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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.

Warning on Chikungunya virus

Fever, arthritis, and other symptoms occurring in people to who have recently traveled to islands in the Indian Ocean may signal infection with an imported virus called "chikungunya," reports a study in the May/June issue of the journal Medicine, published by Lippincott Williams & Wilkins, a part of Wolters Kluwer Health.

9 Jul 2007

Food allergy wordlist for international travellers

"I'm going on holiday and I'm taking… a wordlist in thirty languages with all the food ingredients that I'm allergic to." This list is now available - with the names of ingredients as they appear on food packaging.

5 Jul 2007

Toddlers learn first words better from people than TV

Toddlers learn their first words better from people than from Teletubbies, according to new research at Wake Forest University.

28 Jun 2007

New hand held computer link to emergency medical data

Ambulance crews are to gain a crucial new tool to help them get speedy access to information on everything from advice on resuscitation drugs doses, to data on toxic chemicals and poisons thanks to a new Ambulance Crew Electronic Pocket Guide for Personal Digital Assistants, designed by the University of Warwick, being launched at the Ambulance Service Association Conference (AMBEX) in Harrogate on 27th -29th June.

28 Jun 2007

Analysis of school-based social skills interventions for children with autism spectrum disorders

A meta-analysis of 55 published research studies reveals programs designed to teach social skills to children with autism are failing to meet their goals.

26 Jun 2007

Neurological reason for doing mindfulness meditation

Talking with a therapist or friend, writing in a journal, help us to feel better! A new brain imaging study by UCLA psychologists reveals why verbalizing our feelings makes our sadness, anger and pain less intense.

23 Jun 2007

Scientists focus on the brain's speech 'receiver'

A particular resonance pattern in the brain's auditory processing region appears to be key to its ability to discriminate speech, researchers have found.

23 Jun 2007

Research links childhood social skills and learning abilities

While federal programs such as No Child Left Behind emphasize the importance of academic skills to school success and achievement, there is growing interest in how social skills develop and how they contribute to learning.

23 Jun 2007

New trade agreement language to allow developing countries more flexibility in circumventing drug patents, other restrictions

Democratic lawmakers and U.S. trade officials are in the final stages of negotiation over language to be added to international free trade agreements that would allow developing countries more flexibility in circumventing drug patents and other restrictions on pharmaceuticals, sources said recently, CongressDaily reports.

22 Jun 2007

Heavy drinking leads to early senile dementia

Constant alcohol consumption results not only in cognitive disorders but can elicit symptoms of senile dementia in people as young as in their forties.

20 Jun 2007

Majority of Americans value diversity

According to a new study by researchers in the University of Minnesota's sociology department, Americans are generally positive -- even optimistic -- about the word 'diversity,' but when asked, even those working in the field of race relations have trouble describing diversity's value and stumble when giving real life examples.

20 Jun 2007

Scientists develop unique “switch” that can control the activity of any protein

Our bodies could not maintain their existence without thousands of proteins performing myriad vital tasks within cells. Since malfunctioning proteins can cause disease, the study of protein structure and function can lead to the development of drugs and treatments for numerous disorders.

20 Jun 2007