Language News and Research

RSS

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.

Children with autism cannot read facial expressions

When we have a conversation with someone, we not only hear what they say, we see what they say.

8 May 2007

Season of conception a factor in how a child does in school

According to the latest research the time of year a woman conceives may affect her child's academic performance.

8 May 2007

Does the time of year in which a child is conceived influence future academic achievement?

Yes, according to research by neonatologist Paul Winchester, M.D., Indiana University School of Medicine professor of clinical pediatrics. Dr. Winchester, who studied 1,667,391 Indiana students, presents his finding on May 7 at the Pediatric Academic Societies' annual meeting.

7 May 2007

Women from all ethnic backgrounds are more successful at passing UK medical exams than their male counterparts

Women from all ethnic backgrounds are more successful at passing UK medical exams than their male counterparts, according to research published in the open access journal BMC Medicine.

4 May 2007

FDA wants new warnings on antidepressant medications

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has proposed that makers of all antidepressant medications update the existing black box warning on their products' labeling to include warnings about increased risks of suicidal thinking and behavior, known as suicidality, in young adults ages 18 to 24 during initial treatment (generally the first one to two months).

4 May 2007

Women who use estrogen hormone therapy before 65 reduce likelihood of Alzheimer's or dementia

Women who use hormone therapy before the age of 65 could cut their risk of developing Alzheimer's disease or dementia.

4 May 2007

FDA - all antidepressants need new warning labels

The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) in the United States wants the manufacturers of antidepressant medications to change the labels on their products.

3 May 2007

Illinois House considers bill to remove written consent requirement for HIV tests

The Illinois House is considering a bill (HB 980) that would remove a state requirement that people receiving HIV tests provide written consent prior to undergoing the test, the Chicago Tribune reports.

2 May 2007

St. Lawrence University in pilot project to improve depression screening

Fifteen percent of college students suffered from depression last year, up from 10 percent in 2000, according to The American College Health Association. Mental health professionals on college campuses expect the percentage to rise again this year.

1 May 2007

New interactive map shows spread of avian flu virus

Scientists here have designed a new, interactive map of the spread of the avian flu virus (H5N1) that for the first time incorporates genetic, geographic and evolutionary information that may help predict where the next outbreak of the virus is likely to occur.

1 May 2007

Exercise helps patients regain the ability to swallow

Just thinking about swallowing makes it harder to do. Head and neck cancer, a stroke, brain tumor, brain injury or even a tracheostomy tube and mechanical ventilation needed to sustain life can make it impossible.

1 May 2007

Ape gestures offer clues to evolution of human communication

Researchers at the Yerkes National Primate Research Center, Emory University, have found bonobos and chimpanzees use manual gestures of their hands, feet and limbs more flexibly than they do facial expressions and vocalizations, further supporting the evolution of human language began with gestures as the gestural origin hypothesis of language suggests.

1 May 2007

House approves bill banning genetic discrimination

House lawmakers on Wednesday voted 420-3 to pass legislation (HR 493) that would ban discrimination against U.S. residents based on the results of genetic tests, CQ Today reports (Armstrong, CQ Today, 4/25).

30 Apr 2007

Many NYC pharmacies fail to cater for people with poor English

Despite widespread capacity to provide prescription medication labels in languages other than English, few New York City pharmacies do so and as a result, limited-English patients face serious risk of medication error, according to a study by The New York Academy of Medicine presented at the annual meeting of the Society for General Internal Medicine (SGIM) in Toronto, Ontario.

30 Apr 2007