Lysenko Lives?

When Trofim D. Lysenko took control of biology in the Soviet Union, The New York Times explained it would be “just as if we had to accept Republican or Democratic dictation in scientific reasoning, depending upon which of the two major parties happens to be in power” (New York Times 1948: E6). It was 1948 -- the year of the Berlin Airlift, communist coup in Czechoslovakia, founding of Israel and launch of the Marshall Plan; the start of the Cold War. At a session of the Lenin AllUnion Academy of Agricultural Sciences in Moscow Lysenko declared genetics was a fascist science practiced by worshippers of Wall Street. The “gene theory” had provided the rationale for racism, colonization and the exploitation of the working class. With the words--“The Central Committee of the Party has examined my report and approved it”-- Lysenko launched a purge of genetics that would be terme

Body mass index and sociodemographic predictors of school lunch purchase behavior during a year-long environmental intervention in middle school

Modifying the school food environment is on the national agenda as one strategy to improve the nutritional quality of children's diets. Because few environmental-level interventions have been rigorously evaluated, the evidence base to inform programs and policies is limited. Of concern is the impact that changes to cafeteria offerings will have on participation in school meal programs. This study evaluates school lunch participation in the setting of a year-long middle school cafeteria intervention by examining the association between body mass index (BMI), sociodemographics, and the purchases of school lunch meals. IMOVE meals were healthier choices that met stringent nutritional criteria and were offered alongside standard lunch meals. Students who were overweight had a significantly higher purchase rate for both types of meals compared to those with a healthy BMI. Non-white race, younger age, being male, and low-income status were also significantly associated with participation in school lunch. Results indicate that nutritionally vulnerable students participate in school lunch and are equally likely to buy healthy alternatives or standard meals. This behavioral observation has important implications for school foodservice programs and policies. These results are timely given recent federal legislation to improve the school food environment to influence students' food choice behaviors

“… este empreendimento brasileiro…” Uma breve biografia de Theodosius Dobzhansky antes de sua chegada ao Brasil

This paper describes life and career of Theodosius Dobzhansky (1900-1975) until he arrived in Brazil in 1943. During his years in Russia, Dobzhansky began his entomology studies and undertook research expeditions to Central Asia to study livestock, which focused on speciation biology. Once he arrived in the United States Dobzhansky began working with Drosophila melanogaster with Thomas Hunt Morgan (1866-1945) at Columbia University. Once Morgan relocated to the California Institute of Technology (Caltech), Dobzhansky started collaborating with his colleague, Alfred Henry Sturtevant (1891-1970), on studies of a wild cousin of Drosophila melanogaster, Drosophila pseudoobscura. Dobzhansky and Sturtevant’s friendship and collaboration suffered due to several factors, including most importantly, their differing approaches to Drosophila pseudoobscura as influenced by their different conceptions of the purpose of their work. While Sturtevant studied the flies using the same techniques as his studies of the domestic Drosophila melanogaster, Dobzhansky studied Drosophila pseudoobscura in the field considering his broader dictum that “Nothing in biology makes sense except in the light of evolution.” Este artigo descreve a vida e carreira de Theodosius Dobzhansky (1900-1975) antes de sua chegada ao Brasil em 1943. Durante os anos em que vivia na Russia Dobzhansky iniciou seus estudos de entomologia e realizou expedições científicas a Ásia Central para estudar animais domésticos com foco na especiação. Ao chegar nos Estados Unidos, ele começou a trabalhar com Drosophila melanogaster com Thomas Hunt Morgan (1866-1945) na Universidade de Colúmbia. Quando Morgan se mudou para o California Institute of Technology (Caltech), Dobzhansky começou a colaborar com seu colega Alfred Henry Sturtevant (1891-1970) estudando o primo selvagem de Drosophila melanogaster, Drosophila pseudoobscura. A amizade e colaboração entre Dobzhansky e Sturtevant sofreu devido a vários fatores, sendo talvez o mais importante os diferentes enfoques adotados em suas investigações sobre Drosophila pseudoobscura guiados por suas diferentes concepções. Enquanto Surtevant estudava as moscas utilizando as mesmas técnicas empregadas nas investigações da mosca doméstica Drosophila melanogaster, Dobzhansky estudou Drosophila pseudoobscura no campo considerando o dictum: “Nada em biologia faz sentido exceto à luz da evolução”.        

Can we distinguish the consequences of early maltreatment on child behaviour from idiopathic autism?

OBJECTIVE: To identify clinical features that could distinguish children presenting with autistic-like features and a history of severe early maltreatment from children with idiopathic autism spectrum disorders (ASDs). DESIGN: Matched-comparison study. SETTING: Great Ormond Street Hospital, UK. PARTICIPANTS: 46 children with a history of early maltreatment, mean (SD) age 10.6 (3.3) years and 47 children with an ASD, mean (SD) age 10.4 (2.9) years. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES: A range of standardised interview and observational measures that are designed to quantify autistic traits. Caregiver and teacher reports were obtained on broader aspects of behavioural and emotional adjustment. RESULTS: Both groups had normal range IQ and were predominantly male. On the basis of autistic traits alone, caregiver interview and structured observation concurred that over 60% of the formerly maltreated children met criteria for an ASD. Autistic symptom profiles were very similar in both groups, although children with idiopathic ASD had significantly more marked repetitive and stereotyped behaviours. Teacher and caregiver reports indicated that children from both groups had an increased and broadly similar prevalence of emotional and behavioural disorders. CONCLUSION: Children presenting with a history of early maltreatment, who show autistic traits of behaviour, have a high risk of meeting diagnostic criteria for ASD. Their symptom profiles are virtually indistinguishable from children with idiopathic autism

Alcohol brand use of youth-appealing advertising and consumption by youth and adults

Background: Youth exposure to alcohol marketing has been shown to be an important contributor to the problem of underage drinking in the U.S. More work is needed on identifying and minimizing content with particular appeal to youth. Design and Methods: We tested the association between the youth-appeal of marketing content of televised alcohol advertisements and the brand-specific alcohol consumption of both underage youth and adults. We used existing data from three sources: a brand-specific alcohol consumption survey among underage youth (N=1032), a brand-specific alcohol consumption survey among adults (N ~13,000), and an analysis of content appealing to youth (CAY) in a sample of televised alcohol advertisements (n=96) aired during the youth survey. The association between CAY scores for the 96 alcohol ads and youth (age 13-20) versus adult (age 21+) consumption of those ads’ brands was tested through bivariate and multivariate models. Results: Brand CAY scores were (a) positively associated with brand-specific youth consumption after controlling for adult brand consumption; (b) positively associated with a ratio of youth-toadult brand-specific consumption; and (c) not associated with adult brand consumption. Conclusions: Alcohol brands with youth-appealing advertising are consumed more often by youth than adults, indicating that these ads may be more persuasive to relatively younger audiences, and that youth are not simply mirroring adult consumption patterns in their choice of brands. Future research should consider the content of alcohol advertising when testing marketing effects on youth drinking, and surveillance efforts might focus on brands popular among youth

NMR structure and dynamics of the RNA-binding site for the histone mRNA stem-loop binding protein

The 3' end of replication-dependent histone mRNAs terminate in a conserved sequence containing a stem-loop. This 26-nt sequence is the binding site for a protein, stem-loop binding protein (SLBP), that is involved in multiple aspects of histone mRNA metabolism and regulation. We have determined the structure of the 26-nt sequence by multidimensional NMR spectroscopy. There is a 16-nt stem-loop motif, with a conserved 6-bp stem and a 4-nt loop. The loop is closed by a conserved U.A base pair that terminates the canonical A-form stem. The pyrimidine-rich 4-nt loop, UUUC, is well organized with the three uridines stacking on the helix, and the fourth base extending across the major groove into the solvent. The flanking nucleotides at the base of the hairpin stem do not assume a unique conformation, despite the fact that the 5' flanking nucleotides are a critical component of the SLBP binding site

Schema Acquisition from One Example: Psychological Evidence for Explanation-Based Learning

Coordinated Science Laboratory was formerly known as Control Systems LaboratoryOffice of Naval Research / N00014-86-K-0309University of Illinois Cognitive Science/AI fellowship