Increased life expectancy is associated with a high prevalence of chronic, non-communicable diseases including cognitive decline and dementia. The purpose of this study was to evaluate the prevalence of cognitive impairment using three cognitive abilities (verbal fluency, numeracy and perceived memory) and their association with cardiovascular risk factors in seniors across Europe. Data from participants in wave 4 of the SHARE (Survey of Health, Ageing, and Retirement in Europe) database was used. Cognitive performance in perceived memory, verbal fluency and numeracy was evaluated using simple tests and a memory complaints questionnaire. Clinical and sociodemographic variables were also studied for potential associations. Standardised prevalence rates of cognitive impairment based on age and gender were calculated by country. The prevalence of cognitive impairment was 28.02% for perceived memory, 27.89% for verbal fluency and 20.75% for numeracy throughout the 16 evaluated countries. Years of education, being a current or former smoker, number of chronic diseases, diabetes or hyperglycemia, heart attack and stroke were all independent variables associated with impairment in the three studied cognitive abilities. We also found independent associations between physical inactivity and verbal fluency and numeracy impairment, as well as hypertension and perceived memory impairment. Lower performance in the evaluated cognitive abilities and higher memory complaints are highly prevalent, have a heterogeneous distribution across Europe, and are associated with multiple factors, most of which are potentially preventable or treatable, especially cardiovascular risk factors.

Despite significant efforts to reform undergraduate science education, students often perform worse on assessments of perceptions of science after introductory courses, demonstrating a need for new educational interventions to reverse this trend. To address this need, we created An Inexplicable Disease, an engaging, active-learning case study that is unusual because it aims to simulate scientific inquiry by allowing students to iteratively investigate the Kuru epidemic of 1957 in a choose-your-own-experiment format in large lectures. The case emphasizes the importance of specialization and communication in science and is broadly applicable to courses of any size and sub-discipline of the life sciences.

Aim The inguinal anatomy is difficult, but a correct anatomical base prevents clinical errors. We present a three-dimensional paper model the student made by himself to improve knowledge of the setup of layers and structures from the inguinal region. Material and methods It is a paper model that is made from a printed document, that is distributed in PDF format supported by a video tutorial. This model contains the layers of the inguinal region and other structures. Its usefulness has been tested with Medicine students in the Anatomy course. In a practical class, before starting, the students answer a questionnaire with questions about inguinal anatomy and the self-perception of their knowledge. The individual construction of the model is carried out and at the end of the class they answer the questionnaire again. Results The results of the 2022–23 academic year show an improvement in the self-perception of their knowledge going from an average grade of 2.54/5 before the practice to 3.42/5 and an improvement in the correct answers going from 57.5% of correct answers to 71.42% after the construction of the model. Conclusions This method has the following advantages: it is built by the student, very low cost, reproducible and it is three-dimensional. Based on the preliminary results of the past academic year, we hope that students will significantly improve their theoretical knowledge about the inguinal region, and they will have improved their confidence about the knowledge of this subject.

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The study objective was to develop and test a case study which simulates scientific inquiry within the limits of a single course period and which can be used in large lecture‐format courses. Students unknowingly take the roles of the initial investigators of the Kuru epidemic of Papua New Guinea in 1957 and work in groups to iteratively conduct simulated investigations, evaluate the results, and form hypotheses regarding the nature of the disease. The activity culminates in a mock‐scientific conference, in which student groups collaborate by sharing findings, mirroring real events which led to the discovery of prion diseases. Learning goals focus on student opinions, attitudes and skills related to the nature of science, causes of disease epidemics, and prions as atypical infectious agents. The activity has been implemented successfully at five schools in seven courses which span five fields: biology, microbiology, genetics, zoology, and biochemistry. We present aggregated data from five courses measuring cognitive and affective learning gains. In addition to positive content learning gains and overwhelmingly positive affective responses from students, we were successful in using a modified CLASS‐BIO survey to measure objective changes in attitudes toward biology as a result of the activity alone. We hope that both the activity and approach can be used broadly by life sciences educators.

The study objective was to test a case study which simulates scientific inquiry within the limits of a single course period and which can be used in large lecture‐format courses. Students unknowingly take the roles of the initial investigators of the Kuru epidemic of Papua New Guinea in 1957 and work in groups to iteratively conduct simulated investigations, evaluate the results, and form hypotheses regarding the nature of the disease. The activity culminates in a mock‐scientific conference, in which student groups collaborate by sharing findings, mirroring real events which led to the discovery of prion diseases. Learning goals focus on student opinions, attitudes and skills related to the nature of science, causes of disease epidemics, and prions as atypical infectious agents. The activity has been implemented successfully at a variety of schools and courses which span five fields: biology, microbiology, genetics, zoology, and biochemistry. Aggregated data from five courses shows overwhelmingly positive affective responses from students. Most importantly, in two sequential offerings of Introductory Biology in 2012 and 2013 we were successful in using a modified CLASS‐BIO survey to reproducibly measure statistically significant objective changes in attitudes toward biology as a result of the activity alone. We hope that both the activity and approach can be used broadly by life sciences educators.