Human Development 02/03

UNIT 1. Genetic and Prenatal Influences on Development A. GENETIC INFLUENCES 1. Cellular Divide, Sharon Begley, Newsweek ,July 9, 2001. This article explains how embryonic stem cells could beused to cure diseases if embryo research is allowed to continue. Genetics research has documented the blank slatenature of these cells and the possibility of making them into varioustypes of tissue. The question is not can we do it, but, rather an ethical and moral one, should we? 2. Baby, It's You! and You, and You..., Nancy Gibbs, Time , February 19, 2001. Cloning, creating a new human with the exact DNA of itsdonor, may already have occurred in some underground researchfacility. Genetics research has made it possible, but ethical concerns have kept it, so far, from happeningpublicly. B. PRENATAL INFLUENCES 3. A State of the Art Pregnancy, Karen Springen, Newsweek , Special Issue, Spring 1999. Prenatal diagnosis in the twenty-firstcentury will assess the health of unborn babies andpredict future physical development very early inpregnancy. Fetal DNA analysis will also allow more fetal surgery torepair malformations. A transmitter in the uterus may prevent pretermdeliveries. This article also gives 10 tips for a healthy pregnancywithout using technological assistance. 4. Shaped by Life in the Womb, Sharon Begley, Newsweek , September 27, 1999. The genetic basis of diabetes and otherdiseases is undisputed. However, new research suggests that conditionsduring gestation influence the risk of manifesting adult disease. Thisnew health paradigm is creating a plethora ofsuggestions for altering nutrition, stress, exercise, and drug use during the prenatal period. 5. Fetal Psychology, Janet L. Hopson, PsychologyToday , September/October 1998. Two months before birth, the fetus has emotions andpersonality that predict infant behavior. Very active fetusesbecome irritable babies, while fetuses with high heart rates becomeunpredictable, inactive babies. A well-nourished, low stress,drug-free prenatal environment has the best chance ofproducing a baby with an easy temperament and also enhances physical development and cognition. UNIT 2. Development During Infancy and Early Childhood A. INFANCY 6. Four Things You Need to Know About Raising Baby, JoannaLipari, Psychology Today , July/August 2000. In this article, Joanna Lipari explains the synthesis ofimportant aspects of areas of infant development-geneticinheritance, physical development, cognitive skills, and emotional attachment-into a new view that equates parenting behaviors to software that promotes thegrowth of the baby's brain (hardware). Lipari discusses attachment theory and compares "old thinking" aboutraising baby with research-guided "new thinking". 7. The World of the Senses, Joan Raymond, Newsweek , Special Issue, Fall/Winter 2000. The human infant arrives in the world with physically developed senses, which are fine-tuned at arapid pace. The most rapid brain metabolism occurs in the areas thatprocess vision, hearing, and touch in the first 3 months. This articledescribes each of the senses and gives suggestions for how they can beexercised to maximize cognitive abilities. 8. Kids, Start Your Engines, JoFreiberg, Karen L. is the author of 'Human Development 02/03' with ISBN 9780072506549 and ISBN 0072506547.