New literacy challenge for the twenty-first century: genetic knowledge is poor even among well educated

We live in an age of rapidly advancing genetic research. This research is generating new knowledge that has implications for personal health and well-being. The present study assessed the level of genetic knowledge and personal engagement with genetics in a large sample (N = 5404) of participants. Participants received secondary education in 78 countries, with the largest samples from Russia, the UK and the USA. The results showed significant group differences in genetic knowledge between different countries, professions, education levels and religious affiliations. Overall, genetic knowledge was poor. The questions were designed to assess basic genetic literacy. However, only 1.2% of participants answered all 18 questions correctly, and the average score was 65.5%. Genetic knowledge was related to peoples’ attitudes towards genetics. For example, those with greater genetic knowledge were on average more willing to use genetic knowledge for their personal health management. Based on the results, the paper proposes a number of immediate steps that societies can implement to empower the public to benefit from everadvancing genetic knowledge

Resolução temporal auditiva em idosos Auditory temporal resolution in elderly people

OBJETIVO: Avaliar o processamento auditivo em idosos por meio do teste de resolução temporal Gaps in Noise e verificar se a presença de perda auditiva influencia no desempenho nesse teste. MÉTODOS: Sessenta e cinco ouvintes idosos, entre 60 e 79 anos, foram avaliados por meio do teste Gaps In Noise. Para seleção da amostra foram realizados: anamnese, mini-exame do estado mental e avaliação audiológica básica. Os participantes foram alocados e estudados em um grupo único e posteriormente divididos em três grupos segundo os resultados audiométricos nas frequências de 500 Hz, 1, 2, 3, 4 e 6 kHz. Assim, classificou-se o G1 com audição normal, o G2 com perda auditiva de grau leve e o G3 com perda auditiva de grau moderado. RESULTADOS: Em toda a amostra, as médias de limiar de detecção de gap e de porcentagem de acertos foram de 8,1 ms e 52,6% para a orelha direita e de 8,2 ms e 52,2% para a orelha esquerda. No G1, estas medidas foram de 7,3 ms e 57,6% para a orelha direita e de 7,7 ms e 55,8% para a orelha esquerda. No G2, estas medidas foram de 8,2 ms e 52,5% para a orelha direita e de 7,9 ms e 53,2% para a orelha esquerda. No G3, estas medidas foram de 9,2 ms e 45,2% para as orelhas direita e esquerda. CONCLUSÃO: A presença de perda auditiva elevou os limiares de detecção de gap e diminuiu a porcentagem de acertos no teste Gaps In Noise.<br>PURPOSE: To assess the auditory processing of elderly patients using the temporal resolution Gaps-in-Noise test, and to verify if the presence of hearing loss influences the performance on this test. METHODS: Sixty-five elderly listeners, with ages between 60 and 79 years, were assessed with the Gaps-in-Noise test. To meet the inclusion criteria, the following procedures were carried out: anamnesis, mini-mental state examination, and basic audiological evaluation. The participants were allocated and studied as a group, and then were divided into three groups, according to audiometric results for the frequencies of 500 Hz, 1, 2, 3, 4 and 6 kHz. Thus, subjects in G1 had normal hearing, participants in G2 were classified with mild hearing loss, and those in G3 had moderate hearing loss. RESULTS: In the entire sample, the mean gap detection threshold and the mean percentage of correct responses were, respectively, 8.1 ms and 52.6% for the right ear, and 8.2 ms and 52.2% for the left ear. In G1, these measures were 7.3 ms and 57.6% for the right ear, and 7.7 ms and 55.8% for the left ear. In G2, these measures were 8.2 ms and 52.5% for the right ear, and 7.9 ms and 53.2% for the left ear. In G3, the measures were 9.2 ms and 45.2% for the right and left ears. CONCLUSION: The presence of hearing loss increased the gap detection thresholds and lowered the percentage of correct responses on the Gaps-in-Noise test