Science notes / Psychology, health

Study shows texting doesn't affect spelling Parents, u r gonna be surprised by this, but a study from the University of Alberta says that the abbreviated and unpunctuated language commonly used in instant messaging and texting probably has no effect on your child's spelling abilities. If anything, says psychologist and study lead author Connie Varnhagen, the language variations used in instant messaging and texting should be viewed as a new language or at least a dialect with its own set of rules for spelling and writing. Those findings suggest that parental worries that kids who use "chatspeak" will become bad spellers or never learn how to write well are unfounded. "Young people can compartmentalize their language," Varnhagen said. "They have language that they use on the playground and then school language. They know how to speak in classrooms without sounding like goofballs."The study was proposed by a group of third-year psychology students who surveyed roughly 40 students ages 12 to 17. The participants were asked to save their instant messages for a week. At the end of the study, the participants completed a standardized spelling test."Kids who are good spellers [academically] are good spellers in instant messaging," she said. "And kids who are poor spellers in English class are poor spellers in instant messaging." -- The Washington Post **Gender, dominant leg Rosetta Stone German V3 influence ACL injuries Anterior cruciate ligament injuries are often linked to how an athlete moves. Kicking, pivoting and landing can be important factors in tearing or rupturing this knee ligament that helps keep the joint stable. But gender and which leg sustains the injury may be key as well, according to a new study.Researchers from Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis and the Santa Monica Orthopedic and Sports Medicine Research Foundation looked at ACL injuries in dominant versus supporting legs among 93 athletes, 41 male and 52 female. The participants, a mix of professional, college, high school and youth soccer players, had undergone surgery for a complete ALC tear.Among all athletes, contact and non-contact injuries were evenly distributed between left and right legs. The vast majority of players (84) preferred kicking with their right leg, while nine kicked with the left. A little more than half of the injuries occurred in the dominant leg.Even when researchers looked at non-contact ACL injuries only, about half happened on the dominant leg, and half on the supporting leg. However, when broken down by gender, the numbers changed drastically. Injuries on the dominant leg occurred in 74 percent of males, but only 32.3 percent of females. Female athletes are at higher risk than males for ACL injuries.

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