"Anteroposterior Patterning: How the Hox Genes Help Us Tell Our Heads from Our ***es"

The fundamental problem of developmental biology is how a single cell- a fertilized egg- is able to produce an entire organism in all its complexity. One essential aspect of this process is spatial patterning-in essence, instructing cells as to their location in developing body so that they can exhibit characteristics appropriate to their functions. he Hox genes, first discovered in mutant fruit fly "hopeful monsters" with extra pairs of wings or legs growing out of their heads, confer spatial information along the anteroposterior axis in animals from worms to humans. Prof Marin's research focuses on the roles of specific Hox genes in sculpting the developing entral nervous system of the fruit fly and how the same gene can direct a neuron to die, survive, or send its axon in search of different connections, depending on cellular context.

The Impact of Parental Psychological Control on College Students’ Relational Aggression and Friendship Quality

The present study investigated the relationships between parental psychological control and college students’ relational aggression and friendship quality. Based on previous research, it was expected that parents’ use of psychological control would be associated with students’ increased use of relational aggression with peers and lower friendship quality. Students completed a series of survey measures assessing their mothers’ and fathers’ use of psychological control, behavioral control, and warmth/acceptance. Students also completed a series of survey measures assessing their friendship quality, social skills, relational aggression, self-esteem, and social desirability. The study’s findings revealed that parental psychological control was associated with and predicted students’ increased use of relational aggression with peers. Parental psychological control was also associated with students’ lower friendship quality. However, parents’ use of psychological control did not predict students’ friendship quality after accounting for the influence of students’ personal and peer relationship variables. This finding suggests that characteristics of peer relationships may play a larger role than parenting behaviors in shaping college students’ friendships. The study also found that students who displayed higher levels of relational aggression had lower quality friendships. Other findings revealed that the relationship between parental psychological control and students’ friendship quality can be partially explained by students’ use of relational aggression with peers. Students’ friendship quality can also help to explain the influence of parental psychological control on students’ relational aggression. In addition, the study found that combinations of parenting behaviors were more informative predictors of students’ relational aggression and friendship quality than psychological control alone. Finally, this study revealed the importance of assessing participants’ social desirability when measuring sensitive personal qualities such as relational aggression, friendship quality, and self-esteem. Overall, this study contributes to the field of research on parental psychological control by revealing its effects on college students’ relational aggression and friendship quality.