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1. Evolution & the Cesarean Section Rate (EJ809040)
Author(s):
Walsh, Joseph A.
Source:
American Biology Teacher, v70 n7 p401-404 Sep 2008
Pub Date:
2008-09-00
Pub Type(s):
Journal Articles; Reports - Evaluative
Peer-Reviewed:
Yes
Descriptors: Evolution; Birth; Surgery; Genetics; Biology; Heredity; Biological Influences; Human Body; Physiology
Abstract: "Nothing in biology makes sense except in the light of evolution." This was the title of an essay by geneticist Theodosius Dobzhansky writing in 1973. Many causes have been given for the increased Cesarean section rate in developed countries, but biologic evolution has not been one of them. The C-section rate will continue to rise, because the ability to perform a safe C-section has liberated human childbirth from natural selection directed against too small a maternal pelvis and too large a fetal head. Babies will get bigger and pelvis will get smaller because there is nothing to prevent it. In this article, the author examines the possible genetic outcomes of continued C-section deliveries on the future populations. Note:The following two links are not-applicable for text-based browsers or screen-reading software. Show Hide Full Abstract
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2. It's All in the Bag: A Genetics Activity (EJ809035)
Snyder, Jennifer
American Biology Teacher, v70 n6 p357-362 Aug 2008
2008-08-00
Journal Articles; Reports - Descriptive
Descriptors: Genetics; Statistical Analysis; Probability; Heredity; Science Instruction; Learning Activities; Teaching Methods; Secondary School Science
Abstract: This article presents an activity that uses sandwich bags to represent an individual's genome (their genetic make-up), and two variations of various objects representing the alleles of various genes. This activity includes the major components of an introductory genetics unit: from gamete production through probabilities of expected offspring (using Punnett squares) and the assembly of sample offspring with alleles passed down the generations. Using concrete models to represent traits and following these traits for three generations allows for a more comprehensive genetics overview than other activities found in the published literature. The consistency of the analogy allows the user (teacher or student) to better recognize the interrelationships of the various topics studied. The activity can be made intricate by adding individual statistical analysis of offspring produced or by using more complex phenotypic traits such as ABO blood type. Alternatively, the activity can be simplified, and completed as a whole class rather than individual pairs of students. (Contains 2 figures.) Note:The following two links are not-applicable for text-based browsers or screen-reading software. Show Hide Full Abstract
3. Teaching Mendelism (EJ809033)
Stansfield, William D.
American Biology Teacher, v70 n6 p345-349 Aug 2008
Descriptors: Genetics; Teaching Methods; Science Instruction; Biology; Preservice Teacher Education; Science Teachers; Scientists; Heredity; Plants (Botany); Textbooks
Abstract: Gregor Mendel (1822-1884) is rightly credited as being the "father of modern genetics." He presented the results of his pea experiments at a meeting of his local natural history society in two lectures during 1865. His paper was published in the proceedings of the society the next year. From his breeding experiments with the edible pea, he recognized the phenomena of what everyone today calls dominance and recessiveness, segregation of alleles, independent assortment of different traits, equal parental contributions to offspring, and several others. In this article, the author presents some information that might be helpful in two primary respects for those who teach genetics: (1) Teacher Preparation, and (2) Teaching Techniques. Note:The following two links are not-applicable for text-based browsers or screen-reading software. Show Hide Full Abstract
4. Nosology and Diagnosis of Rett Syndrome (EJ810179)
Matson, Johnny L.; Fodstad, Jill C.; Boisjoli, Jessica A.
Research in Autism Spectrum Disorders, v2 n4 p601-611 Oct 2008
2008-10-00
Information Analyses; Journal Articles; Reports - Research
Descriptors: Genetics; Profiles; Clinical Diagnosis; Pervasive Developmental Disorders; Check Lists; Screening Tests; Symptoms (Individual Disorders); Evaluation Methods; Genetic Disorders; Heredity
Abstract: Rett Syndrome is one of the least commonly occurring autism spectrum disorders (ASD), but certainly one of the most devastating. A genetic profile has been identified, but checklists still have an important role for prescreening, especially before expensive genetic testing, and to provide precise strengths and weaknesses with respect to the core features of the disorder. Furthermore, research is now demonstrating subprofiles of genetic mutation which may be linked to profiles of behavioral responding and general symptom profiles. We review the literature on the nosology and assessment of Rett Syndrome in light of these developments. Specific symptoms and assessment techniques are discussed and potential future research avenues are reviewed with an eye to strengths and weaknesses of the current knowledge base. Note:The following two links are not-applicable for text-based browsers or screen-reading software. Show Hide Full Abstract
5. Seeking Professional Help: Etiology Beliefs about Mental Illness across Cultures (EJ816624)
Chen, Sylvia Xiaohua; Mak, Winnie W. S.
Journal of Counseling Psychology, v55 n4 p442-450 Oct 2008
Journal Articles; Reports - Research
Descriptors: Help Seeking; Mental Disorders; Undergraduate Students; Path Analysis; Etiology; Foreign Countries; Chinese Americans; Cultural Differences; White Students; Asian American Students; Cultural Influences; Social Attitudes; Heredity; Environmental Influences; Context Effect; Allied Health Personnel; Counselors
Abstract: In the present study, the authors examined the contributions of cultural beliefs about the etiology of mental illness to the seeking of help from mental health professionals among college students in 4 cultural groups, European Americans, Chinese Americans, Hong Kong Chinese, and Mainland Chinese. Group differences were found in help-seeking history and likelihood, with European and Chinese Americans being more likely to seek help than Hong Kong and Mainland Chinese. Multiple-group path analysis showed that lay beliefs about causes of mental illness and prior help-seeking history significantly predicted help-seeking likelihood, which was related positively to environmental/hereditary causes but negatively to social-personal causes. Our findings demonstrate the importance of understanding help-seeking patterns within specific cultural contexts and the effects of Western influences on shaping help-seeking propensities. (Contains 4 tables and 2 figures.) Note:The following two links are not-applicable for text-based browsers or screen-reading software. Show Hide Full Abstract
6. Eugenics in Education: Apologetics for Oppression (ED503262)
Hartlep, Nicholas D.
Online Submission
2008-11-10
Reports - Evaluative
N/A
Descriptors: Racial Discrimination; Social Discrimination; Heredity; Equal Education; Labeling (of Persons); Books; Content Analysis
Abstract: For many people an esoteric educational topic is eugenics. This brief text analysis will provide a textual as well as contextual analysis of Dr. Ann Gibson Winfield's book (2007) Eugenics and Education in America: Institutionalized Racism and the Implications of History, Ideology, and Memory. Winfield objectively critiques eugenic apologetics. This text analysis will assess how well Winfield's book accomplishes the following: (1) discussion of the scientism-or pseudo-nature of eugenics, (2) description of the compositional and structural eugenic-laden inequities that pervade education, (3) discussion of eugenic labels used in the past within education, and (4) discussion of eugenic labels presently used within education. Note:The following two links are not-applicable for text-based browsers or screen-reading software. Show Hide Full Abstract
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7. Medical Genetics Is Not Eugenics (EJ797168)
Cowan, Ruth Schwartz
Chronicle of Higher Education, v54 n36 pB12 May 2008
2008-05-16
Journal Articles; Opinion Papers
No
Descriptors: Genetics; Nature Nurture Controversy; Diagnostic Tests; Screening Tests; Heredity; Intellectual History; Medical Research
Abstract: The connection that critics make between medical genetics and eugenics is historically fallacious. Activists on the political right are as mistaken as activists on the political left: Genetic screening was not eugenics in the past, is not eugenics in the present, and, unless its technological systems become radically transformed, will not be eugenics in the future. The chief goal of the eugenicists, "improvement of the race," was never one of the goals of genetic screening--and it did not become one, even after genomic research had identified the locations of dozens of disease-causing mutations. From the very beginning, the founders of medical genetics--people like Neel, Fritz Fuchs, Michael Kaback, and Robert Guthrie--viewed their basic project as the relief of human suffering, not improvement of the race. Geneticists wanted to reduce the suffering of both parents and children by helping the parents to have additional children, and by ensuring that those additional children would be free of the disease. As such, the author contends that parents should not feel guilty when they participate in genetic screening and that historians, social scientists, and journalists to stop warning about its hidden eugenic evils. Note:The following two links are not-applicable for text-based browsers or screen-reading software. Show Hide Full Abstract
8. A Twin-Family Study of General IQ (EJ786696)
van Leeuwen, Marieke; van den Berg, Stephanie M.; Boomsma, Dorret I.
Learning and Individual Differences, v18 n1 p76-88 2008
2008-00-00
Descriptors: Intelligence; Twins; Intelligence Quotient; Genetics; Interaction; Environmental Influences; Nature Nurture Controversy; Siblings; Parents; Heredity
Abstract: In this paper we assess the presence of assortative mating, gene-environment interaction and the heritability of intelligence in childhood using a twin family design with twins, their siblings and parents from 112 families. We evaluate two competing hypotheses about the cause of assortative mating in intelligence: social homogamy and phenotypic assortment, and their implications for the heritability estimate of intelligence. The Raven Progressive Matrices test was used to assess general intelligence (IQ) and a persons IQ was estimated using a Rasch model. There was a substantial correlation between spouses for IQ (r = 0.33) and resemblance in identical twins was higher than in first-degree relatives (parents and offspring, fraternal twins and siblings). A model assuming phenotypic assortment fitted the data better than a model assuming social homogamy. The main influence on IQ variation was genetic. Controlled for scale unreliability, additive genetic effects accounted for 67% of the population variance. There was no evidence for cultural transmission between generations. The results suggested that an additional 9% of observed IQ test variation was due to gene-environment interaction, with environment being more important in children with a genetic predisposition for low intelligence. Note:The following two links are not-applicable for text-based browsers or screen-reading software. Show Hide Full Abstract
9. CRITTERS! A Realistic Simulation for Teaching Evolutionary Biology (EJ785686)
Latham, Luke G., II; Scully, Erik P.
American Biology Teacher, v70 n1 p30-33 Jan 2008
2008-01-00
Descriptors: Computer Simulation; Learning Laboratories; Genetics; Evolution; Science Instruction; Heredity; Inquiry; Undergraduate Students; High School Students; Secondary School Science; College Science
Abstract: Evolutionary processes can be studied in nature and in the laboratory, but time and financial constraints result in few opportunities for undergraduate and high school students to explore the agents of genetic change in populations. One alternative to time consuming and expensive teaching laboratories is the use of computer simulations. We developed an individual-based computer model with a chromosomal/gene-based inheritance scheme, mutation, meiosis with recombination, environmental complexity, population size effects, and resource availability. This simulation provides opportunities to study evolution on a number of realistic phenotypic characteristics that may be used for an inquiry-based learning laboratory. Note:The following two links are not-applicable for text-based browsers or screen-reading software. Show Hide Full Abstract
10. The G22A Polymorphism of the ADA Gene and Susceptibility to Autism Spectrum Disorders (EJ782379)
Hettinger, Joe A.; Liu, Xudong; Holden, Jeanette Jeltje Anne
Journal of Autism and Developmental Disorders, v38 n1 p14-19 Jan 2008
Descriptors: Autism; North Americans; Genetics; Ethnicity; Siblings; Children; Heredity
Abstract: Inborn errors of purine metabolism have been implicated as a cause for some cases of autism. This hypothesis is supported by the finding of decreased adenosine deaminase (ADA) activity in the sera of some children with autism and reports of an association of the A allele of the ADA G22A (Asp8Asn) polymorphism in individuals with autism of Italian-descent. We tested the ADA G22A polymorphism in 126 North American affected sib-pair families but found no aberrant allele distributions in cases versus controls. Instead, we found an increased transmission of the G allele from fathers to affected children. Our findings suggest that the ADA G22A polymorphism plays a minimal role in susceptibility to autism in North American families. Note:The following two links are not-applicable for text-based browsers or screen-reading software. Show Hide Full Abstract
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