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.

Make room for daddy, say University of Florida autism experts

Autism is a developmental disability that typically appears during the first three years of life and is characterized by problems interacting and communicating with others. Caring for an autistic child can be a relentless and labor-intensive task — one that is overwhelmingly performed by mothers, says UF nursing researcher Jennifer Elder.

7 Apr 2005

More discrimination directed toward obese shoppers than toward average-weight shoppers

Sales clerks tend to subtly discriminate against overweight shoppers but treat them more favorably if they perceive that the individual is trying to lose weight, according to a study by Rice University researchers.

4 Apr 2005

Research offers promise for people with learning disabilities

Learning disabilities such as dyslexia are believed to affect nearly one in 10 children. To better study them, a Northwestern University research team has developed a data-driven conceptual framework that links two well-established scientific concepts. In doing so, they also have developed a non-invasive diagnostic tool called BioMAP that can quickly identify children with learning disabilities.

4 Apr 2005

$2.6 million complaint filed against Illinois by British Ecosse Hospital Products

Gov. Rod Blagojevich of Illinois has had a legal complaint demanding nearly $2.6 million filed against him by a British wholesaler Ecosse Hospital Products Ltd. for 254,250 doses of a flu vaccine ordered by Blagojevich to provide thousands of flu vaccine doses for Illinois.

4 Apr 2005

Autistic children found to have abnormal metabolic profile

Autism, a neurodevelopment disorder which has increased tenfold over the last 15 years, now affects 30 of every 10,000 children in the United States.

4 Apr 2005

Children with autism have a severely abnormal metabolic profile

Chronic biochemical imbalance is often a primary factor in the development of many complex diseases but a possible metabolic basis for autism has not been well explored. Now Arkansas Children's Hospital Research Institute researchers report for the first time that children with autism have a severely abnormal metabolic profile indicating increased vulnerability to oxidative stress.

3 Apr 2005

Clinical study of mirror neurons provides insights into autism and other disorders

Seeing is doing – at least it is when mirror neurons are working normally. But in autistic individuals, say researchers from the University of California, San Diego, the brain circuits that enable people to perceive and understand the actions of others do not behave in the usual way.

29 Mar 2005

Left-right brain mystery - trail is hot and cold

Australian National University (ANU) researchers have developed a new device that could potentially unravel the mysteries of the left and right brain by measuring ear temperature.

29 Mar 2005

Disfigured patients may be forced to forego surgery

Increasing insurance company denials, restrictions on covered procedures and a new tactic of excluding specific procedures may be forcing some adults and children to live with painful medical conditions or disfigurement. This restrictive access to care contributed to a 10 percent decline in reconstructive plastic surgery procedures in 2004, according to the latest statistics by the American Society of Plastic Surgeons.

21 Mar 2005

Baby talk helps learning

Adults may feel silly when they talk to babies, but those babies will learn to speak sooner if adults talk to them like infants instead of like other adults, according to a study by Carnegie Mellon University Psychology Professor Erik Thiessen published in the March issue of the journal Infancy.

15 Mar 2005

Taiwanese biotechnology industry expected to reach US$1.9 billion in 2010

The Taiwanese biotechnology industry has started off on the right note with the introduction of several innovative biotechnology-related products and is all set to capitalize on this lead.

14 Mar 2005

Genetic factors may play a significant role in the racial differences encountered in the epidemiology of breast cancer

A new review finds similarities between the clinical presentation and course of breast cancer in Africans and African-Americans, suggesting that genetic factors may play a significant role in the racial differences encountered in the epidemiology of breast cancer in America.

14 Mar 2005

Africa faces potential increases in breast cancer rates

9 Mar 2005

Web site offers fast access to drugs

A new web site run by pharmaceutical companies can help direct Indiana residents to prescription drug programs that offer free or discounted medications. Governor Mitch Daniels, a former executive at Eli Lilly and Company, says it's a safer alternative to importing drugs from other countries.

8 Mar 2005

New understanding to how cells in auditory system organize before hearing develops

Generations of neuroscientists have been indoctrinated into believing that our senses, thoughts, feelings and movements are orchestrated by a communication network of brain cells, or neurons, each responsible for relaying one specific chemical message called a neurotransmitter.

7 Mar 2005

Non-English speaking Hispanic teenagers have sex later than peers

Hispanic teenagers with lower acculturation (integration into American society) who use Spanish as their primary language are significantly less likely than their English-speaking more highly acculturated Hispanic peers to have had an initial experience of sexual intercourse, according to an article in the March issue of Archives of Pediatrics & Adolescent Medicine.

7 Mar 2005

FDA wants full authority to control labeling for drugs

Sandra L. Kweder, FDA's deputy director for new drugs, wants Congress to issue the FDA with the authority to control labeling for drugs to stop the prolonged disputes on this matter.

2 Mar 2005

New technologies may lead to improved diagnosis and treatment of disorders such as autism

Researchers at OHSU's OGI School of Science & Engineering have launched a unique, new research project that will use advanced speech and language technologies to better understand childhood communication disorders.

28 Feb 2005

Children with imaginary companions are quicker to develop language skills

A post-graduate student from The University of Manchester’s School of Psychological Sciences is investigating the theory that children with imaginary companions are quicker to develop language skills and retain knowledge.

From The University of Manchester 28 Feb 2005

Innovative HIV/STD prevention program targets Guinean gold mining camps

A common, yet risky practice among gold miners in rural Guinea to engage in short "marriages" with women working briefly at the mine is the target of an innovative health communication program that educates both women and miners about how to prevent HIV and other sexually transmitted diseases.

22 Feb 2005