Language News and Research

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Language skills are essential to a child’s ability to communicate and develop. These skills enable children to engage with other people and learn from their surroundings and in the classroom.

Should medical knowledge be extended to enhance the lives of those who are already healthy?

This question and others are addressed in three articles about cosmetic neurology in the September 28 issue of Neurology, the scientific journal of the American Academy of Neurology.

28 Sep 2004

New type of regulatory T cell that reduces asthma and airway inflammation

The team's research not only provides a detailed profile of these newfound cells but also sheds light on how such cells are related to other T cells and suggests that there exists a spectrum of regulatory T cells, known as Tregs, to be identified and studied.

26 Sep 2004

Better insight into treating bilingual children who suffer from a stutter

Dr Isabelle Rousseau, clinical trials coordinator at the University's Australian Stuttering Research Centre (ASRC), used her bilingualism in English and French to study and treat Victor, a 7-year-old bilingual boy suffering from a severe stutter.

23 Sep 2004

Tiny babies may face development and behaviour problems

The long term difficulties facing Britain’s “miracle babies” are revealed by a new study following the lives of some of the tiniest infants born in this country.

22 Sep 2004

New culprit behind the brain injury suffered by stroke victims

Researchers have uncovered a new culprit behind the brain injury suffered by stroke victims. Their new study, published in the Sept. 17 issue of Cell, links brain cell damage to a rise in brain acidity following the oxygen depletion, or ischemia, characteristic of stroke.

18 Sep 2004

Nicaraguan deaf children create a new sign language entirely their own

At a school in Managua, Nicaragua, deaf children are speaking a new language entirely their own, which nonetheless has remarkable similarities to the world's other languages. Researchers studying these similarities suggest this week in Science that, in fact, children give language its most fundamental, universal features just by the way they learn it.

18 Sep 2004

New high-tech pacifier helps babies who are born prematurely

The pacifier also may reduce the incidence or severity of certain developmental disabilities that appear in early childhood and beyond as well as possibly boost IQ.

16 Sep 2004

Total abstinence is the only way to protect the unborn baby against Foetal Alcohol Syndrome

Is there a safe level of alcohol consumption during pregnancy? Biochemist Kathy Kitson says the answer is no – total abstinence is the only way to protect the unborn baby against Foetal Alcohol Syndrome.

15 Sep 2004

Time spent in same-sex activities may advantage boys but disadvantage girls

Ten-year-olds' free time activities -- as well as whom they spend their free time with -- are linked to gender development, academic interests, school grades and self esteem at age 12, a Penn State study shows.

15 Sep 2004

Cars that tell people where to go

A three-year Macquarie University research project has studied the differences in how humans and computers talk - by analysing how each give driving directions.

14 Sep 2004

Knowing which treatments work and which don't is an important first step in improving children's health care, but it's not enough

University of South Florida pediatrician Dr. Lisa Simpson says she knew enough to ignore a physician’s recommendation that treating repeated ear infections with ear tubes was important to her son’s eventual speech and language outcomes.

14 Sep 2004

New research into stimulus-related ear differences from birth may provide improved methods for newborn hearing tests

Researchers have known since the 1950s that humans process speech and tone sounds in different sides of the brain.

10 Sep 2004

Babies born to cocaine users fared better when cared for by people who were not their parents

Babies born to cocaine users fared better socially, emotionally and intellectually if they were cared for during their first two years by people who were not their parents, says a new study.

9 Sep 2004

Exposure to music helps kids learn

Exposing babies and young children to music has a positive impact on their learning, researchers from Northumbria University will tell a conference this week.

9 Sep 2004

New IBM technology could bring the promise of personalized medicine one step closer

Using a basic computer language, the researchers created a "smart" DNA stream that contains a patient's entire medical record

8 Sep 2004

NHS Direct Online web site too confusing for most

Many diabetes sufferers cannot understand the health advice they are given on the NHS Direct Online website and many other internet pages, a new study concludes.

8 Sep 2004

Health needs of the Chinese population in the UK are being ignored

A new study has found that the health needs of the Chinese population in the UK are being ignored despite Government commitments to tackle health inequalities amongst patients.

7 Sep 2004

Sense of humour research reveals secrets of what makes us laugh

A sense of humour is a much admired asset. But do the same things make people laugh all over the world? And can we measure our ability to appreciate the funny side of life?

2 Sep 2004

New cooperation along the United States-Mexico Border

The United States-Mexico Border Field Office of the Pan American Health Organization and the U.S.-Mexico Border Health Association are beginning a new stage of cooperation.

1 Sep 2004

Attention deficit/hyperactivity disorder high among Chernobyl children

In an extensive study of children exposed to varying levels of fallout from the 1986 Chernobyl Nuclear Power Plant accident, Israeli researchers have found that Attention Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) scores are higher among those who were in-utero at the time of the accident -- regardless of their actual level of radiation exposure.

26 Aug 2004