Despite current guidelines, few children with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) receive genetic evaluations. We surveyed Utah pediatricians to characterize the knowledge, beliefs, current practices and perceived barriers of pediatricians regarding genetic evaluation of children with ASD. We found over half lacked knowledge of current guidelines and…

Over the course of 3 years, the Political Science and Biology Programs at a regional HBCU have built a curricular learning community centered on a mock trial competition, where a microbiology course was paired with an introductory legal studies course. Over the course of a semester, students enrolled in both courses studied a real appellate case…

"The Autism Spectrum Handbook & Resource Guide" combines valuable, easy-to-understand educational information for consumers, patients, and their families, with official reports and releases about monitoring childhood growth and important milestones, community statistics, living with an ASD, and treatments and further resources for…

Racial bias in research impacts a study's relevancy, validity and reliability, though presently this aspect is not addressed in critical appraisal tools, and consequently appraisers may not take racial bias into account when assessing a paper's quality. Drawing on critical race theory (CRT) tenets that racism is ubiquitous and race a social…

Sickle cell disorder (SCD) is a serious blood disorder that affects millions of people worldwide. It is particularly prevalent in Africa. The condition can be associated with physical and psychological difficulties. There are no studies of psychological interventions for people affected by SCD in Africa where the majority of affected persons live.…

We developed labs on the evolution of antibiotic resistance to assess the costs and benefits of replacing traditional laboratory exercises in an introductory biology course for majors with a course-based undergraduate research experience (CURE). To assess whether participating in the CURE imposed a cost in terms of exam performance, we implemented…

In language learning, aided language modeling refers to the method by which communication partners provide models of the communication system used by individuals with complex communication repertoires that involving both symbols and speech. Providing aided language models creates opportunities for individuals with complex communication repertoires…

The non-cognitive skills self-control and grit are often considered predictors of school performance, but whether this relationship is causal remains unclear. We investigated the causality of this association using a twin design. Specifically, we evaluated the direct impact of self-control and grit on school performance, while controlling for…

The amplification of nucleic acids is a fundamental tool utilized in various scientific disciplines, including Molecular Biology, Immunology, Microbiology, and Genetics. However, due to the time and technology required for traditional polymerase chain reaction and its derivatives, it is not always possible to include such methodologies in…

Autism spectrum disorder is associated with sensory processing alterations, such as sensory hyper- and hypo-responsiveness. Twin studies are scarce in this field, but they are necessary in order to disentangle the genetic and environmental contributions to this association. Furthermore, it is unclear how different neurodevelopmental/psychiatric…

The objective of our study was to evaluate the frequency of treatable inborn errors of metabolism (IEM) in a clinical sample of Mexican children and adolescents with neurodevelopmental disorders (NDD). Amino acids and acylcarnitines in blood samples of 51 unrelated children and adolescents were analyzed by tandem mass spectrometry to detect…

Some children experience more difficulty than others becoming literate, often at great emotional, intellectual, social, and economic cost to themselves, but also to those who love and care for them, and for society at large. The causes of those difficulties and what to do about them have been the source of much research and sometimes heated…

Even though the concept of species is central in biology, the history of species concept and the existence of different species concepts are rarely discussed in biology classroom. This is unfortunate, as teachers could use the plurality of species concepts to enrich discussion in the classroom. Therefore, knowing the students' perception of…

The real time PCR (qPCR) method provides a powerful method to assess levels of particular species of DNA. When combined with reverse transcription (RT-qPCR) it is the predominate technique to measure expression of gene transcripts. While this approach is very powerful, particular care must be taken in the design of the primers to facilitate…

During the 1930s there was a significant shift in the debate about African colonial education. Above all, somewhat discreetly hidden behind the formal language of the educational documents, is the question of the challenge presented to the traditional literary/religious missionary curriculum, or even to the "adaptationist" debate about…