Objective: To explore the patterns and predictors of body mass index (BMI) change among undergraduate students from Ontario (Canada). Participants: 68 undergraduate students were followed longitudinally for 3 years with anthropometric data collected bi-annually. Methods: BMI measurements were plotted to generate individual BMI trajectory curves,…

Despite growing interest in placental epigenetics, the combined impact of prenatal stress and socioeconomic status on placental methylation is still largely understudied. We conducted a study to examine the associations of prenatal stress and socioeconomic factors (household income, Hollingshead socioeconomic index) with placental methylation.…

Background: Sensory processing differences are reported both in children with ADHD and in children with autism. Given the substantial overlap between autism and ADHD, the current study examined which sensory features were uniquely predictive of autistic traits after controlling for ADHD symptoms, age, IQ, and sex in a sample of children and…

The objective of this research was to develop robust predictive models of the gains in working memory (WM) and fluid intelligence (Gf) following executive attention training in children, using genetic markers, gender, and age variables. We explore the influence of genetic variables on individual differences in susceptibility to intervention.…

Examining sub-threshold autistic traits in non-autistic first-degree relatives of individuals on the autism spectrum, known as the Broad Autism Phenotype (BAP), could provide new insights into the associations and familial aggregation of autistic traits. This study was a retrospective cross-sectional study of parents (n = 1008), probands with…

The study aimed to identify the mediating role of emotional intelligence and social competences in the relationship between gender and broad autism phenotype (BAP) as well as between age and BAP. It comprised 85 parents of children with ASD. They completed the questionnaires of Autism-Spectrum Quotient, social competences, and emotional…

Exposure to information about genetics is at an all-time high, while a full understanding of the biocultural complexity of human difference is low. This paper demonstrates the value of an "anthropological approach" to enhance genetics education in biology, anthropology, and other related disciplines, when teaching about human differences…

Growing evidence suggests that autistic females are more likely to be diagnostically overlooked than males, perhaps due to differences in ASD presentations (van Wijngaarden-Cremers in JAMA 44:627-635, 2014). To investigate specific behaviours in which differences lie, we analysed profiles of 777 children using the Childhood Autism Rating Scale…

Although few studies have established significant associations between cancer risk perception and smoking status, the evidence remains inconclusive. Therefore, the current study aimed to examine the association between risk perception for developing cancer and smoking status, controlling for sociodemographic factors. Data from the National Cancer…

Autistic students report feeling lonely, rejected by peers which is associated with poorer well-being and lower academic results. This study aims to evaluate the effect of autism phenotype and diagnosis disclosure on students' desire for social distance from autistic students and factors related to social distancing. 303 students (72.3% women;…

Journal clubs are well regarded as a highly effective means of engaging graduate students with the contemporary research literature, where individual students prepare and deliver presentations on selected research articles to their peers, followed by a group discussion. Regular journal clubs have the advantage of enhancing student scientific…

This research explored the impact of analogies and metaphors on the academic performance of senior school students in genetics within Ilorin, Nigeria. Three research questions and corresponding hypotheses were formulated and tested at a significance level of 0.05. A quasi-experimental design was used, involving 117 senior secondary school…

Strong evidence supports a role for protein degradation in fear memory formation. However, these data have been largely done in only male animals. Here, we found that following contextual fear conditioning, females, but not males, had increased levels of proteasome activity and K48 polyubiquitin protein targeting in the dorsal hippocampus, the…

Each year, the Interagency Autism Coordinating Committee (IACC) releases a list of scientific advances that represent significant progress in the field of autism research. The "Summary of Advances" provides short, plain language summaries of the top research breakthroughs selected by the IACC from a pool of research articles nominated by…

This study investigated the association between autism and self-reported eating problems and the influence of gender on the association, in a sample of adolescent and adult twins (N = 192). Autistic traits and autism diagnosis were associated with both total and specific eating problems, including selective eating and sensory sensitivity during…