17 research outputs found
Key Characteristics of Successful Science Learning: The Promise of Learning by Modelling
The basic premise underlying this research is that scientific phenomena are best learned by creating an external representation that complies with the complex and dynamic nature of such phenomena. Effective representations are assumed to incorporate three key characteristics: they are graphical, dynamic, and provide a pre-specified outline of the domain. This study examined the impact of these characteristics on performance and learning. High school students first read an instructional text about glucoseâinsulin regulation and then created a representation of its content. Representations differed regarding the key characteristics such that the summary (n = 15), concept map (n = 16), model (n = 23), and outlined model (n = 21) all incorporated one additional characteristic compared to their precursor. Main results indicated learning effects in each of these four conditions. Furthermore, creating a model was found to enhance studentsâ learning more than creating a concept map, and students who completed an outlined model were found to learn more than those who created a model from scratch. In conclusion, this study does not univocally verify the necessity of all key characteristics individually, but the results do show that a representational format that combines all key characteristics enhances learning more than other formats
Melanophages reside in hypermelanotic, aberrantly glycosylated tumor areas and predict improved outcome in primary cutaneous malignant melanoma
Screening of peptide specific to cholangiocarcinoma cancer cells using an integrated microfluidic system and phage display technology
Classical and alternative activation of macrophages: different pathways of macrophage-mediated tumor promotion
Gene editing in the context of an increasingly complex genome
Abstract The reporting of the first draft of the human genome in 2000 brought with it much hope for the future in what was felt as a paradigm shift toward improved health outcomes. Indeed, we have now mapped the majority of variation across human populations with landmark projects such as 1000 Genomes; in cancer, we have catalogued mutations across the primary carcinomas; whilst, for other diseases, we have identified the genetic variants with strongest association. Despite this, we are still awaiting the genetic revolution in healthcare to materialise and translate itself into the health benefits for which we had hoped. A major problem we face relates to our underestimation of the complexity of the genome, and that of biological mechanisms, generally. Fixation on DNA sequence alone and a ârigidâ mode of thinking about the genome has meant that the folding and structure of the DNA molecule âand how these relate to regulationâ have been underappreciated. Projects like ENCODE have additionally taught us that regulation at the level of RNA is just as important as that at the spatiotemporal level of chromatin. In this review, we chart the course of the major advances in the biomedical sciences in the era pre- and post the release of the first draft sequence of the human genome, taking a focus on technology and how its development has influenced these. We additionally focus on gene editing via CRISPR/Cas9 as a key technique, in particular its use in the context of complex biological mechanisms. Our aim is to shift the mode of thinking about the genome to that which encompasses a greater appreciation of the folding of the DNA molecule, DNA- RNA/protein interactions, and how these regulate expression and elaborate disease mechanisms. Through the composition of our work, we recognise that technological improvement is conducive to a greater understanding of biological processes and life within the cell. We believe we now have the technology at our disposal that permits a better understanding of disease mechanisms, achievable through integrative data analyses. Finally, only with greater understanding of disease mechanisms can techniques such as gene editing be faithfully conducted