Supersmart unborn babies can distinguish syllables

Parents-to-be, break out your intrauterine megaphones. New research shows that babies can not only hear noises from inside the womb, but register different speech syllables. French scientists scanned the brains of newborn preemies and found that at 29 weeks gestational age, the tiny tots could discriminate between the sounds "ga" and "ba" and distinguish between male and female voices. The study, published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, bolsters the idea that language skills begin to develop before birth. Hear that, Tiger Moms? It's never too early to begin SAT vocabulary drills or blasting your unborn child with foreign language podcasts. [Source]

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