Offers a new perspective on traditional problems in genetics on kernel color in corn, including information about genetic regulation, metabolic pathways, and evolution of genes. (Contains 15 references.) (ASK)

Explores the ideas that students aged 16-19 associate with the terms 'biotechnology' and 'genetic engineering'. Indicates that some students see biotechnology as risky whereas genetic engineering was described as ethically wrong. (Author/ASK)

A growing cadre of science teachers and researchers are developing curriculum blueprints for teaching the science and ethics of genetics to help students put advances in biotechnology into proper perspective. Lists five sources for teaching genetics. (MLF)

Uses data from the National Longitudinal Survey of Youth for 1,943 full siblings and 129 half-siblings to study genetic and shared environmental influences on IQ, education, and income. Results suggest that social inequality in the United States has its origins in genetically based traits and in different environmental backgrounds. (SLD)

Presents a case of a baby born with the genetic condition holoprosencephaly in which students explore the "Sonic hedgehog" gene, signal transduction, and the ethics of body and tissue donation. Presents a two-part assignment that features students writing an informed consent document that explains the science behind this congenital abnormality,…

This study examined whether indicators of math learning disability were observed in 35 5- and 6-year-olds with either neurofibromatosis, Turner Syndrome, or fragile X syndrome and compared to controls. Findings indicate that girls with fragile X or Turner syndrome but not neurofibromatosis are significantly more likely to have specific math…

Recent progress in mouse genetics has led to an increased interest in developing procedures for assessing mouse behavior, but relatively few of the behavioral procedures developed involve positively reinforced operant behavior. When operant methods are used, nose poking, not lever pressing, is the target response. In the current study differential…

In this study of the origins of individual differences in theory of mind (ToM), the Environmental Risk (E-Risk) Longitudinal Twin Study sample of 1,116 sixty-month-old twin pairs completed a comprehensive battery of ToM tasks. Individual differences in ToM were striking and strongly associated with verbal ability. Behavioral genetic models of the…

This study focused on informal reasoning regarding socioscientific issues. It sought to explore how content knowledge influenced the negotiation and resolution of contentious and complex scenarios based on genetic engineering. Two hundred and sixty-nine students drawn from undergraduate natural science and nonnatural science courses completed a…

Race is a sociopolitical construct that is often inappropriately treated as a biological reality. This incorrect application of the construct must be challenged. The social studies curriculum, an appropriate place for this challenge, faces two tasks: correcting the concept of race, and working to eliminate the racism that its misuse has created.…

Few autistic brain samples are available for study, limiting investigations into molecular and histopathological abnormalities associated with this common disease. To facilitate distribution of samples, we have constructed a tissue array containing cerebral and cerebellar cores from 5 autistic children, 1 girl with Rett syndrome, and 5 age-matched…

PCR has revolutionized many aspects of biochemistry and molecular biology research. In the following exercise, students learn PCR by isolating their own DNA, amplifying specific segments of the X and Y chromosomes, and estimating the sizes of the PCR products using agarose gel electrophoresis. Based on the pattern of PCR products, students can…

The Molecular Genetics and Protein Structure and Function workshop is one of a series of workshops offered by the National Science Foundation-funded Center for Workshops in the Chemical Sciences. The workshop provides a hands-on introduction to current topics and techniques in molecular genetics and protein structure/function as applied to…

We report a practical class designed for undergraduate students of Marine Sciences as a part of the Genetics course. The class can also be included in undergraduate studies of food technology. The exercise was designed to emphasize the application of molecular biology techniques to fish species authentication and traceability. After a simple and…

A practical course was given to undergraduate biology students enrolled in the elective course "Introduction to Genetic Engineering" at the Federal University of Sao Carlos (UFSCar), Sao Paulo, Brazil. The goal of the course was to teach current molecular biology tools applied to a real research situation that could be reported by the…