Researchers in 'most powerful genetic studies of psychosis to date'

Two genome wide studies involving more than 50,000 participants have identified new genetic risk factors for schizophrenia and bipolar disorder. The research was conducted by over 250 scientists from more than 20 countries – one of the largest collaborative efforts in psychiatry to date.

The results of the Psychiatric Genome-Wide Association Study (GWAS) Consortium were published in two research papers in the October issue of Nature Genetics.  

The schizophrenia study found a total of seven locations on the genome to be implicated in the disease, five of which had not been identified before. The bipolar GWAS study revealed four locations on the genome associated with the disorder, one of which has not been previously identified. Combining the findings from both studies revealed that three gene locations were involved in both disorders, confirming the genetic overlap between schizophrenia and bipolar disorder.

Schizophrenia and bipolar disorder are common and often devastating brain disorders. Some of the most prominent symptoms of schizophrenia are hallucinations and delusions. Bipolar disorder is characterized by severe, episodic mood swings. The conditions are known to be caused by a combination of genetic and environmental risk factors.

Professor David Collier from the Institute of Psychiatry at King’s College London, who was involved in both studies says: ‘Although we have known that psychiatric disorders such as schizophrenia and bipolar disorder have a strong genetic basis, it has proven very difficult to identify the genetic risk factors involved. This is because the causes of these illnesses are highly complex, with many different genes and environmental factors involved. In order to try and solve this puzzle, hundreds of scientists researching schizophrenia have pooled their research results resulting in a major and unprecedented research cooperation, involving tens of thousands of volunteer patients.'

Prof Collier adds: ‘These are the most powerful genetic studies of psychosis to date, and have enabled us to identify a host of new genetic risk factors. These include one gene, a ‘micro RNA’ which may be acting as a master regulator, influencing the biological pathways in the brain, which once perturbed lead to schizophrenia.

‘Our findings are a significant advance in our knowledge of the underlying causes of psychosis - especially in relation to the development and function of the brain. Unravelling the biology of these disorders brings great hope for the development of new therapies – we can attempt to develop therapeutic drugs which target the molecules in the brain involved in the development of psychosis.’

IoP researchers at the MRC Social, Genetic and Developmental Psychiatry (SGDP) Centre who contributed to the bipolar GWAS study included Professor Anne Farmer, Professor Peter McGuffin, Dr Gerome Breen, Amanda Elkin and Richard Williamson and Professor David Collier who also contributed to the schizophrenia GWAS study.

The research was funded by over 40 US National Institutes of Health grants and a similar number of government grants from many countries involved, along with substantial private and foundation support.

Notes to editors:

Sklar, P. at el. ‘Large-scale genome-wide association analysis of bipolar disorder identifies a new susceptibility locus near ODZ4’, Nature Genetics (October 2011) doi:10.1038/ng.943
http://www.nature.com/ng/journal/v43/n10/full/ng.943.html

Gejman, P.V. et al. ‘Genome-wide association study identifies five new schizophrenia loci’, Nature Genetics (October 2011) doi:10.1038/ng.940 http://www.nature.com/ng/journal/v43/n10/full/ng.940.html

For more information about King's, see our 'King's in Brief' page.

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Smart Ways to Leverage Law School Forums

Prospective students should review a school's website before the forum to better tailor questions for representatives.

Stephen Brown, the assistant dean of enrollment at the Fordham University School of Law, knows the angst that comes with meeting a law school representative. He has been to possibly 60 recruitment forums, answering questions from nervous applicants and noticing those who make the peculiar choice of wearing beach attire for the professional event.

He believes the Law School Admission Council recruitment forums are an easy way for prospective students to get ahead in the admissions process.

"A real advantage is they get to talk to lots of different people from different schools," he says. Aspiring J.D. candidates can ask questions that are not covered by school websites.

Brown was one of many school representatives in attendance Saturday at the LSAC's first recruitment forum of 2013. Between 140 and 160 schools attend each forum, which is held in nine locations around the U.S. and one location in Canada.

The forums are much like a college fair but also include workshops on how to apply, pay for and succeed at law school. They occur between June and November and give hundreds of students one-on-one opportunities to speak with law school representatives.

Though filled with opportunities for networking and learning about legal education, the forums can also be challenging: There's so much to do, not much time and limited ways to participate virtually.

[Determine if law school is the right move.]

There are limited options for staying abreast from a distance. Sessions are not live streamed or conducted through Google Hangouts, though prospective students can follow live tweets, says Wendy Margolis, director of communications for LSAC. As travel becomes more expensive, the LSAC is considering other forms of engaging students through technology, she says.

For those able to make the trip, forums last one or two days. They offer about five or six workshops taught by practicing attorneys, members of the LSAC test development staff and other legal professionals.

"The financial aid workshop and the LSAT workshop are extremely popular," says Margolis. Even if forum participants are interested in some of the other workshops, such as the ones on diversity or learning about industry jobs, they should plan for a packed crowd. "The workshops most of the time are standing room only," she says.

Workshops can be helpful for applicants who are unsure of how to approach school representatives, says Traci Howard, assistant dean for admissions at California Western School of Law.

"A lot of the conversations that happen in the workshops can form the questions and help the applicant engage with the representatives in a better way. Because they're armed with the right information when they're going into the tables," she says.

Some of the biggest mistakes students make at these events are not managing their time wisely and not asking thoughtful questions, experts say. Several applicants make the mistake of thinking the forums are an opportunity to turn schools against each other as they compete for students, Howard says.

[Apply to law school with a low GPA.]

"They ask the rep to tell me why you're better than this school or tell me why you're better than that school," she says. "It's a question that I think is commonly asked, and it's a question that frustrates a lot of law school representatives because really we're not there to compare ourselves to other schools. The forums are really a means for us to provide information to you about our law schools and a means for prospective students to gather that information."

Students should be prepared to have a lengthy wait if they want to speak with a school that's located in the same state as the forum. These institutions are often the most popular and have long lines at the school tables.

"If we're at a forum in Los Angeles, all of the California schools are really slammed," Howard says. "We may not have a lot of opportunities to have a conversation with a potential applicant."

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Plan for Technology Costs When Saving for College

Parents should determine potential technology needs and costs and plan for that as part of college savings.

Textbooks may soon be as outdated as the phrase "Kodak moment."

That's how Jeff Livingston, a vice president with McGraw-Hill Education, sees it. "Kids won't even know what that word means," he says.

A result of this shift is the need for devices to access instructional materials from a personal computer outside of college computer labs, Livingston says. Parents who are saving for their children's college education shouldn't ignore this unavoidable expense just because it wasn't a necessity during their university days.

Experts recommend looking at past trends and current college technology needs as parents take the following steps to develop a savings plan for their child's future technology expenses.

[Avoid these mistakes when saving for college.]

1. Determine the student's technology needs: Students already in school have different technology needs than those who will start in a few years, Livingston says. "At this point, a student can get by with at least one device that can access the Internet as rapidly as the school can offer."

A variety of tablets and nearly any recent laptop will allow students to do just that, he says. While he doesn't recommend it as the only form of technology a student has, he's even heard some students say they get by with just a smartphone.

However, Livingston predicts that in the future, all course materials will be online and interactive. Old devices will be out-of-date faster because learning material will gain more interactive features.

He says parents should expect to replace laptops or tablets at least twice during the student's college years.

Current students as well as freshmen won't have to worry about purchasing two computers. Ryan Law, director of the Office for Financial Success at the University of Missouri, says computers purchased before college by current first- and second-year students will get them through their senior years.

2. Estimate the cost of future computers and tablets: Some good news is that technology prices traditionally haven't been affected by inflation. Prices have been fairly consistent over the years, says Livingston.

For more than 10 years, a good laptop or a personal computer has cost between $1,000 and $1,500, he says. "What changed is what you could get for $1,000 to $1,500."

Then, the tablet revolution meant a laptop or tablet, often suitable for use as a student's primary computer, could be purchased for $500 to $1,000, he says. He doesn't see prices going up beyond $500 to $1,000 – the change will be better technology for the same price.

[Discover last-minute ways to boost college savings.]

3. Consider the cost of instructional materials: Estimating the total future expenses of software and instructional materials is harder, Livingston says. However, he predicts these costs will be charged on a semester-by-semester basis, like tuition and fees.

A good model for comparison is LexisNexis, an online research database. Many law schools include subscription costs as part of tuition and fees. Livingston says parents could estimate a per-semester cost for all course materials of $300 to $400 for students more than two years away from attending college.

For teenagers entering college soon, parents or students should check with the school and department for software and other requirements, Law says. Schools such as Virginia Tech, Northwestern College and the University of Florida already have minimum computer requirements posted on their websites. However, software requirements frequently vary by major.

And parents who remember reselling textbooks to help pay for their next semester will have to nix this cost-saving idea – it's typically not possible to resell digital learning materials.

[Find out how a 529 plan can help parents save.]

4. Encourage children to help save: Based on Livingston's predictions, parents with two or more years before their child attends college need to save between $3,400 and $5,200 for technology and learning materials, including replacing a laptop or tablet once during four years of college. That price range includes $300 to $400 per semester for learning materials during those four years.

The good news for parents is that while children may not always understand tuition and fees, they usually understand the need for a computer.

"A teen who works from 16 to 18 can invest two years of earnings at a part-time job in a laptop," says Syracuse, N.Y.-based accountant Ted Sarenski. "Parents shouldn't shoulder all the costs and this is a perfect opportunity to get kids to invest in part of their education that they really understand and value."

Trying to fund your education? Get tips and more in the U.S. News Paying for College center.

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Top-Ranked Universities That Grant the Most STEM Degrees

Ninety-eight percent of Caltech’s bachelor’s degrees were granted in STEM fields, making it one of the top STEM universities in the country.

What are the leading STEM universities in the U.S.?

As part of the U.S. News STEM Solutions conference, we are publishing an exclusive new list of the National Universities from our 2013 Best Colleges rankings that grant the largest proportion of bachelor's degrees in the fields of science, technology, engineering and math.

California Institute of Technology and Colorado School of Mines tied for first place with 98 percent of their degrees granted in STEM fields. Missouri University of Science & Technology came in third with 91 percent; Worcester Polytechnic Institute in Massachusetts finished fourth with 88 percent; and Massachusetts Institute of Technology was in fifth with 86 percent.

To determine which college majors to evaluate, U.S. News used the U.S. Department of Homeland Security's list of science, technology, engineering and math designated-degree programs.

Then, looking at the school year that ended on June 30, 2012, we added up how many bachelor's degrees granted at each school were in these STEM fields using the latest degree-completion data from the National Center for Education Statistics.

Next, we computed the percentage of each school's total 2012 bachelor's degrees that were granted in STEM fields and then sorted the schools in descending order based on the largest proportion of STEM degrees granted. A school had to have a third or more of its degrees granted in STEM fields to be listed as a top-ranked STEM university.

How should these results be interpreted? Many of the highest-ranked research universities in the U.S. are also on this new STEM list since they grant large proportions of STEM degrees. This means that these schools emphasize STEM fields in their curriculum and degree offerings.

In fact, 23 of the 39 schools on the STEM list were ranked among the top 50 Best National Universities in 2013 and five were ranked in the top 10.

The STEM list also reveals that there are only 15 top-ranked universities with 50 percent or more of their bachelor's degrees awarded in STEM fields, and only 39 that had a third or more of their degrees in these fields. This shows that STEM education at many of the top-ranked U.S. universities is not the main academic priority.

Only schools that were numerically ranked in the top half of the National Universities category in the 2013 Best Colleges rankings were eligible to be included in this STEM analysis.

As a result, the following schools that have all or nearly all of their bachelor's degrees granted in STEM fields are not included on the list: Franklin W. Olin College of Engineering, Webb Institute, Harvey Mudd College, Rose-Hulman Institute of Technology, Kettering University, Harrisburg University of Science and Technology and South Dakota School of Mines and Technology.

The table below shows the top-ranked universities that granted the largest proportions of bachelor's degrees in STEM fields.

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Explore the Parent Direct Plus Loan Paradox

Changes to standards for federal Direct Plus loans for parents mean they can’t take on as much debt for their children’s education.

Federal Direct Plus loans for parents are a paradox. On one hand, college tuition continues to rise far faster than the rate of inflation, and federal aid – from Pell Grants to work-study to capped undergraduate student loans – is failing to keep pace.

This makes parents' ability to take out Direct Plus loans that can cover up to the remaining cost of attendance a vital part of ensuring their children have access to a college education.

On the other hand, with the most expensive private colleges costing over $50,000 per year, that can be an awful lot of money for parents to borrow at 7.9 percent interest, the highest fixed rate for federal student loans. And it's especially burdensome for the lower-income parent borrowers who can least afford to pay back those loans.

[Learn the perks and pitfalls of student loan repayment proposals.]

This paradox has been highlighted since a quiet October 2011 decision by the Department of Education to tighten the underwriting standards for these federal parent loans, an action intended to "prevent people from taking on debt they may not be able to afford while protecting taxpayer dollars," said a department spokesman in an article published by the Chronicle of Higher Education.

The pre-October 2011 underwriting standards only disallowed borrowers who had accounts that were more than 90 days delinquent or who had any foreclosures, bankruptcies, tax liens, wage garnishments or defaults within the past five years. Seventy-two percent of parent loan applications were approved in the 2010-2011 academic year.

[Explore other student loan borrowing options.]

The new underwriting standards – which also take into account unpaid accounts in collections, or charged off but unpaid balances, from the past five years – are more stringent. As Inside Higher Ed has reported, one estimate is that 44 percent of applicants would have been turned down if the new criteria had been in effect all year, and since the decision more than 400,000 parents have been denied loans.

Historically black colleges and universities, which enroll higher percentages of disadvantaged students, have been disproportionately affected. Adding to the fear that many will be denied access to college is the fact that many of the students at these colleges whose parents were denied loans dropped out, and it is unclear whether they have been able to enroll at less costly institutions.

So how do we resolve the paradox of these parent loans? To the extent they are "reaching back in time to indenture" parents, as one commentator put it, higher underwriting standards seem appropriate. But they are also arguably invaluable to the extent they allow disadvantaged and minority students access to college.

[Get more information about paying for college.]

In the short term, Student Loan Ranger feels Congress should act to ensure that low-income families have access to parent loans that can be repaid under the "Pay As You Earn" program, which limits payments to ten percent of a borrower's income and provides for forgiveness after twenty years. This minor expansion of the program will not break the bank and will ensure continued access for disadvantaged students to the best institutions of higher education they are accepted into.

Congress should also quickly address not just the imminent doubling of subsidized Direct Loan rates but the broader issue that all federal student loan rates – and especially these loans – are fixed at far above market rates. One legislative vehicle to accomplish this is the Responsible Student Loan Solutions Act.

In the longer run, Congress should improve the student aid application process, reward colleges that serve low-income students well, greatly increase need-based grant aid such as Pell Grants – which cover far less of the cost of education than they used to – and provide students with the basic information on college costs, aid and outcomes.

Isaac Bowers is a senior program manager in the Communications and Outreach unit, responsible for Equal Justice Works's educational debt relief initiatives. An expert on educational debt relief, Bowers conducts monthly webinars for a wide range of audiences; advises employers, law schools, and professional organizations; and works with Congress and the Department of Education on federal legislation and regulations. Prior to joining Equal Justice Works, he was a fellow at Shute, Mihaly & Weinberger LLP in San Francisco. He received his J.D. from New York University School of Law.

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Save for College in Accounts for Minors With Tax Benefits

Parents have access to many account options with tax benefits, including 529 plans, to help save for their children’s college.

There's more than one way to save for college. Many parents sock away college funds in tax-advantaged investment accounts called 529 plans, but there are other account options with tax benefits available.

New York City-based financial planner Stacy Francis says the money in accounts called Uniform Gifts to Minors Act or Uniform Transfers to Minors Act accounts can pay for things 529 plan funds aren't eligible for.

A Uniform Gifts to Minors Act or Uniform Transfers to Minors account can be a savings or checking account, mutual fund account or brokerage account, says Thomas Kazmierczak, a 529 plan specialist with financial firm T. Rowe Price. "The main difference between this kind of account and any another account is selecting Uniform Gifts to Minors account or a Uniform Transfers to Minors account on the generic account registration form."

Often, these accounts are referred to as custodial accounts, which means a parent or guardian makes decisions about the account until the child comes of age, generally between 18 and 21, depending on the account and the state.

[Learn what steps to take in choosing age-based 529 plans.]

The main advantage of Uniform Gifts to Minors Act or Uniform Transfers to Minors Act accounts is the ability to save without paying taxes on up to $1,000 in earnings, no matter what the child will eventually use the money for in the future. The next $1,000 dollars is taxed at the child's federal income rate, which is normally lower than what the parents would be taxed, Francis says. If the $1,000 is the child's only income that year, no tax would be charged because the standard deduction would cancel it out, she says.

If a parent contributed $100 per month to the account and the account grew at 5 percent annually, that's nearly $30 of growth the first year, which wouldn't be taxed. If the parent continued to make $100 monthly contributions for five years with annual growth of 5 percent, the annual growth for the fifth year will climb to almost $300.

If the child doesn't earn any other income, the earnings won't get charged taxes potentially for years into the future.

Some parents may want to remain in control of the assets throughout their offspring's college career. If a 529 plan lists the parent as the owner, that parent is always the owner and decision-maker, no matter how old the child or adult gets.

However, with Uniform Gifts to Minors Act and Uniform Transfers to Minors Act accounts, a "downside is at that expiration, the assets belong to the child," says personal financial specialist Lisa Featherngill, managing director of planning for financial firm Abbot Downing.

Depending on an individual state's law, the child who is named as the beneficiary on a Uniform Transfers to Minors Act account gets full control of the funds somewhere between the ages of 21 to 25, though it's 21 in most states.

The Uniform Transfers to Minors Act account allows for more time for children to mature before they are given accounts, Francis says. Uniform Gifts to Minors Act accounts skew even younger: The account holder is generally given full control of all assets in the account at age 18, she says.

Whether a parent should set up a 529 plan account or an Uniform Gifts to Minors Act or Uniform Transfers to Minors Act account depends on whether or not the funds will be used for qualified education expenses. If parents saved in a 529 plan, they could be taxed on the portion of earnings not used for qualified education expenses, such as tuition and textbooks, and pay a 10 percent penalty on the unqualified education expenses withdrawal, Francis says.

"For example, if you contribute $100,000 into a 529 plan and it grows to $110,000 over time and you make an unqualified withdrawal for the entire amount, you are taxed on the $10,000 gain plus a 10 percent penalty on the $10,000," which would be $1,000, Francis says.

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