This week's top research shows failure to diagnose hearing loss in infants can create an environmentally-induced and preventable secondary disability; and studying mice post-space travel could be the key to solving the bone loss problem that inhibits human space exploration and affects millions of older Americans.
Babies with hearing loss need early intervention, but only half get it
Children with hearing loss who are diagnosed by 3 months of age and receive interventions by 6 months develop a far greater vocabulary than those whose diagnosis and treatment come later, according to a CU Boulder study published this week in the journal Pediatrics. Yet 17 years after early detection guidelines were established, nearly half of babies with hearing loss aren’t meeting them, the study found.
Curious colony of astronauts could help get humans to Mars
Studying mice post-space travel could be key in solving bone loss, a problem that affects millions of older Americans and inhibits human space exploration of Mars. You might not think a disease that affects senior citizens would have much in common with the men and women of the space program, but the low-gravity environment that makes space travel look so exciting is also responsible for potentially debilitating levels of bone loss.