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Large doses of Vitamin D helped malnourished children to put on weight in a trial in Pakistan. They were given the vitamin alongside the standard high calorie treatment designed for severely underweight children. As well as the weight gain, the children also developed language skills more quickly than those who were did not get the extra Vitamin D. But the researchers from London and the Punjab say that more trials are needed before this becomes a standard treatment – both in other countries and with varying doses of the vitamin.

Residents of Finland are being offered a cut-price holiday in Benin – but there is a catch. They have to provide stool samples for scientists testing a vaccine against one of the common causes of diarrhoea which can kill children. Half of the holidaymakers will be given the vaccine – to see if it helps to protect them against the bacteria.

Which comes first, language or thought? One psychological theory suggests words come first – helping to shape our perceptions of the world. Some ideas – like emotional words - are untranslatable from one language to another.
Dr Tim Lomas from the University of East London has been collecting them in his Happiness Dictionary.

(Photo: Malnourished child. Credit: Getty Images)