Personalized genomics companies (PG; also called "direct-to-consumer genetics") are businesses marketing genetic testing to consumers over the Internet. While much has been written about these new businesses, little attention has been given to their roles in science communication. This paper provides an analysis of the gene concept…

Oscar Riddle, born in Indiana in 1877, was an ardent evolutionist and a key player in the founding of the National Association of Biology Teachers in 1938. He studied heredity and behavior in domestic pigeons and doves with Charles O. Whitman of the University of Chicago, received his Ph.D. in zoology in 1907, and in 1912 began a long career at…

Recent advances in molecular genetics and epigenetics are reviewed that have major implications for the bio-behavioral sciences and for understanding how organisms adapt to their environments at both phylogenetic and ontogenic levels. From a post-genomics perspective, the environment is as crucial as the DNA sequence for constructing the…

The aim was to investigate the hemodynamic responses to isometric handgrip exercise (HG) and examine the role of the muscle metaboreflex in the exercise pressor response in individuals with intellectual disability (IID) and non-disabled control subjects. Eleven males with mild-moderate intellectual disabilities and eleven non-disabled males…

The experiment described in this test was aimed at identifying DNA repair proteins in human and yeast cells. Terms to be familiar with before you start to solve the test: DNA repair, germline mutation, somatic mutation, inherited disease, cancer, restriction endonuclease, radioactive labeling, [alpha-[superscript 32]P]ATP, [gamma-[superscript…

Western participants consistently match certain shapes with particular speech sounds, tastes, and flavours. Here we demonstrate that the "Bouba-Kiki effect", a well-known shape-sound symbolism effect commonly observed in Western participants, is also observable in the Himba of Northern Namibia, a remote population with little exposure to…

It is widely acknowledged in the literature on philosophy of biology and, more recently, among biologists themselves that the gene concept is currently in crisis. This crisis concerns the so-called "classical molecular concept", according to which a gene is a DNA segment encoding one functional product, which can be either a RNA molecule or a…

This study examines the genetic and environmental etiology underlying the development of oral language and reading skills, and the relationship between them, over a long period of developmental time spanning middle childhood and adolescence. It focuses particularly on the differential relationship between language and two different aspects of…

This study examines how two kinds of authentic research experiences related to smoking behavior--genotyping human DNA (wet lab) and using a database to test hypotheses about factors that affect smoking behavior (dry lab)--influence students' perceptions and understanding of scientific research and related science concepts. The study used pre and…

It is now possible to create individual-specific genetic scores, called genome-wide polygenic scores (GPS). We used a GPS for years of education ("EduYears") to predict reading performance assessed at UK National Curriculum Key Stages 1 (age 7), 2 (age 12) and 3 (age 14) and on reading tests administered at ages 7 and 12 in a UK sample…

Research in genetics and genomics is advancing at a fast pace, and thus keeping up with the most recent findings and conclusions can be very challenging. At the same time these recent findings and conclusions have made necessary a reconceptualization of genes and heredity, both in science and in science education, beyond the mostly gene-centred…

Background: Children with 22q11.2 deletion syndrome (22q11.2DS) are reported to have socio-communicative impairments. Although many of these children are diagnosed with intellectual disability (ID) and/or autism spectrum disorder (ASD), these populations are seldom used as control groups. Hence, information regarding syndrome-specific…

The broader autism phenotype refers to sub-clinical autism spectrum disorder characteristics involving socially and emotionally aloof and rigid personality traits and social communication difficulties. Relatives of individuals with autism spectrum disorder, including parents, evidence an increased rate of broader autism phenotype. The goal of this…

Neuroimaging methods represent a critical tool in efforts to join the study of the neurobiology of genes with the neurobiology of behaviour, and to understand the neurodevelopmental pathways that give rise to cognitive and behavioural impairments. This article reviews the clinical features and highlights studies with a focus on the relevant…

We examined the aetiology of anxiety symptoms in an unselected population at ages 7 and 9, a period during which anxiety disorders first begin to develop (mean age at onset is 11 years). Specifically, the aim of the study was to investigate genetic and environmental continuity and change in components of anxiety in middle childhood. Parents of…