New research findings from the Université de Montréal reveals that children as young as four are able to understand and use irony. This study, published recently in the British Journal of Developmental Psychology, may impact the way parents communicate with their family. "Previous studies concluded that irony wasn't understood before the age of eight or ten," says Stephanie Alexander, a postdoctoral student at the Université de Montréal's Department of Social and Preventive Medicine and senior author of the study. "However, these studies were mostly done in a laboratory ...

OAK RIDGE, Tenn., Sept. 14, 2010 -- As industries and consumers increasingly seek improved battery power sources, cutting-edge microscopy performed at the Department of Energy's Oak Ridge National Laboratory is providing an unprecedented perspective on how lithium-ion batteries function. A research team led by ORNL's Nina Balke, Stephen Jesse and Sergei Kalinin has developed a new type of scanning probe microscopy called electrochemical strain microscopy (ESM) to examine the movement of lithium ions through a battery's cathode material. The research, "Nanoscale mapping ...

(Garrison, NY) The most politically charged feature of the health reform law is the mandate that legal residents have health insurance. Within weeks of the law's passage, twenty states had filed lawsuits charging that the mandate is unconstitutional because it gives the federal government more power than it actually has. The state lawsuits are widely expected to reach the Supreme Court next year. Legal scholar Lawrence O. Gostin writes that the health insurance mandate rests on firm legal ground. Under the mandate, which goes into effect in 2014, the federal government ...

Students who enter medical school with high debt levels, low scores on the Medical College Admissions Test (MCAT) or who are non-white are more likely to face difficulties that may prevent graduation or hinder acceptance into a residency program if they do graduate, according to a nationwide study of students enrolled in MD programs. The research, from Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis, is reported Sept. 15 in the Journal of the American Medical Association. The study of more than 84,000 students who entered U.S. medical schools from 1994-1999 showed ...

Data and research on what it really takes for seniors to make ends meet in each of California's 58 counties will be released today at the state Capitol in Sacramento. The release is the latest update of the Elder Economic Security Standard Index (Elder Index), a tool that measures the actual costs of basic necessities for older adults. The Elder Index is quickly replacing federal poverty level (FPL) guidelines as a new standard for evaluating and meeting the needs of seniors across California. "This year, the federal government officially acknowledged it's time ...

NEW YORK, September 14, 2010 – A blood test at the age of 60 can accurately predict the risk that a man will die from prostate cancer within the next 25 years, according to researchers at Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center, in New York, and Lund University, in Sweden. The findings, published today online in the British Medical Journal, could have important implications for determining which men should be screened after the age of 60 and which may not benefit substantially from continued prostate cancer screening. The study analyzed blood samples from 1,167 men born ...

VIDEO: A cavefish (left) and surface fish (right) swimming in assay chambers in the presence of a 50 Hz vibrating rod. When the rod is vibrated, the cavefish, but not surface... Click here for more information. University of Maryland biologists have identified how changes in both behavior and genetics led to the evolution of the Mexican blind cavefish (Astyanax mexicanus) from its sighted, surface-dwelling ancestor. In research published in the August 12, 2010 online edition ...

In an article published in the Sept. 15 edition of the Journal of the American Medical Association, (JAMA), author Edward H. Shortliffe, MD, PhD, points out that although information underlies all clinical work, and despite the growing role that information management and access play in healthcare delivery and clinical support, there is a dearth of informatics competency being developed in America's future corps of physicians. Formalized education in the application of informatics and the use and methodologies of health information technology and exchange, Dr. Shortliffe ...

Pre-kindergartners who spend much of their classroom day engaged in so-called free-choice play with little input from teachers make smaller gains in early language and math skills than children who receive input from teachers in a range of different activity settings. Low-income children benefit particularly when a higher proportion of their time is spent in individual instruction settings. Those are the findings of a new study that appears in the September/October 2010 issue of Child Development. "If early childhood education is to level the playing field by stimulating ...

If someone near you yawns, do you yawn, too? About half of adults yawn after someone else does in a phenomenon called contagious yawning. Now a new study has found that most children aren't susceptible to contagious yawning until they're about 4 years old—and that children with autism are less likely to yawn contagiously than others. The study, conducted by researchers at the University of Connecticut, appears in the September/October 2010 issue of the journal Child Development. To determine the extent to which children at various stages of social development are likely ...

People with autism spectrum disorders (ASD) are thought to have a specific profile of cognitive strengths and weaknesses—difficulties appreciating others' thoughts and feelings, problems regulating and controlling their behavior, and an enhanced ability to perceive details—but few studies have tracked children's cognitive skills over time. Now new longitudinal research provides clues that can inform our understanding of ASD. "Parents and clinicians already know that the behavioral signs of ASD wax and wane throughout development," notes Elizabeth Pellicano, senior lecturer ...

Barriers to children's achievement in the areas of science, math, and engineering have become a particular concern as policymakers focus on America's economic competitiveness. A gender difference in girls' spatial abilities emerges very early in development, and researchers have suggested that this difference may be a source of gaps in achievement in math and science for girls. A new study just published in Child Development describes an intervention that is effective in eliminating the gender gap in spatial abilities. While the research doesn't yet show that the intervention ...

More than 12 million U.S. children under age 6 attend child care or preschool programs. A new longitudinal study of low-income children has found that children in high-quality preschool settings had fewer behavior problems in middle childhood, and that such settings were particularly important for boys and African American children. The study, carried out by researchers at the University of Pittsburgh, Boston College, Universidad de Los Andes, Loyola University Chicago, and Northwestern University, appears in the September/October 2010 issue of the journal Child Development. "This ...

SEATTLE – It is well known that exposure to radiation has multiple harmful effects – including causing cancer – but until now, it has been unclear to what extent such exposure increases a person's risk of developing more than one cancer. The first large-scale study of the relationship between radiation dose and risk of multiple cancers among atomic bomb survivors in Hiroshima and Nagasaki, Japan reveals a similar risk in the development of first and second subsequent cancers. Christopher I. Li, M.D., Ph.D., and colleagues at Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center led ...

BLOOMINGTON, Ind. -- A joint study by Indiana University and Columbia University researchers found no change in prejudice and discrimination toward people with serious mental illness or substance abuse problems despite a greater embrace by the public of neurobiological explanations for these illnesses. The study, published online Sept. 15 in the American Journal of Psychiatry, raises vexing questions about the effectiveness of campaigns designed to improve health literacy. This "disease like any other" approach, supported by medicine and mental health advocates, had ...

Animal flocks, be it honeybees, fish, ants or birds, often move in surprising synchronicity and seemingly make unanimous decisions at a moment's notice, a phenomenon which has remained puzzling to many researchers. New research published today, Wednesday 15 September, in New Journal of Physics (co-owned by the Institute of Physics and German Physical Society), uses a particle model to explain the collective decision making process of flocks of birds landing on foraging flights. Using a simple self-propelled particle (SPP) system, which sees the birds represented by ...

Arnhem, 15 September 2010 – A recent TNS NIPO survey, on behalf of the Dutch Association of Urology (NVU) and the European Association of Urology (EAU), showed that almost four out of 10 Dutch men of 50 years and older suffer, or have suffered, from urinary complaints. The same number of men also said in the same survey they are worried that they may have prostate cancer. The TNS NIPO survey also indicated that a significantly larger number of men that suffer, or have suffered, from urinary complaints expressed the concern of having prostate cancer as compared to men ...

PHILADELPHIA –- A collaboration led by a periodontal researcher from the University of Pennsylvania School of Dental Medicine has found a possible link between the success of gum-disease treatment and the likelihood of giving birth prematurely, according to a study published in the journal BJOG: An International Journal of Obstetrics and Gynaecology. While a number of factors are associated with an increased rate of preterm birth, such as low body-mass index, alcohol consumption and smoking, the study adds to the body of research that suggests oral infection may also ...

Jennifer McGrath received key public safety endorsements in her campaign for re-election as Huntington Beach City Attorney. The Huntington Beach Police Officers Association and the Huntington Beach Firefighters Association have both officially endorsed Jennifer McGrath as the right choice for Huntington Beach City Attorney. "I am honored to receive the endorsement of our local firefighters and police. I applaud the efforts of our police and firefighters in ensuring our community is a better and safer place to live," said Jennifer McGrath. "I have been the City Attorney ...

Lizellen La Follette, MD, has announced that her obstetrics and gynecology medical practice will heighten its patient services through the addition of an associate, Emily E. Binkley, MD. The La Follette practice provides healthcare to women of all ages. Dr. Binkley graduated from Harvard University, Cambridge, Massachusetts, with a BA in Earth and Planetary Sciences. A John Harvard Scholar for maintaining an A average, Dr. Binkley studied medicine at Vanderbilt University School of Medicine, Nashville, Tennessee. She completed her residency at Pennsylvania Hospital ...

Greg Hoffman, owner of GHC, signed up for eSilverBullet when he discovered it on the popular affiliate forum A Best Web. "I like how eSilverBullet will allow me to leverage all of my affiliate relationships on one platform," he said. "We work with a very diverse list of merchants in the major affiliate networks and I can see this tool as the perfect solution on how to manage the recruiting process." eSilverBullet makes it easier for Outsourced Program Managers (OPMs) such as GHC to tailor communications on behalf of specific merchants. All prospect and publisher contact ...

Famed global business strategist Sramana Mitra will appear on BlogTalkRadio's My Crew Magazine's (http://blogtalkradio.com/My-Crew-Magazine) Funding Your Startup Business in a Slow Economy Show with host Kim Kelly, Editor-In-Chief of My Crew Magazine on Thursday, September 16, 2010, at 7 pm, Pacific, and 10 pm Eastern. The exclusive interview will highlight Mitra's career in starting three successful business ventures and her new book, Innovation Need Of The Hour (EJ Volume Four). As strategy consultant, Sramana has consulted with over 80 companies, including public ...

Even in troubled financial times, there is an allure about working in the field of private equity. Many executives dream of finding a private equity portfolio firm that allows them to work in an unconventional setting and earn bigger salaries. In the next session of Experts Connection (www.experts-conneciton.com), Mary Kier, CEO of Cook Associates Executive Search, will review what it takes to be hired by private equity firms in a session entitled "The Private Equity DNA - Do You Have What It Takes?" The teleseminar is scheduled for Wednesday, September 22, from 4:00 - ...

O .C. Japan Fair, a street festival introducing contemporary and traditional Japanese culture, is coming back for the second time to Orange County on Sunday, September 26th, 2010, 10 a.m. - 7 p.m., at the Great Irvine Park in Irvine. The festival celebrated its inaugural event last November with over 50 booths and more than 10,000 attendees. This year's festival will be even bigger, with double the amount of participating vendors (over 100 booths) and with more attendees coming to experience all the fun, food and entertainment. The main theme of this year's fair is "Irvine ...

Foxit Corporation, a leader in PDF software solutions and Seclore, an Information Rights Management (IRM) provider today announced that they have entered into a new partnership to offer Foxit¡¯s PDF viewing technology as part of Seclore¡¯s security solution. "Foxit continues to expand its PDF technology within the enterprise market segment. Enterprise customers using the Seclore document management system now have the ability to use the Foxit Reader which is small, faster and less bloated PDF viewer offering superior security and usability." said Alex Alexander, Assistant ...