Objective: Autism spectrum disorders (ASDs) are highly heritable neurodevelopmental disorders that onset clinically during the first years of life. ASD risk biomarkers expressed early in life could significantly impact diagnosis and treatment, but no transcriptome-wide biomarker classifiers derived from fresh blood samples from children with…

This study investigates ways to enhance secondary school students' knowledge transfer in complex science domains by implementing question prompts. Two samples of students applied two web-based models to study molecular genetics--the model of genetic code (n = 258) and translation (n = 245). For each model, the samples were randomly divided into…

We investigated the potential of Second Life® (SL), a three-dimensional (3-D) virtual world, to enhance undergraduate students' learning of a vital chemistry concept. A quasi-experimental pre-posttest control group design was used to conduct the study. A total of 387 participants completed three assignment activities either in SL or using…

In this laboratory module, introductory biochemistry students are exposed to two-dimensional [superscript 1]H-nuclear magnetic resonance of glycerophospholipids (GPLs). Working in groups of three, students enzymatically synthesized and purified a variety of 2-acyl lyso GPLs. The structure of the 2-acyl lyso GPL was verified using [superscript…

Undergraduate and graduate students' predictions and submicroscopic level explanations for the melting of four materials (salt, chalk, sugar, and butter), and for the mixing of these solutes in two solvents (water and cooking oil) were collected. Twenty-three undergraduate students and seven graduate students participated in the study, and data…

A microwave-assisted synthesis of "N"-phenylsuccinimide has been developed for the second-semester organic teaching laboratory. Utilizing this procedure, "N"-phenylsuccinimide can be synthesized in moderate yields (40-60%) by heating a mixture of aniline and succinic anhydride in a domestic microwave oven for four minutes. This technique reduces…

The purpose of the study was to examine the effects of students' conceptual understanding of chemical concepts and mathematical processing skills on algorithmic problem-solving skills. The sample (N = 554) included grades 9, 10, and 11 students in Turkey. Data were collected using the instrument "MPC Test" and with interviews. The MPC…

Chemical reaction kinetics and equilibrium are essential core concepts of chemistry but are challenging topics for many students, both at the high school and undergraduate university level. Visualization at the molecular level is valuable to aid understanding of reaction kinetics and equilibrium. This activity provides a discovery-based method to…

Imagistic reasoning appears to be a critical strategy for learning and problem solving in the sciences, particularly chemistry; however, little is known about how students use imagistic reasoning on genuine assessment tasks in chemistry. The present study employed a think-aloud protocol to explore when and how students use imagistic reasoning for…

Could a mutation in a single gene be the evolutionary lynchpin supporting the development of human language? A rare mutation in the molecule known as FOXP2 discovered in a human family seemed to suggest so, and its sequence phylogeny reinforced a Chomskian view that language emerged wholesale in humans. Spurred by this discovery, research in…

Many idiopathic epilepsy syndromes have a characteristic age dependence, the underlying molecular mechanisms of which are largely unknown. Here we propose a mechanism that can explain that epileptic spells in benign familial neonatal-infantile seizures occur almost exclusively during the first days to months of life. Benign familial…

In representation-rich domains such as organic chemistry, students must be facile and accurate when translating between different 2D representations, such as diagrams. We hypothesized that translating between organic chemistry diagrams would be more accurate when concrete models were used because difficult mental processes could be augmented by…

This study focuses on students' conceptions of electric and magnetic fields at university level and of the interrelations between them. A total of 33 students participated in a paper and pencil test after the completion of first-year electricity and second-year electromagnetism courses. The conceptions were investigated in the contexts of a…

In order to address the challenges and restrictions given by a traditional classroom lecture environment, the top-down and bottom-up nanotechnology teaching modules were developed, implemented and evaluated. Then based on the hypothesis that instructors could further develop students' interest in this emerging area through the introduction of the…

The Northwestern University Initiative for Teaching Nanosciences (NUITNS) at nanohub.org Web site combines several tools for doing electronic structure calculations and analyzing and displaying the results into a coordinated package. In this article, we describe this package and show how it can be used as part of an upper-level quantum chemistry…