Epidemiological studies on birth defects and blindness that may be of research or practical value to blindness workers are surveyed. (Author)

Investigates how opposing parties advanced arguments to the scientific community about the validity of DRD2 A1 allele as a gene causing alcoholism. Demonstrates to what extent scientists debate each other in journals by advancing opposing viewpoints with rigor and insight. Reveals what it means when scientists label a discovery in terms of finding…

Genetic research on intelligence has moved beyond the nature-nurture controversy to investigate developmental change and continuity, associations among cognitive abilities, and the developmental interface between nature and nurture. Advances in molecular genetics are leading to a new era of research. (Author/SLD)

Research prospects and priorities in autism are discussed with respect to: (1) diagnosis, classification, and epidemiology; (2) clinical research; (3) neuropsychological research; (4) genetics; (5) structural and functional brain imaging; (6) postmortem studies; (7) other biological research; and (8) treatment research. Application of research…

Assesses etiology of reading disability as a function of mathematics performance by subjecting data from 168 same-sex twin pairs where at least one member was reading disabled to quantitative genetic analysis. Suggests that genetic factors may be especially salient as a cause of reading disability in children with borderline deficits in…

Presents activities for elementary students that lay the conceptual foundation for developing an understanding of heredity and identification. Uses analogies and firsthand experiences to demystify the science of DNA. (JRH)

Summarizes the positions of leading proponents of the belief in the biological basis of differences in intelligence, reviewing the ideas of Arthur Jensen, J. Phillipe Rushton, and the currently controversial "The Bell Curve" by Charles Murray and Richard Herrnstein. Relations between social perceptions of race and class are discussed.…

Presents an introduction to the articles in this monograph examining the genetic, biochemical, and psychological components of substance use disorder liability. Highlights the Center for Education and Drug Abuse Research's theory-guided comprehensive prospective research strategies and activities. (Contains 5 tables and 5 figures.) (GCP)

Two cohorts of same-sex twin pairs were assessed on grammar and vocabulary. Findings indicated that vocabulary and grammar correlated strongly at 2 and 3 years in both cohorts, with a consistently high genetic correlation between vocabulary and grammar at both ages. Findings suggest that the same genetic influences operate for vocabulary and…

Presents the real life story of Molly, who was born with a rare genetic disorder, and her parents' hope to cure her by having another child with specific genetic markers and using his/her stem cells to cure Molly. Addresses the ethical issues of genetic manipulation and fertility treatment. Includes teaching notes and classroom management…

Describes a cut-out 3-D DNA model, which can be used to teach about DNA structure. (YDS)

Studied continuity and change in general cognitive ability from infancy to adolescence in adoptees (107 children), biological siblings (87 pairs), and twins (224 monozygotic and 189 dyzygotic pairs). Findings generally support previous findings about genetic and environmental factors, with the exception that in the transition to adolescence,…

Results of two experiments indicated that preschoolers expected adopted babies to share physical properties, but not preferences with their biological parents; and recognized that a baby who looks like and lives with a woman but who grew inside another woman's body is not the first woman's baby. (BC)

Pairs of genetically unrelated children reared as same-age siblings offer a design for investigating genetic and environmental influences on behavior. Results with 21 pairs support an explanatory model of intelligence that includes genetic factors. Shared environment appeared to have a very small effect on intellectual development. (SLD)

This paper reviews ongoing research designed to specify the cognitive, behavioral, and neuroanatomical phenotypes of specific genetic etiologies of learning disability. The genetic disorders at the focus of the research include reading disability, neurofibromatosis type 1, Tourette syndrome, and fragile X syndrome. Implications for identifying…