In this design case, we describe our work to design and develop a socio-scientific issue (SSI) based unit of instruction for use in high school biology. Our team includes university based science educators, an experienced classroom teacher, and a microbiologist. The unit focuses on antibiotic resistant bacteria as a context for student exploration…

It is well established that fear memory formation requires de novo gene transcription in the amygdala. We provide evidence that epigenetic mechanisms in the form of histone lysine methylation in the lateral amygdala (LA) are regulated by NMDA receptor (NMDAR) signaling and involved in gene transcription changes necessary for fear memory…

We present a lab that enables students to test the role of genes involved in the regulation of lateral roots growth in the model plant "Arabidopsis thaliana." Here, students design an experiment that follows the effects of the hormone auxin on the stimulation of genes involved in the formation of lateral root initials. These genes, known…

Individuals with 22q11.2 deletion syndrome (22q11.2DS) are impaired at exploring visual information in space; however, not much is known about visual form discrimination in the syndrome. Thirty-five individuals with 22q11.2DS and 41 controls completed a form discrimination task with global forms made up of local elements. Affected individuals…

This set of seven experiments examines reasoning about the inheritance and acquisition of physical properties in preschoolers, undergraduates, and biology experts. Participants (N = 390) received adoption vignettes in which a baby animal was born to one parent but raised by a biologically unrelated parent, and they judged whether the offspring…

In the last two decades science studies and science education research have shifted from an interest in products (of science or of learning), to an interest in processes and practices. The focus of this paper is on students' engagement in epistemic practices (Kelly in "Teaching scientific inquiry: Recommendations for research and…

Background: The goal of the current study was to determine if the Dementia Rating Scale-2 (DRS-2) is an appropriate tool for evaluating cognitive abilities in adults with Prader-Willi syndrome (PWS). The DRS-2 is a screening measure previously utilised in low-functioning populations with and without dementia, including individuals with…

This study examines the genetic and environmental etiology underlying the development of oral language and reading skills, and the relationship between them, over a long period of developmental time spanning middle childhood and adolescence. It focuses particularly on the differential relationship between language and two different aspects of…

This study examines how two kinds of authentic research experiences related to smoking behavior--genotyping human DNA (wet lab) and using a database to test hypotheses about factors that affect smoking behavior (dry lab)--influence students' perceptions and understanding of scientific research and related science concepts. The study used pre and…

It is now possible to create individual-specific genetic scores, called genome-wide polygenic scores (GPS). We used a GPS for years of education ("EduYears") to predict reading performance assessed at UK National Curriculum Key Stages 1 (age 7), 2 (age 12) and 3 (age 14) and on reading tests administered at ages 7 and 12 in a UK sample…

Research in genetics and genomics is advancing at a fast pace, and thus keeping up with the most recent findings and conclusions can be very challenging. At the same time these recent findings and conclusions have made necessary a reconceptualization of genes and heredity, both in science and in science education, beyond the mostly gene-centred…

Background: Children with 22q11.2 deletion syndrome (22q11.2DS) are reported to have socio-communicative impairments. Although many of these children are diagnosed with intellectual disability (ID) and/or autism spectrum disorder (ASD), these populations are seldom used as control groups. Hence, information regarding syndrome-specific…

The purpose of this article is to examine the ambiguous positioning of persons and groups, particularly Latinos, who are neither "White" nor "Black" (as these terms are popularly understood) in an American society that has traditionally constructed race in a dichotomous and rigid fashion. The author also draws on his own lived…

Psychologists and psychiatrists have long been aware that individuals differ in their response to environmental stressors. It is equally apparent that whilst positive or corrective environmental factors help some individuals, others seem to benefit little, if at all. To make the matters even more interesting (at least for a researcher who is…

Epigenetic inheritance is the inheritance of genetic information that is not based on DNA sequence alone. One type of epigenetic information that has come to the forefront in the last few years is modified DNA bases. The most common modified DNA base in nature is 5-methylcytosine. Herein, we describe a laboratory experiment that combines…