Toddlers have an easier time learning new words when they figure out the meanings themselves, according to new study reported on Thursday.
Meredith Brinster, an undergraduate researcher at Johns Hopkins University in Maryland, compared the effectiveness of two different word-learning strategies on 100 children between the ages of 36 and 42 months.
Her findings indicated that words learned through inference, by the process of elimination, for instance, are more easily retained than when learned through direct instruction.
The results could change the way we think about education and learning, said Justin Halberda, assistant professor of psychological and brain sciences at Johns Hopkins.
Health & Wellness
A University of Iowa study may provide an explanation for why some people get migraine headaches while others do not. The researchers found that too much of a small protein called RAMP1 appears to "turn up the volume" of a nerve cell receptor's response to a neuropeptide thought to cause migraines.
The neuropeptide is called CGRP (calcitonin gene-related peptide) and studies have shown that it plays a key role in migraine headaches. In particular, CGRP levels are elevated in the blood during migraine, and drugs that either reduce the levels of CGRP or block its action significantly reduce the pain of migraine headaches. Also, if CGRP is injected into people who are susceptible to migraines, they get a severe headache or a full migraine.
The UI study findings are published in the Journal of Neuroscience.
"We have shown that this RAMP protein is a key regulator for the action of CGRP," said Andrew Russo, Ph.D., UI professor of molecular physiology and biophysics. "Our study suggests that people who get migraines may have higher levels of RAMP1 than people who don't get migraines."
The neuropeptide is called CGRP (calcitonin gene-related peptide) and studies have shown that it plays a key role in migraine headaches. In particular, CGRP levels are elevated in the blood during migraine, and drugs that either reduce the levels of CGRP or block its action significantly reduce the pain of migraine headaches. Also, if CGRP is injected into people who are susceptible to migraines, they get a severe headache or a full migraine.
The UI study findings are published in the Journal of Neuroscience.
"We have shown that this RAMP protein is a key regulator for the action of CGRP," said Andrew Russo, Ph.D., UI professor of molecular physiology and biophysics. "Our study suggests that people who get migraines may have higher levels of RAMP1 than people who don't get migraines."
A recently discovered class of immune cell may hold the key to new treatments for asthma - and explain why existing therapies sometimes fail.
Asthma occurs when immune cells go into overdrive and release inflammatory chemicals called cytokines. These cause excess production of mucus, which plugs up the lungs. The disease is generally associated with immune cells called T-helper 2 (TH2) cells and the cytokines they release, but their response alone is not enough to trigger asthma.
Natural killer T (NKT) cells produce some of the same cytokines as TH2s, but release them faster and in greater quantities (see Diagram). NKT cells are hybrids: they kill invading microbes, like natural killer immune cells, but they also bind to antigens - foreign substances that trigger an immune response - like T-cells do.
Asthma occurs when immune cells go into overdrive and release inflammatory chemicals called cytokines. These cause excess production of mucus, which plugs up the lungs. The disease is generally associated with immune cells called T-helper 2 (TH2) cells and the cytokines they release, but their response alone is not enough to trigger asthma.
Natural killer T (NKT) cells produce some of the same cytokines as TH2s, but release them faster and in greater quantities (see Diagram). NKT cells are hybrids: they kill invading microbes, like natural killer immune cells, but they also bind to antigens - foreign substances that trigger an immune response - like T-cells do.
Four chemists who worked at a New Jersey manufacturer of generic drugs pleaded guilty Thursday to the pharmaceutical industry's version of "cooking the books."
The four men, who were supervisors at Able Laboratories, admitted in federal court in Newark that they falsified and altered data generated in tests of generic drugs required by the Food and Drug Administration. In addition, one of the men, Shashikant Shah, 65, pleaded guilty to one count of securities fraud, having reaped $909,000 in profit from stock sales during the time when the company was falsifying test results.
The Securities and Exchange Commission also filed inside-trading charges against him.
The four men, who were supervisors at Able Laboratories, admitted in federal court in Newark that they falsified and altered data generated in tests of generic drugs required by the Food and Drug Administration. In addition, one of the men, Shashikant Shah, 65, pleaded guilty to one count of securities fraud, having reaped $909,000 in profit from stock sales during the time when the company was falsifying test results.
The Securities and Exchange Commission also filed inside-trading charges against him.
There's a disease out there you need to know about. It affects some two million Americans, is often misdiagnosed, and is caused by the food you eat.
Jessica Edwards George has Celiac disease and it can be rough. "For me the main thing was abdominal cramping, abdominal pain, fatigue," says Edwards George.
Celiac disease causes the body's immune system to attack its' own digestive tract. It happens when sufferers eat anything containing gluten, which is found in grains like wheat, barley and rye.
Dr. Ciaran Kelly runs the Celiac Center at the Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center. He says the disease can affect both young and old people, and they usually feel it right in the gut. "Diarrhea, weight loss, abdominal discomfort, bloating," are key symptoms according to Dr. Kelly.
Jessica Edwards George has Celiac disease and it can be rough. "For me the main thing was abdominal cramping, abdominal pain, fatigue," says Edwards George.
Celiac disease causes the body's immune system to attack its' own digestive tract. It happens when sufferers eat anything containing gluten, which is found in grains like wheat, barley and rye.
Dr. Ciaran Kelly runs the Celiac Center at the Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center. He says the disease can affect both young and old people, and they usually feel it right in the gut. "Diarrhea, weight loss, abdominal discomfort, bloating," are key symptoms according to Dr. Kelly.
Lucia Libreri, 16, stopped growing when she was 8. Four years later after a battery of tests and visits with medical experts, her parents, Rosalia and Luciano, finally found a doctor who pinned down her problem: celiac disease, a condition scientists say is much more widespread in the USA than previously believed.
This summer, the National Institutes of Health launched the Celiac Disease Awareness Campaign to educate physicians and the public about the prevalence of the disease, the myriad of symptoms it can cause and the tests that can detect it.
This summer, the National Institutes of Health launched the Celiac Disease Awareness Campaign to educate physicians and the public about the prevalence of the disease, the myriad of symptoms it can cause and the tests that can detect it.
Medicines for babies and young children frequently contain additives banned from foods and drinks aimed at under-threes, research shows.
The Food Magazine examined 41 medicines aimed at the under-threes, and found only one was free of the additives.
Azo dye colourings were found in five products and multiple artificial sweeteners and preservatives in many.
No colours or sweeteners are allowed in foods and drinks for the under-threes and most preservatives are banned.
Only additives strictly necessary from a technological point of view and recognised as being without risk to the health of young children are authorised in such foods.
The survey found four azo dye colourings, eight benzoate and two sulphite preservatives, and six sweeteners contained in the products examined.
The Food Magazine examined 41 medicines aimed at the under-threes, and found only one was free of the additives.
Azo dye colourings were found in five products and multiple artificial sweeteners and preservatives in many.
No colours or sweeteners are allowed in foods and drinks for the under-threes and most preservatives are banned.
Only additives strictly necessary from a technological point of view and recognised as being without risk to the health of young children are authorised in such foods.
The survey found four azo dye colourings, eight benzoate and two sulphite preservatives, and six sweeteners contained in the products examined.
Washington - People who want to learn things might do better by simply stopping to smell the roses, researchers reported on Thursday.
German researchers found they could use odors to re-activate new memories in the brains of people while they slept -- and the volunteers remembered better later.
Writing in the journal Science, they said their study showed that memories are indeed consolidated during sleep, and show that smells and perhaps other stimuli can reinforce brain learning pathways.
Jan Born of the University of Lubeck in Germany and colleagues had 74 volunteers learn to play games similar to the game of "Concentration" in which they must find matched pairs of objects or cards by turning only one over at a time.
German researchers found they could use odors to re-activate new memories in the brains of people while they slept -- and the volunteers remembered better later.
Writing in the journal Science, they said their study showed that memories are indeed consolidated during sleep, and show that smells and perhaps other stimuli can reinforce brain learning pathways.
Jan Born of the University of Lubeck in Germany and colleagues had 74 volunteers learn to play games similar to the game of "Concentration" in which they must find matched pairs of objects or cards by turning only one over at a time.
The use of drugs to treat hyperactivity in children has soared worldwide, say US researchers.
Between 1993 and 2003, prescriptions of ADHD medications, such as Ritalin, almost tripled.
Global spending on ADHD drugs increased nine-fold, with 83% occurring in the US, a study in Health Affairs reported.
Between 1993 and 2003, prescriptions of ADHD medications, such as Ritalin, almost tripled.
Global spending on ADHD drugs increased nine-fold, with 83% occurring in the US, a study in Health Affairs reported.
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| Japan's Ritsumeikan University researchers unveil a prototype model of the micro medical robot, measuring 1cm in diameter, 2cm in length and weighing only 5-grammes, which enables it to stay and move inside a human body to remove or treat the affected part of disease, especially cancer. |
