Researchers at mcmaster university of canada found that one-year-old babies who participate in interactive music classes with their parents smile more , communicate better , and show earlier and more sophisticated brain responses to music .
For the study , undertaken by the university of tubingen 's institute of scientific archaeology in germany and the mcmaster university in canada , researchers extracted dna from 109 skeletons from a mass burial site in london .
Canadian researchers at mcmaster university in hamilton , ontario , report that routine screening of women for intimate-partner violence and communication of screening results to clinicians before routine visits did not reduce subsequent episodes of violence .
The work was carried out by a team led by kirsten bos at mcmaster university , canada , and verena schuenemann at the university of tubingen , germany , and is published in this week 's nature .
They showed " significant improvements " in the functioning of their blood vessels and heart , said maureen macdonald , an associate professor of kinesiology at mcmaster who is leading the ongoing experiment .
" Our results suggest that the infant brain might be particularly plastic with regard to musical exposure , " said laurel trainor , ph.d. , director of the mcmaster institute for music and the mind .