Presents abstracts of papers for the Seventh Annual Meeting of the Society for the Social Studies of Science. Topics include, among others, rhetoric of a scientific controversy; recombinant DNA; science and social justice; patent citation analysis; national need and peer-review process; and scientism, romanticism, and social realist images of…

Issues surrounding the controversial topic of in vitro fertilization and artificial manipulation of reproduction are discussed. The author examines the moral and ethical implications and presents results of a survey of various religious groups. (SA)

Presents an historical perspective of the public view of marijuana and examines current empirical research concerning the consequences of marijuana use on the human fetus. Included are 1979 university survey results which explore respondents' knowledge about the effects of marijuana and the relationship this has to the mass media. (Author)

Presents the viewpoints of a prominent behavioral scientist concerning the role of the environment in the evolution of behavior. (CS)

Described is the BSCS Center for Education in Human and Medical Genetics, established to design, develop, and evaluate an instructional module in human genetics for high school students. This module will be a self-contained curricular program and will provide individualized open-ended experiences which present basic genetics content in the context…

Since the end of the last century there have been studies of reading and learning problems which have concluded that a considerable proportion of these difficulties are inherited. An examination of these studies, however, demonstrates that although they appear to use the "scientific method" and are replete with quantified analysis, in fact they…

Discusses results of a survey indicating the educational needs of precollege students in their knowledge of human genetics. Summarizes opinionnaire data regarding the value stances of students (N=117) and biology teachers (N=542) concerning some bioethical issues in the area of human genetics. (CS)

The article reviews information regarding genetic defects in the mucopolysaccharidoses (MPSs), which are hereditary diseases that result in deformities related to connective tissues (some types lead to progressive mental retardation). (Author/PHR)

Explanations of differences in IQs of Northern and Southern Blacks focus on selective migration (hereditarians) or environmental causes such as education, discrimination and cultural deprivation. In this paper the environmentalist position is questioned and certain neglected features of Lee's data are construed as providing strong evidence for…

Psychologist Arthur R. Jensen reports he has detected a steady decline in IQ among rural Georgia black students apparently due to environmental factors. Jensen also reports, however, that overall IQ differences between blacks and whites may be partially due to genetics. (SL)

Presents a laboratory in which students are provided with cultures of three bacterial strains. Using the results, students will determine which of the strains corresponds to a mutant lacking a particular functional gene. (DDR)

Outlines alternative approaches to the teaching of difficult concepts in A-level biology which may help student learning by making abstract ideas more concrete and accessible. Examples include models, posters, and poems for illustrating meiosis, mitosis, genetic mutations, and protein synthesis. (DDR)

Discusses the human trait of attempting to read minds in an attempt to make sense of the actions of others. The term Mindblind comes from the fact that this is difficult for people with autism to do. Mindreading appears to be encoded in the genes and adaptive. (PVD)

Influences of heredity and environment on educational and occupational choice in mid-life and elderly cohorts were studied using longitudinal twin data (413 pairs). For both education and occupation there is a trend toward increasing genetic variance for females in comparison to males in the younger cohort. (SLD)

Discusses strategies that enable students to learn ideas and concepts in the context of how modern communication technology is designed and operates. Describes a course that integrates the study of math, science, and technology into topics that are engaging to students. Presents an activity that introduces students to digital coding and compares…