Autism :: Army research mission focused on autism

?”Children are like snowflakes, each one different, each one needing a different biomedical intervention,” said Shelley Reynolds of Unlocking Autism. ?”What makes treating autism difficult is that each combination to unlock each person affected is so unique.” As a result of advocacy efforts, the U.S. Congress provided $7.5 million in appropriations directed to the Department of Defense to initiate the Autism Spectrum Disorder Research Program in 2007.

Nanotechnology :: Consumers neutral on risks, benefits of nano – nanotechnology

The largest, most comprehensive survey of public perceptions of nanotechnology products finds US consumers are willing to use specific nano-containing products — even if there are health and safety risks — when the potential benefits are high. The study also finds US consumers rate nanotechnology as less risky than everyday technologies like herbicides, chemical disinfectants, handguns and food preservatives. The findings appear in December’s issue of Nature Nanotechnology.

Gendered division of labor gave modern humans advantage over Neanderthals

Diversified social roles for men, women and children may have given Homo sapiens an advantage over Neanderthals, says a new study in the December 2006 issue of Current Anthropology. The study argues that division of economic labor by sex and age emerged relatively recently in human evolutionary history and facilitated the spread of modern humans throughout Eurasia.