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Research Paper Question

Hi, I need to write a 1000 word research paper for school, it needs to be a narrow topic. This paper’s topic is in question form (example of non-horse related topic: How does climate change impact elk migration in Montana?) I am interested in writing something about horse genetics but anything horse related would be appreciated.

Ummmm… isn’t this your research paper?? (not ours?)

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Ask your teacher.

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If you are interested in writing about genetics, then surely you have some interest in it and therefore some things you already want to know or wonder about?

Sit down and just write down a list of all those questions you’ve had in your mind about the subject.

Start researching in a general way and see which of those questions you are finding the most answers and supporting material about.

Pick that one, research more specifically, and write.

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Go to one of the excellent websites on horse color genetics and see what questions they answer.

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How could anyone write about climate change affecting elk migration in 1000 words?

I think this is probably spam.

But yes, color genetics is interesting. Although the 1000 word “research paper” is sort of a ridiculous concept. Sort of like jumbo shrimp.

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I hate when people are like, “Do my homework for me!”

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I suspect the shift in the northern magnetic pole would have a greater affect …

Since 2015, the place to which a compass points has been sprinting toward Siberia at a pace of more than 30 miles a year. Since 1990, it has moved a whopping 600 miles , and it can be found in the middle of the Arctic Ocean, 4 degrees south of geographic north - for the moment.

https://www.sciencealert.com/navigation-systems-finally-caught-up-with-the-mysteriously-north-pole-shift

the shift has been so dramatic Fairbanks, Alaska had to renamed runways 1L-19R to 2L-20R in 2009 to reflect the magnetic shift

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Um, the OP/spam isn’t actually interested in writing about that topic. :confused:

OP - Horse genetics is an interesting and broad topic. Think about narrowing it. Example: Why do people believe that two grey horses will produce a grey horse? There are any number of questions you can think about for your focus.

A question (not related to horses) that fascinates me is: Which has a greater impact on climate change - CO2 emissions or the heat generated by social media posts? Probably too esoteric for your paper. Have fun with the subject.

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One of the wonderful things about writing research papers in today’s era is that the world’s libraries are at your fingertips. Instead of just paraphrasing whatever you can find in the 3 books your library system has vaguely related to your topic, today you can start by googling any questions you have and building them into your paper. The first sources you find, like Wikipedia, may not count as trustworthy, definitive sources, but you can use the information you find to ask better questions and/or to find canonical, definitive sources.

For example: today you can find actual scientific papers and cite them as part of your paper. It’s an amazing time, so much better than Teh Olden Dayz.

So, the tricky part about this then is that YOU have to figure out what question you have that is interesting to you. What do you want to know about genetics? What is known about horse genetics? Open your inner toddler mind and don’t be limited by what you think you know.

Here are some ideas for you that might help you think.

We have tests now for some genetic diseases. Is there one that interests you? You can talk about biochemically, what is going on with this one gene change that is expressed in the way it is, or how the test was developed. Or if for example it was propagated by an especially popular sire. How does one gene change affect protein synthesis that then causes sometimes catastrophic changes for the health of the resulting embryo?

There’s all kinds of fun science about white and white patterns. One of my favorite questions: why does white tend to start at the extremities? The nose, the feet, the tailtip, and this is across all kinds of species.

On a horse that is more than one hair color, how does it know whether, in that spot, which color to make? Why do colors change with time on some colors but not others?

Why do ponies mature smaller than horses?

What is the wild type color of horses and why do domestic horses have so many color choices?

Chimerism is a fun topic.

Not promising that any of these have answers you can use. But start thinking of questions, start googling, and when you find something fun, see if you can find enough sources of the right type to fit your assignment. Once you have one, run with it. Good luck and enjoy your paper.

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Here is the kind of question horse owners sometimes ponder.

I have an Overo Paint mare with maybe 25/75% white/color ratio, and her base color is chestnut.

If I want to breed her for the wildest colored foal possible what color stallion should I look for?

I realize breeding exclusively for color is a bad idea IRL, but the question is a good way to think about color genetics and by extension genetics in general.