Scientific Method Tracing In A Diabetes Scientific Article - Essay Example

The investigators then went on to test the hypothesis. Because of the detailed description of the care conditions of all test animals (temperature, humidity, light/dark cycle, access to drinking fluids, and diet composition), it can be said that the baseline characteristics were aimed to be similar in the control and treatment groups. In fact, when looking at table 1 of the journal article, it can be seen that the differences in initial body weight and food intake between control and coffee groups were insignificant (p>0.1). This is important to prevent other factors, aside from coffee exposure, to cause increase blood sugar levels (Dans, Dans and Silvestre, 2008).

The control group was the eleven mice that were given water for drinking fluid for five weeks. In contrast, the treatment group was the ten mice that were given 50% coffee solution as drinking fluid for the same duration. Those that were given water belong to the control group because they underwent the same conditions as the other mice, except the drinking water provided of them. Similarly, the ten mice provided with coffee are the treatment group because they are the only ones exposed to the substance being studied, which is coffee.

The number of samples were also sufficient, since it can be seen from table 1 that the standard deviation values of the parameters measured were small, compared to the averages of these values. Blood samples were then collected from the tail vein once a week for serum glucose measurements. After five weeks, the mice were decapitated, and blood, liver, white and brown adipose tissues were removed. Using the blood samples, serum insulin, triglyceride, total cholesterol and inflammatory markers MCP-1 and IL-6 were measured.

The investigators thus used measurable, objective and direct means of answering their research question, instead of using surrogate markers (Jepsen, et al., 2007). Finally, the mice, and the samples obtained from them, were analyzed in the groups to which they were initially assigned. In spite of following the scientific method and implementation of measures that prevents selection bias, as evidenced by similar baseline weights and food intake between control and treatment groups, other biases might have been made during the course of the experiment.

For example, measurement bias may occur, especially since it was not indicated whether those that analyzed the samples from the mice were blinded to their treatment allocation or not. It is thus possible, that blood glucose values, liver and fat weights, and triglycerides were consciously lowered for the treatment group.Results show that coffee ingestion resulted to significant blood glucose reduction starting at 2 weeks after treatment initiation until