NYC Schools Ban Certain Social Media Use

New York City's Department of Education (DOE) recently released a policy forbidding teachers from using personal social media accounts on Facebook, Twitter, YouTube, Flickr, and Google+ to contact students, regardless of the nature of the message. The guidelines also place limits on personal e-mail accounts. Social media guidelines are subject to change every three months, according to the DOE website. As new social networks and updates emerge, the city is prepared to revise its guidelines when necessary. Search "social media guidelines."

Genetic Cause for Facial Malformations

A pair of defective genes cause auriculo-condylar syndrome (ACS), a rare congenital malformation syndrome that can make it impossible for a child to breathe or eat properly without reparative surgery. Using exome sequencing, researchers analyzed the DNA of five children with ACS and found two genes, PLCB4 and GNAI3, responsible for the syndrome. The study appears in the May American Journal of Human Genetics.

Fun Language Training

Short, intense training sessions using structured language games with children as young as 4 may stimulate children's early language development and make it easier for them to learn to read, according to a Swedish study. The study divided 370 children into three groups—phonological training, alternative training, and no training—for three years. Preliminary findings show the phonological training had an effect immediately following and a year after the training.