We suggest that an over-arching "fitness factor" (an index of general genetic quality that predicts survival and reproductive success) partially explains the observed associations between health outcomes and intelligence. As a proof of concept, we tested this idea in a sample of 3654 US Vietnam veterans aged 31-49 who completed five cognitive…

Behavioral genetic research has concluded that the more important environmental influences result in differences between siblings (referred to as "nonshared"; "e[superscript 2]"), whereas environmental influences that create similarities between siblings (referred to as "shared"; "c[superscript 2]") are indistinguishable from zero. However, there…

Expression proteomics has become, in recent years, a key genome-wide expression approach in fundamental and applied life sciences. This postgenomic technology aims the quantitative analysis of all the proteins or protein forms (the so-called proteome) of a given organism in a given environmental and genetic context. It is a challenge to provide…

Background: Empirical studies of the structure of autism symptoms have challenged the three-domain model of impairment currently characterizing pervasive developmental disorders (PDD). The objective of this study was to assess the internal validity of the DSM as a conceptual model for describing PDD, while paying particular attention to certain…

The aims of this study were to investigate whether subtle PDD symptoms in the context of ADHD are transmitted in families independent of ADHD, and whether PDD symptom familiality is influenced by gender and age. The sample consisted of 256 sibling pairs with at least one child with ADHD and 147 healthy controls, aged 5-19 years. Children who…

Biotechnology has a considerable importance in Turkish biology curriculum. This study was designed to explore or indicate Turkish high school and university students' knowledge and attitudes toward biotechnology. A total number of 352 high school and 276 university students were invited to the study. The Biotechnology Knowledge Questionnaire (BKQ)…

Down syndrome is the most prevalent cause of intellectual impairment associated with a genetic anomaly, in this case, trisomy of chromosome 21. It affects both physical and cognitive development and produces a characteristic phenotype, although affected individuals vary considerably with respect to severity of specific impairments. Studies…

Introductory biology courses are frequently offered separately to biology majors and nonbiology majors, with the assumption that the two groups of students are different enough to merit different courses. To assess the evidence behind this assumption, we compared students in two different genetics classes at the University of Colorado-Boulder, one…

Describes a paper-and-pencil activity that helps students understand DNA sequencing and expands student understanding of DNA structure, replication, and gel electrophoresis. Appropriate for advanced biology students who are familiar with the Sanger method. (DDR)

The Science of Genes workshop is a program designed to increase public understanding of science by demystifying the language used to describe it. Methods include analogies, models, simple experiments, and opportunities for discussion of controversial topics such as genetic engineering. (JOW)

Bestows diagrams to describe common transformation methods and applications of these methods in biotechnology today. (ZWH)

The review, intended to provide speech-language pathologists and special educators with an awareness of genetics and specific syndromes involving speech, language, and hearing components, discusses basic etiologies of abnormal development and selected syndromes (such as Down's and Klinefelter's) that include communication disorders. (CL)

This document defines and discusses autism and how genes play a role in the condition. Answers to the following questions are covered: (1) What are genes? (2) What is autism? (3) What causes autism? (4) Why study genes to learn about autism? (5) How do researchers look for the genes involved in autism? (screen the whole genome; conduct cytogenetic…