Outreach activities give high school students an opportunity to better understand the techniques and strategies used by researchers. Here is an experience with high school students designed to familiarize them with genetic methodologies. Students have been challenged to discover whether restaurant beef burgers are made with female or male beef.…

Background: Autism spectrum disorder (ASD) is a group of neurodevelopmental disorders in which the underlying pathogenesis and etiologic factors are not fully understood. The blood brain barrier (BBB) ??plays a critical role in central nervous system defense by limiting access to circulating solutes, macromolecules, and cells that can negatively…

Commonly used cut-points may misclassify physical activity (PA) in people with cystic fibrosis (CF). The aim of this study was to develop and cross-validate condition-specific cut-points in children and adolescents with CF. Thirty-five children and adolescents with CF (15 girls; 11.6 ± 2.8 years) and 28 controls (16 girls; 12.2 ± 2.7 years), had…

Sanger sequencing, also known as dideoxy sequencing, is a widely used method for DNA sequencing, particularly for cloned plasmids and clinical samples. This technique requires a combination of essential biochemistry skills, such as a chain-termination reaction, gel electrophoresis, and fluorescence detection. Unfortunately, there is a lack of…

The integration of artificial intelligence (AI) and biotechnology, whilst in its infancy, presents significant opportunities and risks, and proactive policy is needed to manage these emerging technologies. Whilst AI continues to have significant and broad impact, its relevance and complexity magnify when integrated with other emerging…

Undergraduate students of a molecular cell biology laboratory class learn basic recombinant DNA (rDNA) technology by engaging in a Genomic Library Construction Project. Significantly, in this lab project students learn experimental design strategy. The challenge for students is to determine the strategy that they can take to efficiently screen for…

Epigenetics, the new research field at the cutting edge of biology research, needs to be introduced in biology education. The aim of this review is to support biology teachers and other non-experts to get an overview of the field, as a review in epigenetics has hardly been written for these groups. This review was done by finding documents…

Neurofibromatosis 1 (NF1) is a single gene disorder associated with working Memory (WM) impairments. The aim of this study was to investigate P300 event-related potential (ERP) associated with WM in NF1. Sixteen adolescents with NF1 were compared with controls on measures of WM and EEG was recorded during a WM nback task. The NF1 group showed…

Although unrecognized for his scientific achievements during his life, Gregor Mendel pioneered our modern understanding of the gene, work that shaped the field of genetics and advances in biology and medicine. The field that he set in motion 200 years ago lies at the center of current ethical debates about the future of humanity, the limits of…

This study examined if listening to music will improve the accuracy of blood pressure (BP) readings in children with Williams syndrome (WS). Fifty-two participants (7-12 years) were randomly assigned to a music or non-music group. BPs were obtained at two time points. There was a significant decrease in both systolic and diastolic BP from Time 1…

Individuals living with intellectual disability can have multiple co-occurring medical conditions including associated genetic diagnoses. The number of genetic etiologies associated with ID is growing, with some quite new and rare, and others more common and associated with what is often considered a syndrome. In the context of genetic etiologies…

Cognitive performance is both heritable and sensitive to environmental inputs and sustained practice over time. However, it is currently unclear how genetic effects on cognitive performance change over the course of learning. We examine how polygenic scores (PGS) created from genome-wide association studies of educational attainment and cognitive…

Tuberous sclerosis complex (TSC) is a genetic condition characterized by both medical and neuropsychiatric diagnoses that emerge across the lifespan. As part of a clinical trial, caregivers of children with TSC were interviewed about their experiences navigating medical, school, and social services. Semistructured interviews (N = 20) with…

Background: Prader-Willi syndrome (PWS) is a rare neurodevelopmental disorder with symptoms that impact health and quality of life (QOL). There is limited data on global health, QOL and the relationship with mood in individuals with PWS. Methods: Parents completed three validated assessments, the Glasgow Depression Scale-Carer Supplement (GDS-CS),…

Soybean yield potential can be increased by increasing the number of pods per plant, which can be achieved by increasing the number of nodes per plant while decreasing internode length to prevent lodging due to excessive height. In an effort to discover the genetic variability for this trait, a genome wide association study (GWAS) was performed on…