US to Start$3.2Billion Child Health Study in January

A stu街that will cost $3.2 billion and lastmore than two decades to track the health of 100,000 US children from beforebirth to age 21 will be launched in January,US health

officials said onFriday.

Officials from the US government's National Institutes of Healthsaid they hope the study,to be conducted at 105 locations throughout the United States,canhelp identify

early-lifeinfluences that affect later development,with the goal of learning new ways totreat or prevent illness.The study will examine hereditary（遗传的）and

environmentalfactors such as exposure to certamn chemicals that affect health.Researcherswill collect genetic and biological samples from people in the study as well as

samples from thehomes of the women and their babies including air,water,dust and materials usedto construct their residences,the NIH said.

Officials said morethan $200 million has been spent already and the study is projected to cost$3.2 billion."We anticipate that in the long term（从长远说来）,what we

learn from the studywill result in a significant savings in the nation's health carecosts,"Dr. Duane Alexander,who heads the NIH's Eunice Kennedy ShriverNational Institute

of Child Health andHuman Development,told reporters.The study will begin in January when the University of North Carolina and the Mount SinaiSchool of Medicine in

New York start signing up pregnant women whose babieswill then be followed to age 2

Some of the earlyfindings will be about factors behind preterm birth（早产）,which has become more common inrecent years,according to Dr. Peter Scheidt of the

NIH,who heads thestudy.The people taking part will be from rural,urban and suburban areas,fromall income and educational levels and from all racial groups,the NIH said.Which is not trueof the people in the study?

A.They'll be fromvarious areas.

B.They'll be fromall income levels.

C.They'll be fromall educational levels.

D.They'll be fromall age groups.