We characterized college human genetics courses for nonscience majors (NSM) by 1) determining the number of U.S. institutions offering courses and the number of students taking them; and 2) surveying course instructors on course demographics, content, materials, and pedagogies. Between 2002 and 2004, an estimated 480 institutions of higher…

Objective: Background: Children with velocardiofacial syndrome (VCFS), a contiguous deletion syndrome, have an increased prevalence of attention deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD). Method: The authors compared youth with VCFS+ADHD (from the SUNY Upstate VCFS Research Program) to those with ADHD but not VCFS (from the Massachusetts General…

Background: Fragile X syndrome (FXS) is the most common known inherited cause of intellectual disability, yet very few studies have explored the language comprehension skills of children with FXS. We examined the receptive vocabulary, grammatical morphology and syntax skills of boys with FXS (who were additionally classified as having autism,…

This document contains a collection of low cost labs and activities. The activities are organized into the following units: Chemistry; Microbiology; DNA to Chromosomes; Genetics; Evolution; Classification, Protist, and Fungus; Plant; Invertebrate; Human Biology; and Ecology and Miscellaneous. Some of the activities within these units include: (1)…

Attitudes concerning the Human Genome Project were reported by faculty (N=40) and students (N=66) from a liberal arts college. Positive attitudes toward the project involved privacy, insurance and health, economic purposes, reproductive purposes, genetic counseling, religion and overall opinions. Negative attitudes were expressed regarding…

Abstracts of 13 papers given at a 1983 conference on autistic children are presented: "Autism--Is There a Neurological Basis?" (G. McKhann); "The Syndrome of Autism: A Medical Model" (E. Ritvo) (full paper); "Neuropsychological Testing of Peripheral and Central Communicative Disorders" (H. Mark); "A Psychiatrist Views the Neurological Basis of the…

Describes an exercise that teaches Mendelian inheritance using human traits which students find exciting and relevant. (LS)

Describes screening systems for environmental mutagens, characteristics of the ideal screening system, characteristics of currently employed screening systems, correlative information required for decision making, and application of data to human populations. (GS)

In spring of 1998, the Biology Department at Pomona College changed from a two-semester survey introductory biology sequence to a core set of three courses, none of which is a traditional survey course. They had been wrestling for several years with a number of issues regarding the survey courses, including (1) what topics to include and exclude;…

Identifies some of the problems involved in genetic engineering and raises questions of interpersonal values involved. (PEB)

Describes a simple method for extracting bacterial DNA for use in laboratory investigations to study genetic transformation in bacteria. (BR)

Discusses the relation of technology to the green revolution, the role of plant breeders in inducing change in stagnant agriculture and the tools required by production scientists to increase yields of basic food crops in developing countries. (BR)

This report describes activities serving the deaf population carried on by the Gallaudet Research Institute and the Office of Sponsored Programs. Introductory comments note the establishment of two new research units, the tenth anniversary of the institute, and administrative changes. The main text describes the following major institute…