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Genetic Engineering. Here's an idea for treating advanced melanoma, the most serious kind of skin cancer: genetically engineer white blood cells to better recognize and destroy cancer cells; then infuse these cells into patients. The subjects in a small initial study of this approach were 11 patients whose melanoma had not responded to existing treatments. One outcome of this experiment was measured by a test for the presence of cells that trigger an immune response in the body and so may help fight cancer. The mean counts of active cells per 100,000 cells for the 11 subjects were \(3.8\) before infusion and 160.2 after infusion. Is each of the boldface numbers a parameter or a statistic?

Short Answer

Expert verified
Both numbers are statistics, as they describe sample characteristics.

Step by step solution

01

Understanding Parameters and Statistics

Begin by distinguishing between a parameter and a statistic. A parameter is a numerical value that describes a characteristic of a population, while a statistic is a numerical value that describes a characteristic of a sample drawn from the population.
02

Identify the Subjects of the Study

The study involves 11 patients whose melanoma did not respond to existing treatments. This indicates that the results pertain to a sample of patients, not the entire population of all individuals with melanoma.
03

Analyze the Mean Count of Active Cells Before Infusion

The mean count of active cells per 100,000 cells before infusion is given as 3.8. Since this value is computed based on the 11 subjects involved in the study, it represents a statistic.
04

Analyze the Mean Count of Active Cells After Infusion

Similarly, the mean count of active cells per 100,000 cells after infusion is 160.2, calculated from the sample of 11 subjects. This makes it a statistic as well.

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Key Concepts

These are the key concepts you need to understand to accurately answer the question.

Genetic Engineering
Genetic engineering plays a crucial role in advancing modern medicine. It involves the manipulation of an organism's genetic material to alter its characteristics. In the context of melanoma treatment, scientists explore genetic engineering by modifying patients’ white blood cells. This process enhances their ability to recognize and destroy cancer cells more effectively than they naturally would. By infusing these genetically engineered cells back into the patient, their body's immune system can target and fight melanoma more successfully. This method shows promise, especially for patients whose cancers do not respond to traditional treatments, offering new hopes and possibilities in cancer therapy.
Parameters and Statistics
In statistics, it's essential to distinguish between parameters and statistics to understand the scope of data analysis. A parameter refers to a value that describes something about an entire population. For example, if we know the average height of all people in a country, that average is a parameter. On the other hand, a statistic is a measure that is derived from a part of the population, like a sample in a study. In our exercise, the mean counts of active cells measured before and after infusion (3.8 and 160.2) are statistics because they are based on a sample of 11 subjects rather than the whole population of melanoma patients. This distinction helps researchers draw conclusions about the larger population based on sample data.
Melanoma Treatment
Advanced melanoma is a severe form of skin cancer, and conventional treatments often fall short. New therapeutic strategies, like the one discussed in this exercise, aim to overcome these limitations. The idea is to use genetic engineering to boost the immune system's integration in the fight against cancer. By specifically engineering white blood cells to identify and act against cancerous cells, this treatment holds the promise of fewer side effects and targeted action compared to traditional chemotherapy and radiation therapy. Such innovations highlight the importance of continued research and clinical trials in evolving cancer treatment strategies.
Immune Response Measurement
Measuring the immune response is vital in evaluating the success of treatments such as the genetic engineering approach for melanoma patients. The exercise focuses on the mean counts of active cells as an indicator of immune response effectiveness. Before infusion, the mean count is only 3.8 per 100,000 cells. After genetically modified cells are infused, this count jumps dramatically to 160.2. These numbers reflect an improved immune response, suggesting the treatment's potential effectiveness in combating melanoma. By tracking how the immune system responds, healthcare providers can better refine treatments, ensuring they are safe, effective, and targeted.

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Most popular questions from this chapter

Playing the numbers: The house has a business. Unlike Joe (see the previous exercise), the operators of the numbers racket can rely on the law of large numbers. It is said that the New York Ciry mobster Casper Holstein took as many as 25,000 bets per day in the Prohibition era. That's 150,000 bets in a week if he takes Sunday off. Casper's mean winnings per bet are \(\$ 0.40\) (he pays out 60 cents of each dollar bet to people like Joe and keeps the other 40 cents). His standard deviation for single bets is about \(\$ 18.96\), the same as Joe's.New York Daily News Ârchived Getty Images (a) What are the mean and standard deviation of Casper's average winnings \(x^{-} \bar{x}\) on his 150,000 bets? (b) According to the central limit theorem, what is the approximate probability that Casper's average winnings per bet are between \(\mathrm{S} 0.30\) and \(\$ 0.50 ?\) After only a week, Casper can be pretty confident that his winnings will be quìte close to \(\$ 0.40\) per bet.

Measurements in the Lab. Juan makes a measurement in a chemistry laboratory and records the result in his lab report. Suppose that if Juan makes this measurement repeatedly, the standard deviation of his measurements will be \(\sigma=\) 10 milligrams. Juan repeats the measurement four times and records the mean \(x^{-}=\) of his four measurements. (a) What is the standard deviation of Juan's mean result? (That is, if Juan kept on making four measurements and averaging them, what would be the standard deviation of all his \(x^{-} \bar{x}^{\text {'s}} \mathrm{s}\) ?) (b) How many times must Juan repeat the measurement to reduce the standard deviation of \(x^{-} x\) to 2 ? Explain to someone who knows no statistics the advantage of reporting the average of several measurements rather than the result of a single measurement.

The Bureau of Labor Statistics announces that last month it interviewed all members of the labor force in a sample of 60,000 households; \(4.9 \%\) of the people interviewed were unemployed. The boldface number is a (a) sampling distribution. (b) statistic. (c) parameter.

Daily activity. It appears that people who are mildly obese are less active than leaner people. One study looked at the average number of minutes per day that people spend standing or walking. \({ }^{7}\) Among mildly obese people, the mean number of minutes of daily activity (standing or walking) is approximately Normally distributed with mean 373 minutes and standard deviation 67 minutes. The mean number of minutes of daily activity for lean people is approximately Normally distributed with mean 526 minutes and standard deviation 107 minutes. A researcher records the minutes of activity for an SRS of five mildly obese people and an SRS of five lean people. (a) What is the probability that the mean number of minutes of daily activity of the five mildly obese people exceeds 420 minutes? (b) What is the probability that the mean number of minutes of daily activity of the five lean people exceeds 420 minutes?

Playing the numbers. The numbers racket is a well-entrenched illegal gambling operation in most large cities. One version works as follow5: you choose one of the 1000 three-digit numbers 000 to 999 and pay your local numbers runner a dollar to enter your bet. Each day, one three-digit number is chosen at random and pays off \(\$ 600\). The mean payoff for the population of thousands of bets is \(\mu=60\) cents. Joe makes one bet every day for many years. Explain what the law of large numbers says about Joe's results as he keeps on betting.

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