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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.

Brain's motor and perception regions disconnected in tone-deaf people

Nerve fibers that link perception and motor regions of the brain are disconnected in tone-deaf people, according to new research in the August 19 issue of The Journal of Neuroscience. Experts estimate that at least 10 percent of the population may be tone deaf - unable to sing in tune. The new finding identifies a particular brain circuit that appears to be absent in these individuals.

19 Aug 2009

Proposed health care reform legislation removes incentives for immigrants to learn English says McAlpin

"Proposed health care reform legislation now under consideration in Congress will add billions of dollars of un-reimbursed cost to the Medicare program to provide free interpreters for non-English speaking patients," says K.C. McAlpin, executive director of ProEnglish, a national organization that advocates for making English the official language of government in the United States.

19 Aug 2009

White House offers reassurance that public option is very much alive

The Wall Street Journal: "The White House sent an email to members of Congress and other supporters saying that President Barack Obama wants a public insurance option as part of health-care overhaul. Ms. Sebelius seemed to suggest otherwise on Sunday, saying a public option isn't an 'essential element.'"

19 Aug 2009

Boehner blasts PhRMA on deal with White House

KHN reports that Minority Leader John Boehner is taking issue with "the drug industry's decision to agree to $80 billion in concessions to the White House."

19 Aug 2009

Sebelius to discuss health care fraud prevention

HHS Secretary Kathleen Sebelius will give the keynote address at the U.S. Administration on Aging’s Annual SMP (formerly called Senior Medicare Patrol) Conference taking place August 18-20 in Washington, D.C.

18 Aug 2009

Boehner blasts Phrma on deal with White House

The drug industry’s decision to agree to $80 billion in concessions to the White House was short-sighted, will hurt drug manufacturers and their customers, and "has all the markings of a deal gone sour," House Minority Leader John Boehner wrote Monday to his former colleague, Billy Tauzin, who now heads the Pharmaceutical Research and Manufacturers of America.

17 Aug 2009

Genetic diagnosis of embryos: Clear explanation, not rhetoric needed

In the area of genetic diagnosis of embryos, the choice of words matters as they can influence policies and perceptions, according to an analysis in CMAJ (Canadian Medical Association Journal).

17 Aug 2009

GSK starts testing H1N1 vaccine; Opinion piece addresses U.S. role in helping developing countries procure vaccine

"GlaxoSmithKline has started testing its pandemic H1N1 swine flu vaccine in humans, and expects to start giving the results to government agencies next month, the drugmaker said on Friday," Reuters reports. The company "plans to conduct 16 different trials of the vaccine and to test 9,000 people in total across Europe, Canada and the United States," according to the news service (Deighton, 8/14).

17 Aug 2009

Summary of key health care provisions

With so much turmoil surrounding the federal government's health care initiatives, the Federation of American Consumers and Travelers (FACT) is attempting to create a summary of key provisions. The goal is to condense incredibly lengthy and convoluted language into something which all consumers can digest so that they can then decide which way they want their legislators to proceed.

17 Aug 2009

Medicine lessons from the Arabic world

You've heard of Louis Pasteur and George Washington Carver, no doubt. And probably Joseph Priestley, one of the founders of modern chemistry. Names like Antoine Lavoisier, John Dalton, and Amadeo Avogadro may even bring a twinkle of recognition to the eye for their famous roles in establishing chemistry as a modern science.

17 Aug 2009

Doctors overiding end of life counseling see benefit in current controversy

The paragraphs, buried deep in the 1,000-page House health reform bill, appear innocuous, but they have ignited a firestorm among critics predicting government-sponsored euthanasia.

14 Aug 2009

Scientists create new method to detect genetic causes of complex diseases

Computational biologists at Carnegie Mellon University have developed an analytical technique to detect the multiple genetic variations that contribute to complex disease syndromes such as diabetes, asthma and cancer, which are characterized by multiple clinical and molecular traits.

14 Aug 2009

Congressional Black Caucus keeps up efforts for reform

The Louisiana Weekly reports that the Congressional Black Caucus "has vowed to continue pushing for specific provisions that its members feel are vital for African Americans. ... The original House and Senate bills would significantly reduce the staggering number of uninsured Americans," which are disproportionately black, according to the news organization.

12 Aug 2009

Children with newly diagnosed epilepsy at risk for cognitive problems

Children who have normal IQs before they experience a first seizure may also have problems with language, memory, learning and other cognitive skills, according to a study published in the August 12, 2009, online issue of Neurology, the medical journal of the American Academy of Neurology.

12 Aug 2009

Neoprobe announces Q2 financials

Neoprobe Corporation (OTCBB:NEOP), a diversified developer of innovative oncology surgical and diagnostic products, today announced consolidated results for the second quarter of 2009 and for the six-month period ended June 30, 2009.

12 Aug 2009

Innovative projects addressing childhood obesity

Youth Service America (YSA) and UnitedHealth Group team up for the second year to offer UnitedHealth HEROES grants to youth-led service-learning projects addressing childhood obesity.

10 Aug 2009

Separating fact from fiction in health care debate

The battle over health care is sparking claims on both sides, but many of the assertions being made twist the facts and others are outright false, says the editor of a Web site that tracks the claims.

10 Aug 2009

Secretary Sebelius announces Senate confirmation of Dr. Francis Collins as Director of NIH

HHS Secretary Kathleen Sebelius announced today that the United States Senate unanimously confirmed Dr. Francis Collins as the next Director of the National Institutes of Health.

10 Aug 2009

Psychologists say longer lives can still lead to happier years

As more people live well into their 80s and 90s, it's reassuring to know that most people get happier as they age and exert more emotional control than younger adults, according to researchers who spoke at the 117th Annual Convention of the American Psychological Association.

9 Aug 2009

Facts and tactics under fire in health care debate

ox News: "Lawmakers battled Sunday over whether demonstrations against health care reform legislation at town hall meetings across the country are real or contrived ... Senate Republican Leader Mitch McConnell, Ky., told 'FOX News Sunday' that it's not clear who's organized and who's not but that Democrats' efforts to 'demonize' the protesters reflect weak spots in the substance of their plan."

9 Aug 2009