The Strange Case of BeriBeri In 1887 a strange nerve disease attacked the people

Question

The Strange Case of BeriBeri In 1887 a strange nerve disease attacked the people in the Dutch East Indies. The disease was beriberi. Symptoms of the disease included weakness and loss of appetite, victims often died of heart failure. Scientists thought the disease might be caused by bacteria. They injected chickens with bacteria from the blood of patients with beriberi. The injected chickens became sick. However, so did a group of chickens that were not injected with bacteria. One of the scientists, Dr. Eijkman, designed a new experiment based on his own observations. Before the experiment, all the chickens had eaten whole-grain rice, but during the experiment, the chickens were fed polished rice. Dr. Eijkman research this interesting case and found that polished rice lacked thiamine, a vitamin necessary for good health. ed 1. State the question or problem that Dr. Ejkman investigated. 2. What was the original hypothesis? 3. What was the manipulated (independent) variable and the ressponding (dependent) variable? 4. Write a statement that summarizes the results of the experiment. 5. How would. Dr. Eijkman test his new hypothesis?

Explanation / Answer

1) The question or problem investigated by Dr. Eijkman was why both group of chickens that were injected with bacteria and the one that was not injected became sick.

2) The original hypothesis was that the nerve disease was caused by a bacteria.

3) The independent variable was the nerve disease and the dependent variable was the symptoms seen due to the disease.

4) Both experimental group and the control group showed symptoms of the nerve disease. Hence, it can be concluded that bacteria may not be the cause of the disease as hypothesized.

5) Dr. Eijkman can test his new hypothesis that thiamine deficiency causes Beriberi by keeping the disease as independent variable and the symptoms as a dependent variable. There will be two experimental groups - one group fed with polished rice and another group fed with unpolished rice. The control group will consist of normal healthy chickens as positive control and chickens with Beriberi as negative control. The results from the experimental group can be compared with the control groups and the results can be deduced.

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