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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.

Mother and baby cytomegalovirus screening important to prevent consequences

According to health experts, pregnant women and newborns should be screened for a virus that causes brain damage and deafness. The study that appeared in the latest issue of The Medical Journal of Australia yesterday says hundreds of cases of cytomegalovirus (CMV) are likely being missed each year in Australia because of a lack of screening, denying babies treatment for the condition.

19 Jun 2011

Low levels of education, poverty and other social factors contribute to many U.S. deaths

How researchers classify and quantify causes of death across a population has evolved in recent decades. In addition to long-recognized physiological causes such as heart attack and cancer, the role of behavioral factors-including smoking, dietary patterns and inactivity-began to be quantified in the 1990s. More recent research has begun to look at the contribution of social factors to U.S. mortality.

18 Jun 2011

Research roundup: Kids on Medicaid have trouble seeing a specialist; safety in outpatient facilities; community health center patients linking to electronic health care

In this study, researchers posing as parents sought specialty care for children in Cook County, Ill., to examine access opportunities for families on Medicaid. They found a major disparity between children with public insurance versus private insurance -- 66 percent of the callers saying the children were insured by Medicaid were denied an appointment, compared to 11 percent with a private plan.

18 Jun 2011

Pawlenty aims verbal barb at Romney

On Thursday, GOP presidential hopeful Tim Pawlenty called rival Mitt Romney a "co-conspirator" in the federal health overhaul. He also repeated his call for repealing the measure, and maintained that, when he was governor, he handled health reform "the right way."

17 Jun 2011

First Edition: June 17, 2011

Today's headlines include reports about how health entitlement programs are faring in the ongoing deficit-reduction negotiations.

17 Jun 2011

Spanish version of MyPlate nutritional products now available at Learning ZoneXpress

A Spanish-language version of the popular MyPlate poster and handouts tablet is now available from Learning ZoneXpress.

17 Jun 2011

Children born pre-term have persistent drive to succeed

In the longest running U.S. study of premature infants who are now 23 years old, University of Rhode Island Professor of Nursing Mary C. Sullivan has found that premature infants are less healthy, have more social and school struggles and face a greater risk of heart-health problems in adulthood.

16 Jun 2011

Infosys introduces Health Benefit Exchange

Infosys today announced the availability of Infosys Health Benefit Exchange, a cost effective solution designed to help states set up the insurance exchanges mandated in the Affordable Care Act (ACA).

15 Jun 2011

Statistics of breast cancer risk

Sometimes it can be difficult to understand people talking about cancer, especially doctors, scientists, and reporters. Part of the reason is because they use so many numbers and statistics without explaining exactly what they mean. A famous philosopher once said that "Mathematics is the language of science." But most of us don't speak that language very well. Here are some ways to think about the numbers that professionals may use when talking about cancer.

15 Jun 2011

Children with good understanding of cardinal principle do better in maths

Preschool children seem to grasp the true concept of counting only if they are taught to understand the number value of groups of objects greater than three, research at the University of Chicago shows.

15 Jun 2011

Exposure to cigarettes fosters tween smoking: New study

Exposure to secondhand smoke can create symptoms of nicotine dependence in non-smoking preteens, according to a new study from Concordia University and the University of Montreal.

14 Jun 2011

The perils of aid group over exaggeration

"The problem is that U.N. agencies, USAID, its European counterparts, and NGOs almost all think that to get attention for a given crisis, they must use apocalyptic language and err on the side of overestimating the death, damage, and displacement that has been caused," author David Rieff writes in a Foreign Policy opinion piece.

13 Jun 2011

McMaster researchers: Routine autism screening not needed for children

Proposals recommending routine screening of all children for autism gets a thumbs down from researchers at McMaster University.

13 Jun 2011

Spanish scale measures concern about cancer in healthy people

When a person has a family history of cancer, their worry about developing the disease may lead to them refusing to have preventive tests. Advice from genetic counselling units reduces their anxiety but, until now, nobody knew how much. Now, a scientific team has validated the 'Escala de Preocupaci-n por el C-ncer - EPC' (equivalent of the Cancer Worry Scale), the first of its kind in the Spanish language, in order to evaluate it.

10 Jun 2011

CAMH receives $2.5 million PHAC grant to expand school-based violence prevention program

The CAMH Centre for Prevention Science is delighted that the Honourable Leona Aglukkaq, Minister of Health, today announced funding to expand the reach of CAMH's highly successful Fourth R Program. This $2.5 million grant from the Public Health Agency of Canada (PHAC) through its Innovation Strategy supports the regional adaptation of an effective program with a special focus on Aboriginal youth.

9 Jun 2011

State roundup: N.J. plan would cut Medicaid by $500 million

States and territories are eligible for up to $40 million to strengthen and coordinate efforts to prevent chronic disease, the Health and Human Services Department announced Tuesday. The initiative is funded by the healthcare reform law and targets the nation's five leading chronic diseases: heart disease, cancer, stroke, diabetes and arthritis.

9 Jun 2011

Autism caused by hundreds of different genetic mutations: Study

New research shows that autism is not caused by one or two gene defects but probably by hundreds of different mutations, many of which arise spontaneously. This comes from the study that has examined the genes of more than 1,000 families.

9 Jun 2011

NYU Cancer Institute scientists present new research findings at ASCO 2011

Experts from The Cancer Institute, an NCI-designated cancer center, at NYU Langone Medical Center presented new research findings at the 47th American Society of Clinical Oncology (ASCO) 2011 Annual Meeting in Chicago, IL.

8 Jun 2011

Tai Chi may help overcome cognitive decline in patients receiving chemotherapy

According to the American Cancer Society, more than 11.4 million Americans are currently living with cancer. While cancer treatments are plentiful, many have negative side effects. Previous studies have indicated that a significant number of patients who receive chemotherapy also experience cognitive declines, including decreases in verbal fluency and memory.

7 Jun 2011

Roundup: Poll finds growing support in Mass. for health law

Support for the Massachusetts universal health care law has increased since 2009, according to a poll of the state's residents -- even as the law has become the subject of blistering attacks in national and presidential politics, and health care costs soar.

6 Jun 2011