The aim of this study was to develop molecular genetics inquiry programs using the "eyes absent" gene of "Drosophila melanogaster." The program was composed of various molecular genetics experiments, including mutation observation, cross-breeding, searching for genetic information in web databases, gDNA extraction, and PCR.…

Teaching chemistry and biology students about biologics design remains challenging despite its increasing importance in pharmaceutical development. Monoclonal antibodies, commonly called mAbs, are the most popular biologics. They have been developed into drugs to treat various diseases in the past decades. Multiple challenges exist for designing…

DNA structure has been leveraged in a variety of facets that allow scientists to perform a range of assays, including ones for identification of species, establishing evolutionary relationships between taxa, or even identifying individuals. Here, we present a DNA barcoding method as practical, hands-on approach that connects several experimental…

This paper examines the genetic ("nature") and environmental ("nurture") influences on why students vary in their reading skills. We review core findings from the field of modern behavioral genetics, a discipline that studies the interplay of genetic and environmental influences, on reading science. Additionally, we provide an…

Research synthesis, eg, by meta-analysis, is more and more considered in the area of high-dimensional data from molecular research such as gene and protein expression data, especially because most studies and experiments are performed with very small sample sizes. In contrast to most clinical and epidemiological trials, raw data are often…

Many laboratory courses consist of short and seemingly unconnected individual laboratory exercises. To increase the course consistency, relevance, and student engagement, we have developed a research-inspired and project-based module, "From Gene to Structure and Function". This 2.5-week full-day biochemistry and structural biology module…

Undergraduate research experiences are excellent opportunities to engage students in science alongside experienced scientists, but at large institutions, it is challenging to accommodate all students. To address and engage a larger number of students, we developed a modular laboratory course based on the course-based undergraduate research…

The plant taxonomy textbooks that are generally used in colleges need to be complemented with a DNA-based molecular review. In general, plant taxonomy textbooks devote more space to morphology than to molecular-level characteristics. The research reported here used the results of DNA-based research to develop a molecular plant taxonomy textbook.…

When conducting scientific research, experts in molecular and cellular biology (MCB) use specific reasoning strategies to construct mechanistic explanations for the underlying causal features of molecular phenomena. We explored how undergraduate students applied this scientific practice in MCB. Drawing from studies of explanation building among…

Structural variation of the human genome sequence is the insertion, deletion, or rearrangement of stretches of DNA sequence sized from around 1,000 to millions of base pairs. Over the past few years, structural variation has been shown to be far more common in human genomes than previously thought. Very little is currently known about the effects…

Conscientiousness is an important trait for understanding healthy aging. The present article addresses how behavioral and molecular genetics methodologies can aid in furthering explicating the link between conscientiousness and aspects of health and well-being in later life. We review the etiology of conscientiousness documented by both…

Gene expression is one of the main molecular processes regulating the differentiation, development, and functioning of cells and tissues. In this review a handful of relevant terms and concepts are introduced and the most common techniques used in studies of gene expression/expression profiling (also referred to as studies of the transcriptome or…

The purpose of this exploratory study was to identify and describe some of the dimensions of scientific collaborations using high throughput computing (HTC) through the lens of a virtual team performance framework. A secondary purpose was to assess the viability of using a virtual team performance framework to study scientific collaborations using…

Background: A broad capacity for deliberate self-regulation plays a key role in emotion regulation. This longitudinal investigation from infancy to preschool age examines genotype by environment (G x E) interaction in the development of self-regulation, using molecular measures of children's genotypes and observed measures of the quality of early…

A-DNA and B-DNA are two secondary molecular conformations (among other allomorphs) that double-stranded DNA drawn into a fiber can assume, depending on the relative water content and other chemical parameters of the fiber. They were the first two forms to be observed by X-ray fiber diffraction in the early 1950s, respectively by Wilkins and…