How advancements in molecular biology impact education and training.

Molecular biology, broadly defined as the investigation of complex biomolecules in the laboratory, is a rapidly advancing field and as such the technologies available to investigators are constantly evolving. This constant advancement has obvious advantages because it allows students and researchers to perform more complex experiments in shorter periods of time. One challenge with such a rapidly advancing field is that techniques that had been vital for students to learn how to perform are now not essential for a laboratory scientist. For example, while cloning a gene in the past could have led to a publication and form the bulk of a PhD thesis project, technology has now made this process only a step toward one of these larger goals and can, in many cases, be performed by a company or core facility. As teachers and mentors, it is imperative that we understand that the technologies we teach in the lab and classroom must also evolve to match these advancements. In this perspective, we discuss how the rapid advances in gene synthesis technologies are affecting curriculum and how our classrooms should evolve to ensure our lessons prepare students for the world in which they will do science.

Comentário sobre o caso Raul: ponto de vista de um psicólogo americano / Comments on Raul’s case: an American psychologist’s approach

Este comentário trata das dificuldades inerentes à avaliação de um caso clínicocomplexo no qual elementos associados a características genéticas,experiências de aprendizagem precoce, e um acidente traumático combinaram-se para ampliar a tendência a reações violentas face ao stress. O autorcompara o manejo profissional deste caso clínico com o manejo que lheseria provavelmente aplicado nos Estados Unidos frente às consideraçõeslegais e éticas em vigor naquele país.

This commentary is about the unavoidable difficulties encountered by mentalhealth professionals when facing a complex case in which elements associatedwith genetic characteristics, early learning experiences, and physical injurycombine to amplify the tendency toward violent reactions to stress. The authorcompares the actual handling of this case with the way it would probably havebeen handled in the context of legal and ethical considerations in that country.