Learning musical instrument can help boost kids’ intelligence

October 8th, 2009 Lloyd Weber makes new Phantom set at Coney IslandLONDON — Andrew Lloyd Weber has announced a sequel to his massively successful "Phantom of the Opera" that will be set at Coney Island. Weber's new production, "Love Never Dies," is due to open in London in March of next year.

July 7th, 2009 LONDON - A new piece of research suggests that when it comes to learning new behaviours, autistic kids rely more on their own internal sense of body position rather than external cues, typically used by developing children. The study conducted by researchers from Kennedy Krieger Institute and Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine showed that greater the kids relied on their internal sense of body position (proprioception), the greater was their impairment in social skills, motor skills, and imitation.

July 4th, 2009 WASHINGTON - Scientists have developed a new explosives detector with incredible sensitivity and a range of up to 100 meters that could save lives and thwart the efforts of terrorists. The detector, developed by a team of researchers at Oak Ridge National Laboratory, is based on photo-induced acoustic spectroscopy (PIAS).

June 17th, 2009 WASHINGTON - A new study by Australian researchers has shown that postures adopted by young babies born prematurely are a powerful indicator of their intelligence later in life. According to researchers, observing these postures could identify individuals who should be monitored for signs of learning difficulties.

May 1st, 2009 LONDON - British filmmaker Guy Ritchie is set to make a gangster musical, it has emerged. Reports have suggested that the filmmaker's musical would be a cross between 'Wurzel Gummidge'-a TV show about a talking scarecrow, and 'Bullitt'-the stylish Steve McQueen crime caper.

May 1st, 2009 LONDON - British director Guy Ritchie is turning his back on directing gangster films. He's reportedly working on a musical movie.

April 24th, 2009 LONDON - Jade Goody's life and death is to be the subject of a musical, according to one of her closest friends. It has emerged that producers are searching for an actress to play the former Big Brother star, reports The Telegraph.

April 23rd, 2009 LONDON - Danny Hayward, a close friend of late British reality TV star Jade Goody, has revealed that there would be a musical on the troubled actress' life. Haywards also revealed Wednesday night at a party to celebrate Goody's life and launch the final part of her autobiography that a search was on for an actress to play Goody in the musical titled 'Jade The Musical', reports the Mirror online.

April 8th, 2009 LONDON - Hollywood actor Tom Cruise wants his two-year-old daughter Suri to have a well-rounded upbringing. So he is spending $1 million on her education.

April 5th, 2009 LONDON - Canadian actor Seth Rogen admits he hates kids. The 26-year-old actor, who has lend his voice in animated film Monsters vs.

April 3rd, 2009 LONDON - A leading educationalist in the UK says that kids learn four times fast when they are taught by the best teachers, compared to those taught by the worst ones. Professor Dylan Wiliam, of the Institute of Education, London, suggests that the Government better focus on making teachers better at their jobs, instead of cutting class sizes or buying new technology.

March 30th, 2009 LONDON - Miley Cyrus, Jonas Brothers, High School Musical 3, claimed victory at the 22nd Kids' Choice Awards in Los Angeles. A new record was set when more than 90 million voted online to choose winners for the event, which honours the year's biggest television, movie, and music acts, on March 28.

March 27th, 2009 LONDON - ABBA stars Benny Andersson and Bjorn Ulvaeus say that their musical 'Mamma Mia!' would not have been a big hit had they not turned down the original script, which was set in a zoo with animals singing their songs. They have revealed that some producers approached them in the early Nineties with the idea of staging a show, in which their songs would be performed by lions, tigers, giraffes and elephants.

March 5th, 2009 LONDON - After the smashing success of its first three instalments, Disney has announced the fourth movie in its hit 'High School Musical' franchise. The new musical will feature an entirely new cast of characters and debut on Disney Channel in 2010, reports contactmusic.com.

February 8th, 2009 LONDON - Rocker Sheryl Crow's musical skills are already rubbing off on her 21-month-old son Wyatt. Crow, who adopted Wyatt in 2007, says he has been quick to reach for his musical instruments.