Provides an introduction to the field of molecular evolution. Changes in genetic material and proteins help to time the stages of species evolution. (BB)

Suggests a new experiment to study the genetic material of eukaryotes. It is based on the rapid growth and interest of the research on chromatin. (TW)

Genetics concepts is taught at secondary school to equip students with relevant knowledge to engage with related socio-scientific issues in order to make a reasonable decision. However, earlier research shown that students exhibited poor comprehension of this concept. Despite several interventions, this problem persists. This study was designed to…

Describes a science activity on the importance of meiosis for variability. Uses a coin flip to demonstrate the random arrangement of genetic materials and explains how this results in zygotes with a new DNA combination. (YDS)

Describes the initial site, and symptoms of the human immunodeficiency virus. Explains the diverse behavior and destructive consequences of the disease through discussion, diagrams, and pictures of the life cycle of the virus and the genetic material that controls it. (RT)

This is an account of the three-centuries long journey to the discovery of the link between DNA and the transformation principle of heredity beginning with the discovery of the cell in 1665 and leading up to the 1953 discovery of the genetic code and the structure of DNA. This account also illustrates the way science works and how scientists do…

Describes recent research by Edward Steele appearing to support the Lamarckian theory of inheritance. Steele suggests that a mutant somatic cell favored by the environment will undergo clonal expansion. Altered genetic materials from these cells is then picked up by C-type viruses and inserted into the germ line genome. (CS)

Western medicine has a long history of accounting for behaviour by reducing the body to ultimate explanatory entities. In pre-modern medicine these were invisible "animal spirits" circulating the body. In modern medicine, they are "genes". Both raise questions. The psychological phenotype is defined by human consensus, varying according to time…

Understanding how teaching affects students' attitudes and beliefs is notoriously difficult, specifically in a quickly evolving and societally relevant field such as genetics. The aim of this survey study is to capitalize our previous research and examine how teaching relates to Finnish secondary school students' liking of, self-concept in and…

Undergraduate genetics courses have historically focused on simple genetic models, rather than taking a more multifactorial approach where students explore how traits are influenced by a combination of genes, the environment, and gene-by-environment interactions. While a focus on simple genetic models can provide straightforward examples to…

We aimed to examine the opinions of parents' having a child with ASD, on genetic testing, in a Turkish sample. 951 parents' attitudes towards genetic testing were included. 89.1% of the parents did not take a genetic test during pregnancy. 87.6% of the parents agreed to take a genetic test if it could explain the cause of ASDs. 93% agreed to take…

Colonialism has had significant bodily impacts on Indigenous peoples through medicine. Excluded from the German race, Sami have been burdened by mainstream prejudices which perpetuate myths about Sami having poor genetic material and, as a consequence, having an inferior culture and language. This offensive burden and subsequent humiliation has…

Individuals with a secondary education should have a knowledge level sufficient to make sense of what they read or hear about genetics, and they should be able to think scientifically in evaluation and decision-making processes. The purpose of this study is to identify the basic understanding of secondary education students about genetic concepts…

The essence of Genetics lies in the understanding of the concepts of Central Dogma of Molecular Biology. Although these ideas are fundamental to the field, they are notoriously difficult to understand and visualize. While simulation-based instructional materials are found to improve the teaching-learning process in science education, little has…

An international team that includes researchers from the National Human Genome Research Institute (NHGRI), part of the National Institutes of Health (NIH), has discovered that mammalian chromosomes have evolved by breaking at specific sites rather than randomly as long thought--and that many of the breakage hot spots are also involved in human…