Discusses the growth, development, and unusual parasitic nature of the retrovirus community. Reviews these infectious cancer-causing agents as models for the study of fundamental biological problems, tools for genetic manipulations, and problems posed by their pathogenic potential in humans and animal hosts where they cause diseases such as…

Provides strategies and topics of study designed to enhance student interest in botany using both familiar and exotic plant material to illustrate genetics, plant propagation, disease, germination, hybrid vigor, anatomy, natural insecticides, and tropisms. The relationship between plants and society is also used to develop several topics. (JM)

Discusses a three-week summer college honors course for talented high school juniors with three exams, lab six days a week, a research paper, field trips, and student panel discussions. Presents an overview of the course. Describes the lab which uses "E. coli" for DNA recombination. (MVL)

Considers the opportunities and ethical issues involved in genetic testing. Reviews the history of genetics from the first discoveries of Gregor Mendel, through the spurious pseudo-science of eugenics, and up to the discovery of DNA by James Watson and Francis Crick. Explains how genetic tests are done. (MJP)

Newborn screening for fragile X syndrome (FXS) is technically possible, and in the relatively near future accurate and inexpensive screening technologies are likely to be available. When that happens, will America's public health system adopt newborn screening for fragile X syndrome? This article addresses this issue by first placing screening for…

Studying the biological mechanisms underlying mental retardation and developmental disabilities (MR/DD) is a very complex task. This is due to the wide heterogeneity of etiologies and pathways that lead to MR/DD. Breakthroughs in genetics and molecular biology and the development of sophisticated brain imaging techniques during the last decades…

Presents models that ascribe social behavior, such as altruism and parental sacrifices for the young, to a kind of genetic imperative wherein individuals maximize their genetic contribution to the next generation. (GS)

This document presents two articles on the topic of the existence of genetic predisposition for delinquent behavior. In the first article, "The Individual Offender," Richard J. Herrnstein reviews the rich and rapidly growing body of research literature on the relationship between genes and the predisposition for certain social behaviors. He makes…

A clinical population of 39 families affected by fragile X syndrome, a sex-linked form of mental retardation, is described. Physical aspects, including such common features as prominent jaw and simple ears, are noted along with psychological aspects such as different mean IQs among various age groups. Findings of intellectual evaluation did not…

Can genetic evolution be controlled by man in a manner which does not violate a civilized, humane, and democratic ethos? The genetics of health and illhealth and of normal variation are discussed with respect to this question. (PEB)

Reviewed are chromosomal anomalies affecting one's eyes. Brief descriptions are given of the genetic etiology of bilateral retinoblastoma (malignant tumors), aniridia (absence of the iris), cataracts, congenital glaucoma, Reginitis Pigmentosa (progressive deterioration of the visual cells), Choroidermia (degeneration of the vascular coat of the…

Discusses obesity and some of the problems involved with it. (PB)

This paper discusses the link between technology and humanity and examines the possibility of using technology to transform man into a superintelligent species. The course of human development can be viewed as a consequence of technological development. If we can plot the course technology will take, then we can gain insight into the course…

The author analyzes the logic of inferences in modern biology which serve as reductionist bridges between the organismic and molecular levels of explanation. He distinguishes pragmatic validity from deductive or inductive validity, and discusses the requirements for validity of pragmatic inferences (which are accepted or rejected in terms of the…

The task of the genetic counselor who identifies genetic causes of mental retardation and assists families to understand risk of recurrence is described. Considered are chromosomal genetic disorders such as Down's syndrome, inherited disorders such as Tay-Sachs disease, identification by testing the amniotic fluid cells (amniocentresis) in time…