People have a deep intuition about what has been called the “nature–nurture question.” Some aspects of our behavior feel as though they originate in our genetic makeup, while others feel like the result of our upbringing or our own hard work. The scientific field of behavior genetics attempts to study these differences empirically, either by examining similarities among family members with different degrees of genetic relatedness, or, more recently, by studying differences in the DNA of people with different behavioral traits. The scientific methods that have been developed are ingenious, but often inconclusive. Many of the difficulties encountered in the empirical science of behavior genetics turn out to be conceptual, and our intuitions about nature and nurture get more complicated the harder we think about them. In the end, it is an oversimplification to ask how “genetic” some particular behavior is. Genes and environments always combine to produce behavior, and the real science is in the discovery of how they combine for a given behavior.

This resource is a video abstract of a research paper created by Research Square on behalf of its authors. It provides a synopsis that's easy to understand, and can be used to introduce the topics it covers to students, researchers, and the general public. The video's transcript is also provided in full, with a portion provided below for preview:

"Equine genetics reveals otherwise invisible traits linked to your horse’s appearance Several dilution genes—which lighten pigments in skin, eyes and hair—have been identified The SLC45A2 gene affects red and black pigments, creating cream and pearl coats But there are still gaps in the genetic story behind these coat colors Now, researchers have identified two new SLC45A2 variants One originated in medieval times and gives rise to the well-known pearl dilution The other—whose origin is unknown— produces a similar but entirely new dilution dubbed "sun" This research suggests that there’s much more to learn in equine genetics and the results can empower breeders and owners to provide the best care for their horses Holl et al. "A candidate gene approach identifies variants in SLC45A2 that explain dilute phenotypes, pearl and sunshine, in compound heterozygote horses." Anim Genet..."

The rest of the transcript, along with a link to the research itself, is available on the resource itself.

This resource is a video abstract of a research paper created by Research Square on behalf of its authors. It provides a synopsis that's easy to understand, and can be used to introduce the topics it covers to students, researchers, and the general public. The video's transcript is also provided in full, with a portion provided below for preview:

"At birth, the mouth is sterile and relatively germ-free. It's only later that bacteria colonize the mouths of children. But little is understood about how and why certain bacteria triumph over others some of which are responsible for spreading diseases such as dental caries and periodontal disease. It’s a question of what matters more: genetics or environment, nature or nurture? To find out researchers compared the mouths of two groups of people. Parents and their biological children and parents and their adopted children. This design helped researchers separate genetic factors from environmental ones affecting the oral microbiota. Results showed no differences in how closely oral bacterial profiles matched between adoptive versus biological mother-child pairs. In fact, the oral microbiomes of all children more closely resembled those of their own mothers than those of unrelated women suggesting that contact and shared environment play a bigger role than genetics alone..."

The rest of the transcript, along with a link to the research itself, is available on the resource itself.

On this site, through a variety of activities, you can learn about anthropology, archaeology, astronomy, biodiversity, the brain, climate change, the Earth, Einstein, expeditions, genetics, marine biology, paleontology, water, and zoology.

This Ology website for kids focuses on Genetics. It includes activities, things to make, quizzes, interviews with working scientists, and more to help kids learn about Genetics.

Genetics, otherwise known as the Science of Heredity, is the study of biological information, and how this information is stored, replicated, transmitted and used by subsequent generations. The study of genetics can be sub-divided into three main areas: Transmission Genetics, Molecular Genetics, and Population Genetics. In this Introductory text, the focus is on Transmission or Classical Genetics, which deals with the basic principles of heredity and the mechanisms by which traits are passed from one generation to the next. The work of Gregor Mendel is central to Transmission Genetics; as such, there is a discussion about the pioneering work performed by him along with Mendel’s Laws, as they pertain to inheritance. Other aspects of Classical Genetics are covered, including the relationship between chromosomes and heredity, the arrangement of genes on chromosomes, and the physical mapping of genes.

Looking at how regulatory DNA sequences can repress or promote gene transcription (particularly in bacteria operons).

Gene insertion of opsin, light-activated cell-membrane channels, into neurons of interest allows researchers to manipulate light to either excite or inhibit neuronal activity to gain a better understanding of brain function and dysfunction, and explore therapeutic applications.

This resource is a video abstract of a research paper created by Research Square on behalf of its authors. It provides a synopsis that's easy to understand, and can be used to introduce the topics it covers to students, researchers, and the general public. The video's transcript is also provided in full, with a portion provided below for preview:

"CRSPR-Cas is a powerful gene editing tool for the therapy of human diseases But its potential for fighting human disease remains untapped Part of the problem is that different CRISPR-Cas systems use different PAM sequences to activate their editing functions and how to directly identify functional PAM sequences in human cells is still an open question Now, researchers have developed PAM Definition by Observable Sequence Excision (PAM-DOSE), a technique for identifying these secret genetic phrases It starts with using bacteria to generate a large library of random sequences on circular strands of DNA Each random sequence is flanked by tdTomato and EGFP to express red and green fluorescent proteins when implanted in a cell Only the correct sequences activate the corresponding CRISPR-Cas pair, whose function is to remove the red-protein portion So a green-only signal indicates a right answer Next-generation sequencing then reveals the details of the correct PAM sequence In a proof-of-principle experiment, the se.."

The rest of the transcript, along with a link to the research itself, is available on the resource itself.

A video that makes the unspoken assumptions that we use in pedigree analysis explicit through a skit of two students solving a challenging pedigree question over videoconference. The students discuss certain pedigree assumptions which are often not mentioned in other pedigree teaching materials, even though they can be important to solving complex problems. The students recognize that not all assumptions are always applicable and sometimes we need to reconsider which assumptions to use.Includes two videos: a version without subtitles and a version with subtitles

The advent of rapid methods for sequencing DNA has resulted in major advances in our understanding of the Evolution and distribution of a wide variety of marine organisms. Join Scripps researcher Ron Burton as he describes the surprising array of applications for these techniques in marine science. (56 minutes)

How will researchers harness the genetic potential of marine organisms? Join Dr. Terry Gaasterland as she describes how scientists at the new Scripps Genome Center are pioneering research in marine genomes. (54 minutes)

Join Mark Hildebrand on a journey from the open waters of the world's oceans to sophisticated genetics labs and ultimately to the incredible world of nanotechnology and marvel at ground-breaking applications he and his colleagues are finding for diatoms, one of the smallest and most important marine organisms. (49 minutes)

Understanding how the same genotype can still result in variation of phenotype based on environment.

In this activity, students are assigned different alleles of the gene for phenylalanine hydroxylase to research using OMIM (Online Mendelian Inheritance in Man). They are then asked to both explain and illustrate how this mutation may cause the disease phenylketonuria (PKU).

This resource is a video abstract of a research paper created by Research Square on behalf of its authors. It provides a synopsis that's easy to understand, and can be used to introduce the topics it covers to students, researchers, and the general public. The video's transcript is also provided in full, with a portion provided below for preview:

"The ability to label and manipulate proteins in the body is essential to modern biological research. Unfortunately, current methods, such as tagging with antibodies, are often inefficient and expensive. Even worse, researchers are realizing that many of the antibodies available just simply don’t work. Now, a new molecular tool could help researchers break through that barrier. Researchers in the Soderling Laboratory of the Cell Biology Department at Duke University, have developed a high-throughput system capable of modifying entire panels of proteins using a new dual-vector gene-editing approach. Dubbed Homology-independent Universal Genome Engineering, this system allows for the dynamic visualization and functional manipulation of proteins both in vitro and in vivo, including in neurons. This is HiUGE. HiUGE isn’t the first protein-modifying system to rely on gene editing..."

The rest of the transcript, along with a link to the research itself, is available on the resource itself.

The higher the genetic diversity in a population, the more resilient the population is to environmental change. Created by Sal Khan.

This self-paced course was originally designed to help prepare incoming MIT students for their first Introductory Biology Course (known at MIT as 7.01). It will also be useful for anyone preparing to take an equivalent college-level introductory biology class elsewhere. It includes lecture videos, interactive exercises, problem sets, and one exam.  Lecture Topics: Molecules of Life, The Cell and How it Works, Information Transfer in Biology, Inheritance and Genetics, and Building with DNA.
Go to OCW’s Open Learning Library site for Pre-7.01: Getting up to Speed in Biology. The site is free to use, just like all OCW sites. You have the option to sign up and enroll in the course if you want to track your progress, or you can view and use all the materials without enrolling.