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Background: Despite recent tobacco control efforts, adolescent vaping remains an epidemic in the United States. The purpose of our study was to understand high school student vaping behaviors using the perceptions of Massachusetts school personnel during the critical window from when the Massachusetts statewide flavor ban legislation was passed in November 2019 through the first year of the COVID-19 pandemic. Methods: High school personnel throughout Massachusetts were invited to complete a cross-sectional survey. Analysis of survey responses was conducted in R. Results: A total of 162 respondents completed the survey representing 137 schools that draw enrollments from 216 (61%) of the 352 cities and towns in Massachusetts. The most popular products that respondents believed their students were using were JUULs (95.7%), other e-cigarettes (85.3%), and disposable vapes (79.6%). Following the flavor ban, the majority (90.7%) did not report an increase in combusted tobacco product use. All participants (100%) reported wanting more access to prevention and treatment resources. Conclusions: Our findings suggest that a comprehensive flavor ban may be an effective tobacco control policy that does not appear to promote student switching from vaping products to combusted tobacco products. These data also indicate that schools report needing additional resources to address the vaping epidemic.

With the development of new sequencing and bioinformatics technologies, concepts relating to personal genomics play an increasingly important role in our society. To promote interest and understanding of sequencing and bioinformatics in the high school classroom, we developed and implemented a laboratory-based teaching module called "The Genetics of Race." This module uses the topic of race to engage students with sequencing and genetics. In the experimental portion of this module, students isolate their own mitochondrial DNA using standard biotechnology techniques and collect next-generation sequencing data to determine which of their classmates are most and least genetically similar to themselves. We evaluated the efficacy of this module by administering a pretest/posttest evaluation to measure student knowledge related to sequencing and bioinformatics, and we also conducted a survey at the conclusion of the module to assess student attitudes. Upon completion of our Genetics of Race module, students demonstrated significant learning gains, with lower-performing students obtaining the highest gains, and developed more positive attitudes toward scientific research.

In today's complex world, there is a continued demand for recently graduated forensic chemists (criminalists) who have some background in forensic experimental techniques. This article describes modern forensic experimental approaches designed and implemented from a unique instructional perspective to present certain facets of crime scene investigation. Physical evidence collection, handling, and evaluation are reviewed, as are challenges associated with carrying out these tasks. The interrelation of the responsibilities of the crime scene investigator and criminalist also is addressed, as this can be highlighted in an instructional setting. If the investigator does not collect sufficient evidence or collects the evidence improperly, the criminalist will be unable to effectively interpret the data. In this report, the authors describe their experiences at a mock crime scene designed for investigation by undergraduate forensic science students. Key points that must be considered include evidence collection, analysis of the evidence, interpretation of the results, and drawing conclusions from those interpretations. We have presented the information in a way that may be beneficial to instructors looking to create or update existing forensic science courses, or scholars interested in the drawbacks of certain aspects of evidence collection.