When students think of evolution, they might imagine T. rex, or perhaps an abiotic scene of sizzling electrical storms and harsh reducing atmospheres, an Earth that looks like a lunar landscape. Natural selection automatically elicits responses that include "survival of the fittest," and "descent with modification," and with…

This article proposes a duplex model for understanding giftedness. The first part of the duplex is the set of gifted skills and attitudes that one possesses as a result of heredity, the environment, and their interaction. It is the input that one has acquired from one's life experiences. The second part of the duplex is the utilization or…

Genetics concepts is taught at secondary school to equip students with relevant knowledge to engage with related socio-scientific issues in order to make a reasonable decision. However, earlier research shown that students exhibited poor comprehension of this concept. Despite several interventions, this problem persists. This study was designed to…

This Notes in Brief contribution explores the use of autosomal DNA to engage college faculty and staff in a different approach to diversity and inclusion discussions, including antisemitism, on campuses. The author provides results from DNA testing and how he has used his results to discuss his common ancestry with students to build bridges as a…

Objective: The goal of the present study is to describe the ADHD phenotype from childhood to adolescence in Black and White girls in a community sample. Method: Primary caregivers enrolled in the population-based, longitudinal Pittsburgh Girls Study reported on girls' ADHD symptoms and impairment from ages 7 to 17; diagnostic subtypes were…

A large body of research literature has explored socio-scientific issues (SSIs) in science teaching and learning, documenting the impact of epistemic beliefs on epistemic emotion, which influences student's reactions to complex scientific topics. Often, students' reactions reflect scientific misconceptions, the correction of which may result in…

Purpose: The aim of this study was to explore relations between speech sound disorder severity and selective mutism in a group of children with 7q11.23 duplication syndrome (Dup7), a genetic condition predisposing children to childhood apraxia of speech (CAS) and other speech sound disorders and to anxiety disorders, including selective mutism and…

The adoption of genetically modified organisms (GMOs) in Ghana has raised a lot of public concerns and mixed feelings among some Ghanaians. Our present study, therefore, explored the current knowledge of the general public on GMOs, their perceptions, and factors that influence their understanding of GMOs. A total of 200 Ghanaians were interviewed…

22q11.2 deletion syndrome is a rare multisystem genetic disorder with over 200 associated characteristics, occurring in various combinations and severity. Extensive biomedical research has been undertaken on 22q11.2 deletion syndrome, however, there is a dearth of research on families' experiences of managing a family member with this condition.…

Although the last decade has welcomed evidence that individuals with Rett syndrome (RTT) can communicate using alternative and augmentative communication (AAC), less is known about effective procedures for teaching various component skills required for expressive communication of individuals with complex communication needs. The purpose of the…

Academic underachievement refers to school performance which falls below expectations. Focusing on the pivotal first stage of education, we explored a quantitative measure of underachievement using genomically predicted achievement delta (GPA[delta]), which reflects the difference between observed and expected achievement predicted by genome-wide…

Children born to parents with fewer years of education are more likely to have depression, anxiety, and attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), but it is unclear to what extent these associations are causal. We estimated the effect of parents' educational attainment on children's depressive, anxiety, and ADHD traits at age 8 years, in a…

In this extensively revised edition, Martha Ann Bell and her contributors synthesize the newest research on how cognitive and emotional processes influence each other in child development. Historically, research in child development has treated cognitive processes as separate and distinct from social-emotional processes. However, many of the…

Do children think of genetic inheritance as deterministic or probabilistic? In two novel tasks, children viewed the eye colors of animal parents and judged and selected possible phenotypes of offspring. Across three studies (N = 353, 162 girls, 172 boys, 2 non-binary; 17 did not report gender) with predominantly White U.S. participants collected…

Angelman syndrome is a rare neurodevelopmental disorder caused by a mutation in the maternal allele of the gene "Ube3a." The primary symptoms of Angelman syndrome are severe cognitive deficits, impaired motor functions, and speech disabilities. Analogous phenotypes have been detected in young adult "Ube3a" mice. Here, we…