Deaf children who receive cochlear implants do better learning language and speech the younger they receive the implants, according to research by scientists at Indiana University School of Medicine.

However, it’s not clear whether implanting children before they turn age one is worth the potential risks associated with such early surgeries, the researchers said. The work will be presented next week at a meeting of the Acoustical Society of America.

The study,

A natural component of rice bran oil lowers cholesterol in rats, and ongoing research also shows it may have potential as an anti-cancer and anti-infection agent in humans, according to a University of Rochester scientist who has studied the antioxidant since 1996.

The latest findings from Mohammad Minhajuddin, Ph.D., and colleagues, are reported in the May 2005 Food and Chemical Toxicology journal. They show that total cholesterol levels in animals dropped by 42 percent, an

While some psychologists still argue that people perform better when they do something because they want to – rather than for some kind of reward, such as money — Steven Reiss suggests we shouldn’t even make that distinction.

Reiss, a professor of psychology at Ohio State University , argues that a diverse range of human motivations can’t be forced into these categories of intrinsic and extrinsic motivations. Psycholgists say intrinsic motivations are those that ar

An important new study has been launched by the University of Liverpool and Liverpool Women’s Hospital (LWH), to test a new treatment for ‘retained placenta’- a condition where the placenta does not come out naturally after childbirth.

The RELEASE study is being organised by Dr Andrew Weeks and Professor Zarko Alfirevic from the University’s Department of Reproductive and Developmental Medicine in collaboration with Professor Florence Mirembe from Makerere University in Uganda

As science gets wiser, so do the bugs. The rates of drug-resistant bacteria infecting patients in the community and in the hospital have been increasing steadily in recent years, according to two new studies in the June 15 issue of Clinical Infectious Diseases, now available online.

Drug resistance in microorganisms has become a problem due in part to inappropriate prescribing and overuse of antibiotics. These drug-resistant “superbugs” can infect people and cause health probl

80 percent of US adults would pay $3 to $6 more a month to have health plans cover newly recommended adult and child vaccines

How much is it worth to you and your family to have a health insurance plan that covers the latest innovations in adult and childhood vaccines for certain types of cancer or even influenza and pneumonia? A new national web-based study from the University of Michigan Health System found that about 80 percent of adults would be willing to pay an additional $

Adolescents who don’t get enough sleep might be jeopardizing their athletic performance, and high school sports teams on the west coast may be at a disadvantage if they play east coast rivals, says Mary Carskadon, PhD, of the Bradley Hasbro Children’s Research Center.

Carskadon, a leader in the field of sleep research, compared the results of studies that measured sleep patterns and circadian rhythms in children and adolescents in the May 24 issue of Clinics in Spor

Microbe in sea squirts key to process

In a project that could have far-reaching implications for natural-product drug development, scientists have shown how a microbe that lives inside sea squirts could be used to biosynthesize a chemical compound that may help fight cancer. The photosynthetic microbe, Prochloron didemni, lives as an endosymbiont inside the sea squirt Lissoclinum patella. So far, scientists have not been able to culture the microbe anywhere else.

Groun

Often considered a relic of the 1970’s culture, marijuana is no longer a baby boom generation issue. Today, nearly 50 percent of U.S. teenagers try marijuana before they graduate high school, and by 12th grade, about 21 percent are regular users.

Consequently, treatment for marijuana dependence is on the rise, but, researchers have discovered, there’s a catch – withdrawal symptoms, much like those experienced by people quitting cigarettes, cocaine or other drugs, may

Findings have implications for semiconductor industry

Chemists at New York University have elucidated a mechanism by which organic molecules attach to semiconductor surfaces, a finding that has implications for the semiconductor industry. The industry has sought ways to exploit the attachment process for a variety of purposes. The findings, along with a review of the methodology employed in the study, appear in the latest issue of the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences

The services sector in the United States–which includes everything from restaurants to telecommunications to banking–is a major driving force of the economy, generating about 80 percent of the U.S. gross domestic product. As a result, tracking innovation in the services sector is an important indicator of future economic health.

But a new joint research project of the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) and the National Science Foundation (NSF) found that it

According to a systematic review of existing studies, to appear in the May 4 issue of the Journal of the American Medical Association, the surgical procedure known as an episiotomy, performed in up to 35 percent of U.S. vaginal births, usually provides no benefits.

Moreover, the researchers found that, in some cases, routine use of episiotomy causes more harm to mothers than avoiding its use. An episiotomy is an incision made at the vaginal opening during a birth. The intent, i

A new study suggests that, after surgery, all colon tumors should be tested to learn if the patient may have an inherited syndrome that carries an extremely high risk of cancer. It also suggests that this prescreening can be done using a relatively inexpensive microscopy test already used in hospital pathology laboratories.

The study showed that two to three percent(at least one in 45) of people with colon cancer probably have mutations for the inherited syndrome, known as

Sports announcers already know it, and now Elan Fuld has proven it: clutch hitters really do exist.

The 21-year-old University of Pennsylvania junior studied the phenomenon of clutch hitting in baseball, and his calculations provided statistical evidence that players such as Eddie Murray, Frank Duffy and Luis Gomez were clutch hitters.

A surprising finding in the study was that Bill Buckner, who has gone down in history as one of the game’s worst “choke artists”

A brain scan study suggests that a suspect gene may increase susceptibility to anxiety and depression* by weakening a circuit for processing negative emotion. People with the depression-linked gene variant showed less gray matter and weaker connections in the mood-regulating circuit. How well the circuit was connected accounted for nearly 30 percent of their anxious temperament, researchers at the National Institute of Health’s (NIH) National Institute of Mental Health (NIMH) found. Dr. Danie

Women often cite cost as one reason they don’t get regular mammography check-ups, but a new study finds they often misunderstand or simply aren’t aware of benefits in their insurance plans that might help offset any financial burden.

The study authors concluded that mammography screening campaigns may want to include information about insurance and health plan benefits to help reduce what appears to be a major barrier to the exams for some women. The findings appear onli