*Edited version* How Can A Neurotoxin Be Good? From Neuroscience For Kids (Major website)
 http://faculty.washington.edu/chudler/botox.html
 This particular website is a really good one because it describes one of the medical uses for Botulinum toxin. It explains the studies done to test if “Botox” can be used to treat headaches/migraines. It also has a side story about a friend of the author’s who had been living with migraines for 15 years and who participated in a study to test the effects of Botox on headaches. This website explains what causes migraines/headaches and how these affect the body. This website is posted on “Neuroscience For Kids” and the articles were written by Ellen Kuwana, a staff writer for the website. The articles were posted on March 17th, 2003. I believe that this was posted because it shows that medical science has been working on finding uses for this potentially dangerous neurotoxin.
 This website links back to the nervous system and how it works. Although this website does not go into detail about how Botulism affects the nervous system, it does explain how migraines are caused, which includes talking about the neurotansmitter serotonin is involved in causing these headaches. There is also a link back to the “Neurotoxin” page of the website to explain what a neurotoxin is, and this helps to explain how neurotoxins attack the nervous system. (http://faculty.washington.edu/chudler/toxin1.html)
 I think that the two best features about this website are all of the useful links to other sources and the fact that the website explains a lot about what Botox has been used for in the medical field. The links go to other articles related to what the author is talking about, such as the link to the article of when Botox was approved for wrinkles in 2002 (http://www.fda.gov/bbs/topics/ANSWERS/2002/ANS01147.html) and the article that explains more about the studies from 2002 when they were testing Botox to see if it could be used to treat headaches (http://www.thebostonchannel.com/news/1518156/detail.html). I think that the two worst features of this website would have to be that it has not been updated since 2003, so the information is not as current and accurate as it should be, and also that the article does not use terminology that children can understand. This is supposed to be a website for kids, but it uses a lot of words that they may not be familiar with.
 Elizabeth Turpela, written on November 18th, 2007; reposted December 10th, 2007. (This IS me writing this review.)

*Edited version* Understanding Botulism: The Basic Concept from Clemson University (Minor website)
 http://hgic.clemson.edu/factsheets/HGIC3680.htm
 As I have said before, this article was originally posted April, 1999, was updated February, 2007, and was reviewed by P.H. Schmutz, an HGIC Food Safety Specialist, and E. H. Hoyle, an Extension Food Safety Specialist, for the Clemson Extension Home and Garden Info Center of Clemson University in South Carolina. I believe that this article was posted as a project for the university and as a way of releasing information to the public about a sometimes deadly neurotoxin. This website covers the basics of botulism: what botulism is, who can get it, how it’s spread, what the symptoms are, treatments, and prevention.
 This website explains what the symptoms of the illness are. Botulism is a foodborne illness, and is caused by improperly handled food, home-canned food, or, in the case of infant botulism, inhaled C. Botulinum spores. Botulism attacks the nervous system, which is something that we covered extensively in class, attaching itself onto the nerve endings. The symptoms may include “blurred or double vision, general weakness, poor reflexes, [and] difficulty swallowing” and in some cases may lead to death.
 I think that one of the best features of this website is that, even though it’s not a well-known company or university that posted this, the information is still really useful and as in-depth as it can be without being long-winded. The other best feature of this website is the section entitled, “How Can Botulism Be Prevented?” This section focuses on the measures that can be taken to avoid contracting such a deadly illness, and even lists some side links on how to safely can home-made foods and how to store oils infused with herbs. (http://hgic.clemson.edu/factsheets/HGIC3040.htm and http://ggic.clemson.edu/factsheets/HGIC3470.htm )
 I think that the two worst features of this website are that one, it has not been updated for several months, and two, I feel that it should have a section on this website describing what they mean by “improperly stored home-cooked” foods, because that could mean anything, in my opinion.
 Elizabeth Turpela, written November 16th, 2007; reposted December 10th, 2007. (This IS me writing this.)

Elizabeth, I think you did great with your topic and explaining all the major details required for this assignment. I think you related the article thoroughly to A&P and what we have been studying in class! GREAT JOB

Your reviews are informative, but it seems like you need more information on how it relates to a&p. Also you might want to define which is your major/minor websites. Other than that, good job!

I think you did a really good job at explaining the best and worst features for your reviews, and showed a lot of detail on who is posting each site, even describing who the staff writer is and when the articles were posted.
 I think you should state which is your minor and major website, just so there is no confusion. Also, I think you could use a little more detail on how neurotoxins relate back to a & p class. Overall, great job at meeting all the review criteria!

How Can A Neurotoxin Be Good? From Neuroscience For Kids
 http://faculty.washington.edu/chudler/botox.html
 This particular website is a really good one because it describes one of the medical uses for Botulinum toxin. It explains the studies done to test if “Botox” can be used to treat headaches/migraines. It also has a side story about a friend of the author’s who had been living with migraines for 15 years and who participated in a study to test the effects of Botox on headaches. This website explains what causes migraines/headaches and how these affect the body. This website is posted on “Neuroscience For Kids” and the articles were written by Ellen Kuwana, a staff writer for the website. The articles were posted on March 17th, 2003. I believe that this was posted because it shows that medical science has been working on finding uses for this potentially dangerous neurotoxin.
 This website links back to the nervous system and how it works. Although this website does not go into detail about how Botulism affects the nervous system, it does explain how migraines are caused, which includes talking about the neurotansmitter serotonin is involved in causing these headaches. There is also a link back to the “Neurotoxin” page of the website to explain what a neurotoxin is. (http://faculty.washington.edu/chudler/toxin1.html)
 I think that the two best features about this website are all of the useful links to other sources and the fact that the website explains a lot about what Botox has been used for in the medical field. The links go to other articles related to what the author is talking about, such as the link to the article of when Botox was approved for wrinkles in 2002 (http://www.fda.gov/bbs/topics/ANSWERS/2002/ANS01147.html) and the article that explains more about the studies from 2002 when they were testing Botox to see if it could be used to treat headaches (http://www.thebostonchannel.com/news/1518156/detail.html). I think that the two worst features of this website would have to be that it has not been updated since 2003, so the information is not as current and accurate as it should be, and also that the article does not use terminology that children can understand. This is supposed to be a website for kids, but it uses a lot of words that they may not be familiar with.
 Elizabeth Turpela, written and posted on November 18th, 2007 (This IS me writing this review.)

Understanding Botulism: The Basic Concept from Clemson University
 http://hgic.clemson.edu/factsheets/HGIC3680.htm
 As I have said before, this article was originally posted April, 1999, was updated February, 2007, and was reviewed by P.H. Schmutz, an HGIC Food Safety Specialist, and E. H. Hoyle, an Extension Food Safety Specialist, for the Clemson Extension Home and Garden Info Center of Clemson University in South Carolina. I believe that this article was posted as a project for the university and as a way of releasing information to the public about a sometimes deadly neurotoxin. This website covers the basics of botulism: what botulism is, who can get it, how it’s spread, what the symptoms are, treatments, and prevention.
 This website explains what the symptoms of the illness are. Botulism is a foodborne illness, and is caused by improperly handled food, home-canned food, or, in the case of infant botulism, inhaled C. Botulinum spores. Botulism attacks the nervous system, attaching itself onto the nerve endings. The symptoms may include “blurred or double vision, general weakness, poor reflexes, [and] difficulty swallowing” and in some cases may lead to death.
 I think that one of the best features of this website is that, even though it’s not a well-known company or university that posted this, the information is still really useful and as in-depth as it can be without being long-winded. The other best feature of this website is the section entitled, “How Can Botulism Be Prevented?” This section focuses on the measures that can be taken to avoid contracting such a deadly illness, and even lists some side links on how to safely can home-made foods and how to store oils infused with herbs. (http://hgic.clemson.edu/factsheets/HGIC3040.htm and http://ggic.clemson.edu/factsheets/HGIC3470.htm )
 I think that the two worst features of this website are that one, it has not been updated for several months, and two, I feel that it should have a section on this website describing what they mean by “improperly stored home-cooked” foods, because that could mean anything, in my opinion.
 Elizabeth Turpela, written November 16th, 2007; posted November 18th. (This IS me writing this.)

Elizabeth,
great topic choice (!!) and you do a superb job of describing the websites you've chosen. I think you could use either of the articles as a lesser or minor website. I like the "botulism poison that heals" article. It is posted by the FDA which obviously is a huge institution, but the article itself would work. The other article from Clemsen U. is also really interesting.

Thanks a lot for your very detailed peer feedback,
LF
Choose topic: 10 points
Find four websites: 20 points
Peer reviews: 10 points

Washington toxin1 site:

I like how the audience is for kids. I like the table it shows. Downfall is that it if you don't know exactly whats happening with the neural actions with the different neurotoxins then it won't make sense.

Washington botox site:

Liked the site because it was informative about botox and how it actually has a medical use, instead of the traditional use of botox. It has a lot of references on the web page. Downside is that it's more about headaches.

FDA site:

Informative on how it can heal as well as harm. It comes from a credible web site. I liked it, I really don't have a negative comment about it. I'm actually learning more about it.

Clemson website:

I liked it because it I get the facts about botulism. It has plenty of references. What isn't cool is just knowing that I can get sick from somebody elses mishandling of food and I can't do anything.

Allison Donahue Web Site Review

Site #1- This site seemed to break down the idea of neurotoxins into something that everyone can understand. The site was easy to navigate. It was an excellent cite for children and broke it down into something that everyone can understand.

Site #2- For me this website focused mainly on migraines and their role. It showed how they could be good and bad. Overall the website was o.k. This website was not really in depth with a lot of useful information, as far as research writing.

Site #3- This website really showed it as a poison, and was geared to steer people away from the usage. Although the information is a little old, the basic information is interesting and easy to understand.

Site #4- This seemed a little repetitive but a good source.

1. I thought this site was great! It had the very basic information on what Nuerotoxins were and what animals/insects have them and what each does to the body.

2. This site actually informed me that Botox is a neurotoxin. It gives the information on what Botox does and what kind of neurotoxin it is.

3. Botulinum toxin can heal as well as harm, which i didnt even know what Botulinum was until I read this website. It tells us the goods/bads of this neurotoxin.

4. This site is just another site telling even more information about the third site, Botulinum. All the information youll need will be on this site.

http://faculty.washington.edu/chudler/toxin1.html
This site was great, all the neat things it had to offer for kid was really great. My daughter loved looking at it, and had a ton of question. It was also informative on good information and put it all into a really cool way to learn weather you’re a kid or not. The section on insect was a neat idea as well, I think you really had chosen a neat site way to be creative and include kids…


Again this site was from the last one. Like I stated ,before it offer a neat way on the break down of Neurotoxin and puts them into a way that everyone can learn. How-ever if you want to get really in depth this site can leave out a lot of critical information that may need to be used elsewhere. I wish you might have chosen a different site the second time, to broaden your research ( Neuroscience for kids ) is great but not enough.

http://www.fda.gov/FDAC/features/095_bot.html
On this site I found the information to be really informative and useful. The document was well written by the U.S Food And Drug Administration. The paper on Botulinum Toxin was well put. They went in-depth on canning food, and the tempters of cooking your food. Neat choice for one of your topic picks.

http://hgic.clemson.edu/factsheets/HGIC3680.htm
Again another neat paper on Botulism. The hole break down on who can get it were it’s from and how to cure it was well put. How ever the last site talked about the same thing. I feel like they kind of repeated each other.

Neuroscience for Kids: Site #1

 The two things that I liked best were that this website broke down neurotoxins so that even kinds can understand them on their level, and I found it very interesting to see the relation between poisonous animals and the action of the neurotoxin on a neuron. Two things that I didn’t like was that besides the neuronal action, the website should have done a better job of explaining what effect these actions have on the body. For example, little kids are not going to understand what “blocking calcium channels” does specifically to their bodies. Also, I feel like the site could have been a little more in-depth on neurotoxins.

Neuroscience for Kids: Site #2

 I really liked that this website offered a personal story of someone who suffers from migraines and underwent the botox injections. In addition, it gave a good explanation at the end of how botox blocks the release of acetylcholine in the motor neurons. This shows exactly the connection with our class and this semester. I only saw one thing that I didn’t like, and that was that the majority of the information was focused specifically on just migraines.

Botulinum Toxin: Site #3

 I like the fact that this website gives details on how the toxin binds to the nerve endings and prevents muscle contraction. I also like that it gives a time frame for the poison setting in, and offers details on the antitoxin. It was very interesting. I disliked the fact that the information wasn’t very current (Published in 1995), and the fact that only some of the information was valid.

Clemson Extension: Site #4
 
 I found this site very interesting. It shows a lot of detail on the subject and I liked how it gave the symptoms and in doing so, showed how the Neurotoxin affects people. I disliked that it lacked a biological explanation on how exactly the neurotoxin affects people internally, causing those symptoms

http://faculty.washington.edu/chudler/toxin1.html

This is a page from “Neuroscience For Kids” that gives the name of the neurotoxin, what the source of the neurotoxin is, and what effect that toxin has on the nervous system. The actual “Neuroscience For Kids” website is maintained by Eric H. Chudler, Ph.D and was last updated on October 17th, 2007. I believe that this website was written for kids to give them an education on how our bodies work and what neurotoxins can do to us, using a level of understanding that kids can comprehend.


http://faculty.washington.edu/chudler/botox.html

This is also a page from “Neuroscience For Kids,” but this one explains in better detail what Botulinum toxin, which I have chosen to be my main focus, is used for in the medical field in small doses. The article is written by Ellen Kuwana, who is a staff writer for the website, and the article was posted on March 17th, 2003. I believe that she wrote this article to explain the medical uses of this neurotoxin and how, in small doses, it might help people. This article explains how scientists have tested Botox to see if it can be used to help improve headaches/migraines.


http://www.fda.gov/FDAC/features/095_bot.html

This is an article from the FDA Consumer magazine that was published in December 1995 and was written by Luba Vangelova. I believe that this article was written because the public deserves to know exactly what causes botulism, how it attacks our nervous system, and what beneficial uses have been discovered for the toxin. Although the article is old and some of the information is no longer valid, the basic info is still valid. The article covers the types of botulism poisoning, how it can occur, and what its medical uses are.


http://hgic.clemson.edu/factsheets/HGIC3680.htm

This is an article describing the foodborne illness, botulism, which is caused by the bacteria C. botulinum. This article was written in April, 1999, and was revised in February, 2007. The article was reviewed by P.H. Schmutz, an HGIC Food Safety Specialist, and E. H. Hoyle, an Extension Food Safety Specialist, for the Clemson Extension Home and Garden Info Center of Clemson University in South Carolina. I believe that this article was written as another source of information for the public about a very common, and sometimes deadly, foodborne illness. The article describes where the illness comes from, forms of treatment, and how to prevent botulism, among other topics.

I am choosing to focus on Botulinum toxin for my research. This is because it is the only neurotoxin created by a bacteria and has some interesting medical, and now non-medical, uses.

I have chosen to do neurotoxins because I liked learning about the nervous system in class, and I felt that understanding how different neurotoxins affect the nervous system would be an interesting topic. At the moment I have not chosen exactly which neurotoxins I will be focusing on, but I will be narrowing my topic later on.