The knowledge construction and scientific reasoning of two classes of seventh grade students (22 to 24 students in each class) were examined during a 3-week inquiry unit in genetics, in which anomalies were used as a catalyst for conceptual change. During the unit, students used genetics simulation software to mate fruit flies that varied on a…

This ERIC Digest identifies how the human genome project fits into the "National Science Education Standards" and lists Human Genome Project Web sites found on the World Wide Web. It is a resource companion to "Learning about the Human Genome. Part 1: Challenge to Science Educators" (Haury 2001). The Web resources and…

This teacher's guide is designed to accompany the PBS television program "NOVA" and features six activities. "Sultan's Lost Treasure" presents the attempts of an archaeologist and his team to salvage an ancient ship wreck. "Vanished!" investigates what happened to the Stardust airliner in 1947 which disappeared during…

Sickle cell disease (SCD) refers to a group of hereditary disorders of the structure of hemoglobin of red blood cells. This disorder involves the inheritance of two abnormal genes, which are related to the hemoglobin promotion, at least, one of which is the sickle cell gene. Nigeria, by virtue of her large population, has the greatest number of…

Presents information gained from a study designed to evaluate the effectiveness of providing students with behavioral objectives, with a secondary purpose being to evaluate achievement results across the first four levels of Bloom's taxonomy of educational objectives. No significant differences were found between knowledge and comprehension or…

Discusses some of the current theories on aging, such as biological time clocks for certain cells and on-off switches for genes, that were offered as explanations at the 140th annual meeting of the American Association for the Advancement of Science (JR)

Post mortem examinations were done on two adult siblings (one female and one male) who had been clinically described as suffering from mental handicap, deaf mutism, ataxia, hypogonadism, and hormonal disorders. (DB)

Describes different sources of readings for understanding issues and concepts of genetic engineering. Broad categories of reading materials are: concerns about genetic engineering; its background; procedures; and social, ethical and legal issues. References are listed. (PS)