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Pilot Study Confirms That Children With Autism Need To Be Taught In Smaller Groups
Since the 1970s, there has been much debate surrounding the fact that individuals with autism have difficulty in understanding speech in situations where there is background speech or noise.

White House, Congress, Industry Taking On Health Costs
Health care costs soared nearly 50 percent between 2000 and 2006, adding an urgency for reform that may help Democrats pass a major overhaul before the year-end deadline set by the White House, Bloomberg reports. "You come to a point where you can"t afford health care as it is and you have to reform it," Rep. John Dingell, D-Mich., told Bloomberg. As Congress seeks to capitalize on spending growth, industry groups have arrived at the table with their own suggestions for cutting up to $1.7 trillion in spending over the upcoming decade (Litvan, 6/2).
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What Is The Function Of Lymph Nodes?
If we imagine our immune system to be a police force for our bodies, then previous work has suggested that the Lymph nodes would be the best candidate structures within the body to act as police stations - the regions in which the immune response is organised. However, a new paper - published in this week"s issue of PLoS Biology - suggests that lymph nodes are not essential in the mouse in marshalling T-cells (a main immune foot soldier) to respond to a breach of the skin barrier. This result is both surprising in itself, and suggests a novel function for the liver as an alternate site for T-cell activation.
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Recent Smoking-Cessation Research Highlights Importance Of Keeping Teens From Smoking

Despite the efforts of college students to quit smoking, recent research conducted by Joyce M. Wolburg at Marquette University suggests that an extended trial and error period is necessary. Given that most college students begin smoking in high school, another study by faculty at HEC Montreal and University of Texas at San Antonio provides insights into how graphic cigarette warning labels impact intentions of American and Canadian teens. Both studies appear in the Summer 2009 issue of the Journal of Consumer Affairs. The Wolburg study reveals that, despite good intentions to quit smoking after college, multiple strategies (and multiple attempts) are typically necessary to be successful at smoking cessation. Despite the best efforts to prevent teens from smoking, some ignore the risks and become smokers. By the time they are college students smokers, many want to quit but need strategies that get results. Programs that incorporate the real stories and experiences of those who failed early on but didn"t give up offer hope to a group of people who may be among the best candidates for quitting. Future research will continue to refine those strategies. The second study, conducted by Lalla Ilhame Sabbane and Jean-Charles Chebat, both at HEC Montreal, and Tina M. Lowrey at the University of Texas at San Antonio, reveals that graphic cigarette warning labels are most effective for Canadian participants, leading to negative attitudes and lower smoking intentions, but the graphic label was least effective at lowering smoking intentions for US participants. "These results suggest that American teens were negatively impacted by the graphic label, perhaps because of its novelty," Lowrey said. Additional research should be conducted to determine whether the positive impact for Canadian teens is, indeed, due to their level of familiarity with the graphics that have been used for the past decade in Canada. If more teens can be convinced not to begin smoking, then fewer college students will need to struggle with the cessation attempts studied by Wolburg. Notes: This study is published in the Summer 2009 issue of the Journal of Consumer Affairs. To view the abstract for the articles, please click here and here. Joyce M. Wolburg is affiliated with Marquette University and Tina M. Lowrey is affiliated with the University of Texas at San Antonio. Amy Molnar Wiley-Blackwell


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