We studied seven children with CNS folate deficiency (CFD). All cases exhibited psychomotor retardation, regression, cognitive delay, and dyskinesia; six had seizures; four demonstrated neurological abnormalities in the neonatal period. Two subjects had profound neurological abnormalities that precluded formal behavioral testing. Five subjects…

High parental socioeconomic status is known to have a positive effect on students' academic achievement. We examined whether variation in the dopamine receptor gene (DRD2 polymorphism, rs 1800497) modifies the association between parental educational level and school performance in adolescence. The participants were a randomly selected subsample…

The rapid growth of biotechnology knowledge during the past decades has made it necessary to rethink the contents of the school curriculum and has provoked a consideration of the ethical and social issues related to the use of biotechnological applications. With the financial assistance of the European Union, the European Initiative for…

Educational efforts to incorporate ethical decision-making in science classrooms about current science and technology issues have met with great challenges. Some research suggests that the inherent complexity in both the subject matter content and the structure and dynamics of classrooms contribute to this challenge. This study seeks to…

This study investigated genetic and environmental influences on the associations between mother-child relationship quality (warmth and hostility) and adolescent conduct problems and cigarette use. Participants included 601 mothers and adolescent twin pairs (aged 12-17 years). Mothers and adolescents provided separate reports of mother-to-child…

Given the recent findings regarding the association between alexithymia and Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) and the accumulating evidence for the presence of the Broader Autism Phenotype (BAP) in relatives of individuals with ASD, we further explored the construct of alexithymia in parents of children with ASD as a potential part of the BAP. We…

Williams syndrome (WS) is a neurodevelopmental genetic disorder often described as being characterized by a dissociative cognitive architecture, in which profound impairments of visuo-spatial cognition contrast with relative preservation of linguistic, face recognition and auditory short-memory abilities. This asymmetric and dissociative cognition…

Some children with autism demonstrate poor nonword repetition--a deficit considered to be a psycholinguistic marker of specific language impairment (SLI). The present study examined whether there is an SLI subtype among children with autism. We compared the language abilities of children with SLI (n = 34, M age = 11;10 S.D. = 2;3), and children…

Background: The identification of specific nonshared environments responsible for the variance in behaviour problems is a key challenge. Methods: Nonshared environmental influences on teacher-reported behaviour problems were explored independently of genetics using the monozygotic (MZ) twin differences design. Six aspects of classroom environment…

Programs supported by the Carl D. Perkins Act of 2006 are required to operate under the state or national content standards, and are expected to carry out evaluation procedures that address accountability. The Indiana high school course, "Advanced Life Science: Foods" ("ALS: Foods") operates under the auspices of the Perkins…

Recent neuropsychological research suggests that intuition and emotion play a role in our reasoning when we are confronted with moral dilemmas. Incorporating intuition and emotion into moral reflection is a rather new idea in the educational world, where rational reasoning is preferred. To develop a teaching and learning strategy to address this…

This study examined the validity of the Klonoff and Landrine Illness-Belief Scale when applied to Latino college students (n = 156; 34% male, 66% female) at high risk for future diabetes onset. Principal factor analysis yielded four significant factors--emotional, folk beliefs, punitive, gene/hereditary--which accounted for 64.5% of variance and…

The need for the development of a biotechnician curriculum was investigated. A search for operational job descriptions for biotechnicians was conducted. Industry consensus was that this is a generic term too broad to be useful. Biotechnology companies within a 300-mile radius of Chicago and universities and other colleges in Illinois that hire…

Discusses the role of the fruit fly in genetics research requiring a multidisciplinary approach. Describes embryological and genetic methods used in the experimental analysis of this organism. Outlines the use of Drosophila in the study of the development and function of the nervous system. (RT)

Describes three methods and their advantages and disadvantages for introducing genes into animals. Discusses the predictability and tissue-specificity of the injected genes. Outlines the applications of transgenic technology for studying gene expression, the early stages of mammalian development, mutations, and the molecular nature of chromosomes.…