I do not know what grade you are in, nor how much time you have left or if you still have a need for suggestions, but mine would to be to write about how the lowly chicken is the most researched animal on the planet :
The chicken was chosen to be the first for complete genome sequence and continues to be a pivotal model for genome research:
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/projects/genome/guide/chicken/
http://www.nih.gov/science/models/nmm/appd.html
(excerpt) "...Chicken eggs are plentiful, inexpensive and extraordinarily convenient. Large numbers of eggs can be incubated at one time to obtain embryos at precise stages of development. Chick embryos are much cheaper to maintain and study than mouse embryos. Most institutes' facilities for maintaining and growing transgenic mice are already inadequate, and it is inevitable that this shortage of space will become more severe, even if funding is diverted into expanded infrastructure.
The chick represent the model system which most resembles other higher vertebrates while still permitting experimental intervention in ovo. As such it represents an important complement to mouse model systems....."
>>>avian nutritional research
>>>Importance of chickens in cancer research
http://envirocancer.cornell.edu/Newsletter/articles/v11hen.cfm
(Using the Domestic Hen as a Model for Studying Ovarian Cancer)
excerpt: "...Why is the domestic hen a good model for human ovarian cancer?
Most animals do not spontaneously develop ovarian cancer and this has made the study of the tumors difficult.... Generally, among domestic animals, the desired state is pregnancy and/or lactation and most wild animals are pregnant, lactating or seasonally sexually inactive. These physiological states are not associated with frequent ovulation or ovarian cancer. The one model that does exhibit ovarian cancer with a high incidence is the domestic hen ..."
http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2008/02/080219203526.htm
(Chicken Antibodies To Help Detect HER2 Breast Cancer)
http://www.ces.ncsu.edu/depts/agcomm/writing/1999/cancer.htm
(the chicken is one of the few animals where spontaneous ovarian cancer occurs and is therefore an invaluable model in cancer research)
>>>and as far as descending from the jungle fowl, latest word on that is not so blck and white:
http://www.animalpicturesarchive.com/view.php?tid=2&did=28606
(excerpt)
Darwin Was Wrong About Wild Origin Of The Chicken, New Research Shows [ScienceDaily 2008-02-29]
"....It is most likely the case that the grey jungle fowl was crossed with an early form of the domesticated chicken. The genes for yellow skin are spread among billions of domesticated chickens around the world. Darwin's studies of domesticated animals were of key importance to his theory of evolution, and he also explained the wild origins of domesticated animals.
"What's ironic is that Darwin thought that more than one wild species had contributed to the development of the dog, but that the chicken came from only one wild species, the red jungle fowl. Now it turns out that it's just the opposite way around," says Greger Larson, a researcher at Uppsala University and Durham University in England.
...."Our study is a clear example of the importance of regulatory mutations in the course of evolution. What we don't know is why humans bred this characteristic. Maybe chickens with bright yellow legs were seen as being healthier or more fertile than other chickens, or were we simply charmed by their distinct appearance?" wonders Professor Leif Andersson, who directed the project.
The scientists believe that the same gene may well be of significance in explaining the pink color of the flamingo, the yellow leg color of many birds of prey, and the reddish meat of the salmon. These characteristics are all caused by carotenoids. The gene may also influence the skin color of humans to some extent. "
