Tag: Infant and Preschool Learning

Successful first trial for dizziness monitoring device

A ground-breaking device to help patients with dizziness problems has moved a step forward following a successful research study. Researchers from UEA and the Norfolk and Norwich University Hospital (NNUH) have published the results of the biggest collection of continuous eye movement data after testing the effectiveness of a wearable diagnostic headset. The Continuous Ambulatory

Molecular scissors stabilize the cell’s cytoskeleton

Researchers at the Paul Scherrer Institute PSI in Villigen, Switzerland, have for the first time elucidated the structure of important enzymes in human cells that alter essential building blocks of the cellular cytoskeleton. This reveals the missing part of a cycle that regulates the build-up or breakdown of supporting elements of the cell. The enzymes

Early lipids boost brain growth for vulnerable micro-preemies

Dietary lipids, already an important source of energy for tiny preemies, also provide a much-needed brain boost by significantly increasing global brain volume as well as increasing volume in regions involved in motor activities and memory, according to research presented during the Pediatric Academic Societies 2019 Annual Meeting. “Compared with macronutrients like carbohydrates and proteins,

Mandarin Chinese could help us understand how infants learn English

Infants may be more sensitive to non-native speech sounds than previously thought, according to a study published in the Journal of Memory and Language. The findings shed light on the way babies begin to understand language. The study, coauthored by Jessica Hay, an associate professor in the University of Tennessee, Knoxville’s Department of Psychology, and

connections between early childhood program and teenage outcomes

A new study published in PLOS ONE by researchers from New York University’s Steinhardt School of Culture, Education, and Human Development examined the long-term impacts of an early childhood program called the Chicago School Readiness Project (CSRP) and found evidence suggesting that the program positively affected children’s executive function and academic achievement during adolescence. The

One year of school comes with an IQ bump, meta-analysis shows

A year of schooling leaves students with new knowledge, and it also equates with a small but noticeable increase to students’ IQ, according to a systematic meta-analysis published in Psychological Science, a journal of the Association for Psychological Science. “Our analyses provide the strongest evidence yet that education raises intelligence test scores,” says psychological scientist

Multilingual students have improved in academic achievement since 2003

Multilingual students, who speak a language or more than one language other than English at home, have improved in reading and math achievement substantially since 2003, finds a new study published in Educational Researcher by Michael J. Kieffer, associate professor of literacy education at New York University’s Steinhardt School of Culture, Education and Human Development.

Bioengineers identify safer way to make rugby tackles: Their recommendations should reduce the risk of players suffering concussions and other head injuries

Bioengineers have compiled a set of recommendations that could significantly reduce concussions and other head injuries in rugby union, having assessed how head impacts and movement vary based on the position on the body where tackles are made. The bioengineers discovered that the risks are not precisely the same for the two groups, as tacklers

Preparing for the ‘silver tsunami’: Law professor suggests how to address nation’s looming health-care and economic crisis caused by surging baby-boom population

Skyrocketing drug prices and the looming insolvency of Social Security and Medicare are just two of many pressing issues caused by America’s surging baby-boom population, often referred to as the “Silver Tsunami.” What can be done about it? In a recent article published in The Elder Law Journal, Sharona Hoffman, the Edgar A. Hahn Professor

From the mouths of babes: Infants really enjoy hearing from their peers: An attraction to vocal sounds from infants may help build spoken language skills in infancy

Sorry, new moms and dads — even though your infants really do appreciate your squeaky coos, they would prefer to hear sounds from their peers — other babies. Even at the pre-babbling stage — before they can form sounds resembling syllables like “ba ba ba” — infants recognize vowel-like sounds, but they tend to dwell

For mothers with advanced cancer, parenting concerns affect emotional well-being

Parenting concerns contributed significantly to the psychological distress of mothers with late-stage cancer, according to a study by University of North Carolina Lineberger Comprehensive Cancer Center researchers. Cancer is the leading cause of disease-specific death for parenting-age women in the United States, and women with incurable cancer who have children can have increased rates of

Parental support linked career success of children

A recent study finds that young people who get financial support from their parents have greater professional success, highlighting one way social inequality is transmitted from one generation to the next. “The question underlying this work was whether parental support gives adult children an advantage or hinders their development,” says Anna Manzoni, an associate professor

EEG signals accurately predict autism as early as 3 months of age: Early diagnosis by ‘digital biomarkers’ may allow early intervention, better outcomes

Autism is challenging to diagnose, especially early in life. A new study in the journal Scientific Reports shows that inexpensive EEGs, which measure brain electrical activity, accurately predict or rule out autism spectrum disorder (ASD) in infants, even in some as young as 3 months. “EEGs are low-cost, non-invasive and relatively easy to incorporate into

Elevation in buildings can affect the decisions we make

People rely on financial managers, doctors and lawyers to be as objective as possible when making decisions about investments, health and legal issues, but findings from a new study suggest that an unexpected factor could be influencing these choices. In a series of experiments, researchers found that people at higher elevations in an office building