Child Development: The Birth of a Word

 Developmental  No Responses »
Oct 252011
 
  • MIT researcher Deb Roy wanted to understand how his infant son learned language
  • He wired up his house with video cameras to catch 8 to 10 hours of video a day of his son’s life
  • He then parsed 90,000 hours of this home video to find out how the word “ga ga” slowly turn into the word “water”
  • Additionally, he and his team developed new ways to use motion analysis (space-time worms) to view how and where his son moved throughout the house

Human Development: From Embryo to Newborn

 Developmental  No Responses »
Jan 262011
 

The following 8 videos are from the NOVA special, Life’s Greatest Miracle

1. Passing on Your DNA

  • advantages of sexual reproduction
  • sperm
  • meiosis

2. The Egg’s Journey

  • expectant parents
  • finding a mate
  • intercourse

3. The Sperm’s Journey

  • obstacles
  • reaching the egg
  • entering the egg

4. The First Two Weeks

  • cell division
  • implantation
  • morning sickness

5. The Embryo Takes Shape

  • gastrulation
  • cells on the move
  • turning genes on

6. Messages in the Genes

  • how sex is determined
  • the SRY gene
  • building organs and limbs

7. Feeding the Growing Fetus

  • the placenta
  • organs begin to function
  • a remarkable transformation

8. The Third Trimester

  • the growing brain
  • pain and danger of human birth
  • a new life