Children who grow up learning to speak two languages are better at switching between tasks than are children who learn to speak only one language, according to a study funded in part by the National Institutes of Health. However, the study also found that bilinguals are slower to acquire vocabulary than are monolinguals, because bilinguals must divide their time between two languages while monolinguals focus on only one.

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  1. Researchers develop mouse with ‘off switch’ in key brain cell population NIH-funded scientists have developed a strain of mice with a built-in off switch that can selectively shut down the animals’ serotonin-producing cells, which make up a brain network controlling breathing, temperature regulation, and mood. The switch controls only the serotonin-producing cells, and does not affect any other cells in the animal’s brains or bodies....
  2. Study of youth to seek origins of heart disease among African-Americans Researchers supported by the National Institutes of Health are undertaking a preliminary study to identify the early origins of heart disease among African-Americans. The new feasibility study will enroll children and grand children of participants taking part in the largest study of heart disease risk factors among African-American adults, the Jackson Heart Study (JHS), in […]...
  3. Vitamin E helps diminish a type of fatty liver disease in children Vitamin E helps diminish a type of fatty liver disease in children...
  4. Balance tips toward environment as heritability ebbs in autism? The largest and most rigorous twin study of its kind to date has found that shared environment influences susceptibility to autism more than previously thought. The study, supported by the National Institutes of Health, found that shared environmental factors — experiences and exposures common to both twin individuals — accounted for 55 percent of strict […]...
  5. Balance tips toward environment as heritability ebbs in autism? The largest and most rigorous twin study of its kind to date has found that shared environment influences susceptibility to autism more than previously thought. The study, supported by the National Institutes of Health, found that shared environmental factors — experiences and exposures common to both twin individuals — accounted for 55 percent of strict […]...
  6. VOICE HIV prevention study in women A large-scale clinical trial evaluating whether daily use of an oral tablet or vaginal gel containing antiretroviral drugs can prevent HIV infection in women is being modified because an interim review found that the study cannot show that one of the study products, oral tenofovir, marketed under the trade name Viread, is effective....
  7. Study shows HIV-exposed children at high risk of language delay Children exposed to HIV before birth are at risk for language impairments, according to a study by researchers at the National Institutes of Health and other institutions....
  8. Science News, Medicare, Preference for Moving Shapes vs. People Linked to Autism in Babies A 1-minute video showing computer screensavers next to videos of dancing children may prove to be a simple, inexpensive screening tool for autism spectrum disorders (ASD) in toddlers. According to an NIMH-funded study, infants as young as 14 months old who had autism spent more time looking at the moving shapes than social images, in […]...
  9. Funded study shows pre-birth brain growth problems linked to autism Children with autism have more brain cells and heavier brains compared to typically developing children, according to researchers partly funded by the National Institutes of Health....
  10. Medicare, NIH-Supported Study, Looks for Earliest Changes, in the Brain That May Lead to Alzheimer’s Disease Volunteers are being sought for a clinical study examining the subtle changes that may take place in the brains of older people many years before overt symptoms of Alzheimer’s disease appear. Researchers are looking for people with the very earliest complaints of memory problems that affect their daily activities. The study will follow participants over […]...
  11. Medicare: Discontinues Tenofovir Vaginal Gel in ‘VOICE’ HIV Prevention Study A large-scale clinical trial evaluating whether daily use of an antiretroviral-containing oral tablet or vaginal gel can prevent HIV infection in women is being modified because an interim review found that the gel, an investigational microbicide, was not effective among study participants....
  12. MedicareCard.com, U.S. Latinos, Have High Rates of Developing Vision Loss, Certain Eye Conditions Latinos have higher rates of developing visual impairment, blindness, diabetic eye disease, and cataracts than non-Hispanic whites, researchers found. ...
  13. Researchers identify cause and new treatment for common recurrent fever in children A preliminary study conducted by a team at the National Institutes of Health has identified a promising new treatment in children for the most common periodic fever disease in children. The syndrome is called periodic fever associated with aphthous stomatitis, pharyngitis and cervical adenitis — or PFAPA — and is characterized by monthly flare-ups of […]...
  14. Study finds stroke risk factors may lead to cognitive problems High blood pressure and other known risk factors for stroke also increase the risk of developing cognitive problems, even among people who have never had a stroke, a study funded by the National Institutes of Health has found....
  15. Wood stove intervention can reduce childhood pneumonia Cooking stoves with chimneys can lower exposure to indoor wood smoke and reduce the rate of severe pneumonia by 30 percent in children less than 18 months of age, according to a new air pollution study funded by the National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences (NIEHS), part of the National Institutes of Health....