The present study investigated the genetic and environmental covariance between psychopathic personality traits with reactive and proactive aggression in 9- to 10-year-old twins (N = 1,219). Psychopathic personality traits were assessed with the Child Psychopathy Scale (D. R. Lynam, 1997), while aggressive behaviors were assessed using the…

The nematode "Caenorhabditis elegans" ("C. elegans") adult hermaphrodite has 302 invariant neurons and is suited for cellular and molecular studies on complex behaviors including learning and memory. Here, we have developed protocols for classical conditioning of worms with 1-propanol, as a conditioned stimulus (CS), and hydrochloride (HCl) (pH…

Students have been largely ignored in discussions about how best to teach science, and many students feel the curriculum is detached from their lives and interests. This article presents a strategy for incorporating students' interests into the formal Biology curriculum, by drawing on the political meaning of "shadow government" as alternative…

Dar-Nimrod and Heine (2011) presented a masterfully broad review of the implications of genetic essentialism for understandings of human diversity. This commentary clarifies the reasons that essentialist thinking has problematic social consequences and links genetic forms of essentialism to those invoking neural essences. The mounting evidence…

Research continues to try and pinpoint the etiological role of particular genes and brain structure in autistic spectrum disorder (ASD), but despite a host of biological, genetic and neuropsychological research, the symptom profile of pervasive developmental disorders (PDDs) are not yet linked to etiological theory. Debate continues around whether…

Recent studies have suggested efficacy of intensive bimanual training in improving the quality and quantity of affected hand use in children with hemiplegia. However, it is not known whether such training affects the coordination of the two hands. In the present study, 20 children with congenital hemiplegia (age 4-10 years; MACS levels I-II) were…

Chromosomes, alleles, chromatids, genotype, phenotype, mitosis, meiosis, fertilization--this vocabulary can be overwhelming, confusing, and difficult for students to tie together. However, since these terms are commonplace in the high school biology classroom, and are the basis for understanding both DNA and heredity, students must understand…

Prevalence differences in depressive symptoms between the sexes typically emerge in adolescence, with symptoms more prevalent among girls. Some evidence suggests that variation in onset and progression of puberty might contribute to these differences. This study used a genetically informative, longitudinal (assessed at ages 12, 14, and 17) sample…

Individual differences in psychophysiological function have been shown to influence the balance between flexibility and distractibility during attentional set-shifting [e.g., Dreisbach et al. (2005). Dopamine and cognitive control: The influence of spontaneous eyeblink rate and dopamine gene polymorphisms on perseveration and distractibility.…

The genome projects of the past decades have created extensive databases of biological information with applications in both research and education. We describe an inquiry-based exercise that uses one such database, the National Center for Biotechnology Information Influenza Virus Resource, to advance learning about influenza. This database…

"Toxoplasma gondii" is a protozoan parasite that infects about a third of human population. It is generally believed that in immunocompetent hosts, the parasite infection takes usually asymptomatic course and induces self-limiting disease, but in immunocompromised individuals may cause significant morbidity and mortality. "T. gondii" uses sulfated…

This study aimed to investigate the trajectories over time of health status and health service use in Rett syndrome by mutation type. Data were obtained from questionnaires administered over 6 years to 256 participants from the Australian Rett Syndrome Database. Health status (episodes of illness and medication load) and health service use…

Research on the development of reading skills through the primary school years has pointed to the importance of individual differences in initial ability as well as the growth of those skills. Additionally, it has been theorized that reading skills develop incrementally. The present study examined the genetic and environmental influences on 2…

Laboratory education can play a vital role in developing a learner's autonomy and scientific inquiry skills. In an innovative, mutation-based learning (MBL) approach, students were instructed to redesign a teacher-designed standard experimental protocol by a "mutation" method in a molecular genetics laboratory course. Students could…

Background: The Autism Diagnostic Interview-Revised (ADI-R) is a gold standard assessment of Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) symptoms and behaviours. A key underlying assumption of studies using the ADI-R is that it measures the same phenotypic constructs across different populations (i.e. males/females, younger/older, verbal/nonverbal). The…