The molecular basis of evolution is an important and challenging concept for students to understand. In a previous article, we provided some of the scientific background necessary to teach this topic. This article features a series of laboratory activities demonstrating that molecular events can alter the genomes of organisms. These activities are…

Interpreting cladograms is a key skill for biological literacy. In this lesson, students interpret cladograms based on familial relationships and language relationships to build their understanding of tree thinking and to construct a definition of "common ancestor." These skills can then be applied to a true biological cladogram.

An experiment is described in this test that was designed to study the role of the cyclin B protein in a cell-free system. The work was performed in the lab of Tim Hunt who, together with Hartwell and Nurse, received the Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine in 2001 "for their discoveries of key chemicals that regulate the cell division cycle." It…

Synapsin is an evolutionarily conserved, presynaptic vesicular phosphoprotein. Here, we ask where and how synapsin functions in associative behavioral plasticity. Upon loss or reduction of synapsin in a deletion mutant or via RNAi, respectively, "Drosophila" larvae are impaired in odor-sugar associative learning. Acute global expression of…

The present study characterized prototypical patterns of development in self-reported externalizing behavior, between 12 and 22 years of age, within a community sample of 452 genotyped individuals. A Caucasian subset (n = 378) was then examined to determine whether their probabilities of displaying discrete trajectories were differentially…

Teachers often ask: How can I engage my students in the study of "real" science? The answer can be found in the National Research Council's "A Framework for K-12 Science Education: Practices, Crosscutting Concepts, and Core Ideas" (NRC 2012). This framework calls for a new approach to science education and is the basis for…

Background: Influential work has explored the role of family socioeconomic status (SES) as an environmental moderator of genetic and environmental influences on cognitive outcomes. This work has provided evidence that socioeconomic circumstances differentially impact the heritability of cognitive abilities, generally supporting the bioecological…

The articles in this Special Issue (SI) extend research on G×E in multiple ways, showing the growing importance of specifying kinds of G×E models (e.g., bioecological, susceptibility, stress-diathesis), incorporation of sophisticated ways of measuring types of G×E correlations (rGE), checking effects of statistical artifact, exemplifying an…

Culturally appropriate education focuses on educational competence needed in a global world and respect for different world views of learners and teachers from different cultural contexts. The relationship between gene, brain, and culture is complex and dynamical. Cultural experience and learning sculpts the anatomy and function of the human brain…

We present a collection of analogies that are intended to help students better understand the foreign and often nuanced vocabulary of the genetics curriculum. Why is it called the "wild type"? What is the difference between a locus, a gene, and an allele? What is the functional (versus a rule-based) distinction between dominant and…

Studying language evolution has become resurgent in modern scientific research. In this revival field, approaches from a number of disciplines other than linguistics, including (paleo)anthropology and archaeology, animal behaviors, genetics, neuroscience, computer simulation, and psychological experimentation, have been adopted, and a wide scope…

Background: Duchenne muscular dystrophy (DMD) leads to progressive muscular weakness and death, most typically from respiratory complications. Dysphagia is common in DMD; however, the most appropriate swallowing assessments have not been universally agreed and the symptoms of dysphagia remain under-reported. Aims: To investigate symptoms of…

Terms to be familiar with before you start to solve the test: Maxam-Gilbert sequencing, Sanger sequencing, gel electrophoresis, DNA synthesis reaction, polymerase chain reaction, template, primer, DNA polymerase, deoxyribonucleoside triphosphates, orthophosphate, pyrophosphate, nucleoside monophosphates, luminescence, acid anhydride bond,…

This study examined racial identity, self-esteem, and phenotype among biracial Polynesian/White adults. Eighty-four Polynesian/White persons completed the Biracial Identity Attitude Scale, the Rosenberg Self-Esteem Inventory, and a Polynesian phenotype scale. Profile analyses showed participants identified more with their Polynesian parent. A…

Well before the Next Generation Science Standards became final last month, teachers in pockets around the country were already exploring the vision for science education espoused by the document and bringing elements of that approach to the classroom. The new standards call for bringing greater depth to K-12 students' understanding of the subject…