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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.

Telemedicine for addiction treatment? Picture remains fuzzy

When President Donald Trump declared the opioid epidemic a public health emergency, it came with a regulatory change intended to make it easier for people to get care. The declaration allows for doctors to prescribe addiction medicine virtually, without ever seeing the patient in person.

14 Dec 2017

Researchers use cryptographic techniques to decode activity of motor neurons

Cracking the German Enigma code is considered to be one of the decisive factors that hastened Allied victory in World War II. Starting with clues derived from espionage, computer scientists were able to work out the rules that turned a string of gibberish characters into plain German, providing life-saving and war-shortening intelligence.

13 Dec 2017

These annual checkups help seniors not only survive but thrive

Bea Lipsky shuffled into her wellness coach's office one morning this fall and parked her walker by the wall. Lipsky, 89, had had a trying year, enduring a hernia operation and two emergency room visits for heart problems.

13 Dec 2017

New research aims to improve medical care and benefits for injured troops

Gunshots crackled as a man dressed in camouflage sat on the ground with a red stream trickling from his ear and a purple splotch marking the skin near his cheekbone. A medic asked what happened.

12 Dec 2017

Brain responses of children with inherited dyslexia risk predict their future reading speed

A study conducted at the Department of Psychology at the University of Jyväskylä, Finland and Jyväskylä Centre for Interdisciplinary Brain Research has found that the brain responses of infants with an inherited risk for dyslexia, a specific reading disability, predict their future reading speed in secondary school.

11 Dec 2017

Study identifies mechanism that could explain early link between sound input and cognitive function

Some expectant parents play classical music for their unborn babies, hoping to boost their children's cognitive capacity. While some research supports a link between prenatal sound exposure and improved brain function, scientists had not identified any structures responsible for this link in the developing brain.

7 Dec 2017

Children, adults depend more on right ear for better listening

Listening is a complicated task. It requires sensitive hearing and the ability to process information into cohesive meaning. Add everyday background noise and constant interruptions by other people, and the ability to comprehend what is heard becomes that much more difficult.

6 Dec 2017

Spontaneous humor can be helpful for cancer patients to deal with distress

Analysis led by Lancaster University researchers suggests that spontaneous humor is used and appreciated by people with cancer and can be a helpful way of dealing with distressing, taboo or embarrassing circumstances.

6 Dec 2017

Language barriers, aversion to credit stall coverage for some Vietnamese

Bích-Thu "Lisa" Pham has become a familiar face at this Vietnamese community center, setting out her Affordable Care Act insurance materials in a small office several afternoons each week.

5 Dec 2017

Neurons have compatible shape, electrical properties for deep learning

Deep learning has brought about machines that can 'see' the world more like humans can, and recognize language. And while deep learning was inspired by the human brain, the question remains: Does the brain actually learn this way? The answer has the potential to create more powerful artificial intelligence and unlock the mysteries of human intelligence.

5 Dec 2017

Length of stay in ICU may have impact on preterm babies’ behavior

A study conducted by researchers at the University of São Paulo's Ribeirão Preto School of Medicine in Brazil, with support from the Sao Paulo Research Foundation - FAPESP , indicates that length of stay in the ICU is the factor that best explains some preterm babies' behavioral problems relating to emotional regulation, regardless of the degree of prematurity and the presence of bronchopulmonary dysplasia and retinopathy of prematurity (ROP).

30 Nov 2017

Tailored Activity Program for older veterans with dementia provides positive results

People with dementia often have behavioral symptoms. These include problems with memory, language, and decision-making abilities. People with dementia can also experience changes in mood, such as increased irritability, depression, and anxiety.

29 Nov 2017

Mental illness linked to early childhood adversity may be passed to next generation

Mental illness associated with early childhood adversity may be passed from generation to generation, according to a study of adults whose parents evacuated Finland as children during World War II.

29 Nov 2017

Older adults do not get enough help to make sure multiple drugs mix safely, new poll finds

Most older Americans take multiple medicines every day. But a new poll suggests they don't get – or seek – enough help to make sure those medicines actually mix safely.

29 Nov 2017

Parents are not liable for medical debts of adult children on shared insurance

Are parents responsible for adult children's medical debts? Should people squeeze in appointments and expensive procedures before year's end because of changes that might come with the GOP tax bill? Should consumers pay a broker to help them enroll in a plan? I answer these questions from readers this week.

28 Nov 2017

Johns Hopkins researchers crack key part of mystery surrounding proteins

What makes the body of a person or any other organism work can, for the most part, be summed up in a word: proteins.

28 Nov 2017

Jena researchers unravel secrets of chemical language between algae and bacteria

It is a gruesome spectacle that meets the eyes of Prasad Aiyar as he looks down the microscope. The doctoral candidate from India, who came to Jena to do his Master's degree in Molecular Life Sciences, examines the species Chlamydomonas reinhardtii on a microscope slide.

28 Nov 2017

Problems with your hospital care? Speak up!

My dad was in excruciating pain over Labor Day weekend, so my mom rushed him to the emergency room of a renowned university hospital.

22 Nov 2017

Physical fitness in children linked to greater volume of gray matter in brain regions

Researchers from the University of Granada have proven, for the first time in history, that physical fitness in children may affect their brain structure, which in turn may have an influence on their academic performance.

21 Nov 2017

Babies know more than we think they do find researchers

Researchers have found that babies are capable of understanding a few words and their language development might be occurring earlier than we believed. The team used eye-tracking software to see that the babies recognized simple words like car, juice, stroller etc.

20 Nov 2017