The goal of this study was to examine how different types of social experiences in kindergarten relate to Grade 1 academic achievement, while controlling for possible genetic and shared environmental influences through the use of the monozygotic (MZ) twin difference method. Social experiences in kindergarten included relationship quality with the…

Bipolar disorder is frequently clinically diagnosed in youths who do not actually satisfy Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (4th ed., text revision; DSM-IV-TR; American Psychiatric Association, 1994) criteria, yet cases that would satisfy full DSM-IV-TR criteria are often undetected clinically. Evidence-based assessment methods…

We present one of the first behavior-genetic studies of individual differences in school students' levels of achievement in instructed second language acquisition (ISLA). We assessed these language abilities in Australian twin pairs (maximum N pairs = 251) by means of teacher ratings, class rankings, and self-ratings of proficiency, and used the…

Self-injurious behavior (SIB) is a devastating condition associated with intellectual and developmental disabilities (IDD). Efforts to understand its development are focused on early childhood when the behavior first emerges. Limited prevalence data on SIB during early childhood are currently available. The purpose of this study was to determine…

Background: Attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) and reading disability commonly co-occur because of shared genetic risk factors. However, the stability and change of these genetic influences and the predictive relationships underlying this association longitudinally remain unclear. Methods: ADHD symptoms and reading were assessed as…

Mating between closely related individuals often causes reduced fitness, which is termed "inbreeding depression". Inbreeding is, therefore, a threat towards the persistence of animal and plant populations. Here we present methods and results from a practical for high-school and first-year university students and discuss learning outcomes…

Now in its fifth edition, this outstanding resource for teachers and school professionals has been retitled "Medical and Psychosocial Problems in the Classroom" to more accurately reflect what teachers encounter during the course of their careers. Each chapter highlights the important role teachers play when interacting with health-care…

To do research that really makes a difference--the authors of this book argue--social scientists need questions and methods that reflect the complexity of the world. Bringing together a consortium of voices across a variety of fields, "Methods that Matter" offers compelling and successful examples of mixed methods research that do just…

RNA hypermodifications near the anticodon of tRNA are fundamental for the efficiency and fidelity of protein synthesis. Dimethylallyltransferase (DMATase) catalyzes transfer of a dimethylallyl moiety from dimethylallyl pyrophosphate to N6 of A37 in certain tRNAs. We first determined the crystal structures of "Pseudomonas aeruginosa" DMATase.…

Mangroves represent phylogenetically diverse taxa in tropical coastal terrestrial habitats. They are extremophiles, evolutionarily adapted to tolerate flooding, anoxia, high temperatures, wind, and high and extremely variable salt conditions in typically resource-poor environments. The genetic basis for these adaptations is, however, virtually…

The soybean cyst nematode (SCN), "Heterodera glycines" is an obligate plant parasite that can cause devastating crop losses. To aide in the study of this pathogen, the SCN genome and the transcriptome of second stage juveniles and eggs were shotgun sequenced. A bioinformatic screen of the data revealed nine genes involved in the "de novo"…

There is no clear identification of the neurons involved in fear conditioning in the amygdala. To search for these neurons, we have used a genetic approach, the "fos-tau-lacZ" (FTL) mouse, to map functionally activated expression in neurons following contextual fear conditioning. We have identified a discrete population of neurons in the lateral…

A decade and a half have elapsed since DSM-IV and ICD-10 appeared. During this time the convergent definitions of autism and related disorders in these two diagnostic systems have stimulated tremendous research. In this brief review we summarize areas of progress and continuing controversy, including approaches to diagnosis in more cognitively…

For decades neurophysiology has successfully contributed to research and clinical care in child psychiatry. Recently, methodological progress has led to a revival of interest in brain oscillations (i.e., a band of periodic neuronal frequencies with a wave-duration from milliseconds to several seconds which may code and decode information). These…

Background: This article selectively reviews the status of the genetic research in the field of speech and language disorders. Methods: Major contributions to the field are selected, presented, and discussed. Results: The field presents itself through a variety of findings, characterized by both consistencies and inconsistencies. Conclusions: The…