When we begin the purification of alkaline phosphatase, in the second half of the semester, students will be assigned a paper from the scientific literature to critically read, evaluate, and then present to the class. The goal of this exercise is to go to the literature and find information in the paper that is relevant to the work we are doing in the lab, and then present this information to the rest of the class so everyone will better understand the enzyme we are studying. When reading these papers it is suggested that you read the Introduction, then the Discussion, and finally the Results. Look carefully at the Figures and Tables, often they tell the whole story.