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.

'Vision-based hand gesture recognition' technology in future operation theatres

Surgeons of the future might use a system that recognizes hand gestures as commands to control a robotic scrub nurse or tell a computer to display medical images of the patient during an operation.

4 Feb 2011

Neurons activated by learning show extensive expansion of structure

When a laboratory rat learns how to reach for and grab a food pellet - a pretty complex and unnatural act for a rodent - the acquired knowledge significantly alters the structure of the specific brain cells involved, which sprout a whopping 22 percent more dendritic spines connecting them to other motor neurons.

3 Feb 2011

Roundup: Fla., Texas, Minn., Ga., Conn., Mass. officials examine state health programs

Nullification - the legal theory that says a state can prevent enforcement of federal laws within its borders -- is the latest attempt to block Obama's health-care law at the state level. And brings with it new controversies and considerable confusion. For example, supporters and opponents of nullification reference the same language in the Constitution.

3 Feb 2011

Study: Simple sideline test can accurately detect concussions in athletes

A simple test performed at the sideline of sporting events can accurately detect concussions in athletes, according to study by researchers at the University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine. Current sideline tests can leave a wide amount a brain function untested following concussion.

2 Feb 2011

New Spanish version of ASPIRE for Hispanic teens

The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center's popular web-based teen prevention and smoking-cessation program, ASPIRE, now speaks Spanish.

2 Feb 2011

ACS launches inaugural edition of International Year of Chemistry Virtual Journal

The American Chemical Society (ACS) today launched the inaugural edition of its International Year of Chemistry (IYC) Virtual Journal, a dynamic online snapshot of the countless ways in which chemistry improves everyday life for people around the world. It includes a special video welcome from Nancy B. Jackson, Ph.D., who serves as ACS President during the IYC. Jackson is with the Sandia National Laboratories in New Mexico.

1 Feb 2011

New study sheds further light on stroke recovery process

Most people who survive a stroke recover some degree of their motor, sensory and cognitive functions over the following months and years. This recovery is commonly believed to reflect a reorganisation of the central nervous system that occurs after brain damage. Now a new study, published in the February 2011 issue of Elsevier's Cortex, sheds further light on the recovery process through its effect on language skills.

1 Feb 2011

Research roundup: Barriers to trauma care, immunizations; Small business tax credit; Medicare coverage of preventive care

Possible Geographical Barriers To Trauma Center Access For Vulnerable Patients In The United States - This study analyzes disparities in geographic access to trauma centers in 2005, drawing from data from the 2005 American Hospital Association annual survey.

29 Jan 2011

Light therapy can help preserve vocal cord function for patients with early stage laryngeal cancer: Study

Light, or photodynamic, therapy can help preserve the voice and vocal cord function for patients with early stage laryngeal (voice box) cancer, according to a study from Henry Ford Hospital in Detroit.

29 Jan 2011

Spanish language soap opera to focus on obesity crisis

New episodes of a critically acclaimed, locally-produced Spanish language soap opera will focus on the obesity crisis in hopes of helping viewers better understand what causes obesity and how they can live healthier lives.

29 Jan 2011

NCQA to release new standards for Patient-Centered Medical Home program

On January 31, the National Committee for Quality Assurance will release new standards for its Patient-Centered Medical Home program. The new standards call on medical practices to be more patient-centered, and reinforce federal "meaningful use" incentives for primary care practices to adopt health information technology.

28 Jan 2011

Rethink Autism to offer free web-based program for parents and teachers

An estimated 637,000 children ages 3-17 in the U.S. had a current Autism Spectrum Disorder diagnosis in 2007 according to a widely accepted study published in Pediatrics. That represents a 67% increase from a previous estimate by the Autism and Developmental Disabilities Monitoring Network, which reported autism rates of 66 per 10,000 children in 2002.

27 Jan 2011

2011 Japan Prize laureates announced

The Japan Prize Foundation today announced the laureates of its 2011 Japan Prize, one of the world's most prestigious international awards in science and technology.

25 Jan 2011

Researchers find White-Hispanic disparities in receiving immunization against flu, pneumonia

Seniors of Hispanic descent are far less likely to become immunized against the flu or pneumonia compared to similar White seniors, according to a new RAND Corporation study.

25 Jan 2011

Sleep on it to remember it better: Study

A new study says that the best way to remember something important is to remember it while you are asleep. The research, led by Bjorn Rasch of the University of Basel in Switzerland says that newly learned memories during sleep rather than when awake does a better job of strengthening the memory trace. This could help people with disorders such as post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) feel researchers.

24 Jan 2011

Victoria’s e-health system may still yield benefits: Experts

According to e-health experts, the state government should continue to patronize Victoria’s $360 million health technology program because it was finally starting to deliver some benefits.

24 Jan 2011

New research shows how humans readily learn to throw long distances

Can't help molding some snow into a ball and hurling it or tossing a stone as far into a lake as you can? New research from Indiana University and the University of Wyoming shows how humans, unlike any other species on Earth, readily learn to throw long distances. This research also suggests that this unique evolutionary trait is entangled with language development in a way critical to our very existence.

24 Jan 2011

Study highlights relationship between language and health care quality

Wayne State University researchers have found that when patients and providers speak the same language, patients report less confusion and better health care quality.

21 Jan 2011

Model guides creation of more patient-centered personal health records

Personal health records have great potential to help patients manage their health, but technology needs to be designed with the patient in mind - which means doing more than helping patients access health information, according to an editorial by two Virginia Commonwealth University family medicine physicians published in the Jan.19 issue of the Journal of the American Medical Association.

20 Jan 2011

Children's Hospital Los Angeles becomes only Autism Treatment Network site in California

Following a competitive application process, Michele D. Kipke, PhD, Vice Chair of Research for the Department of Pediatrics, Children's Hospital Los Angeles, was awarded a $420,000 grant which will allow the hospital to become part of the Autism Treatment Network (ATN) as an ATN Center of Clinical Excellence.

20 Jan 2011