Worldwide, more than one billion people lack access to an improved water source, such as a rainwater collection or dug well, and two billion still need access to basic sanitation facilities, such as a latrine.

A lot of research has examined the effect of a family's income on children's readiness to start school. A new study suggests that adopting a "one size fits all" approach-that is, measuring material hardship, parenting, and school readiness in the same way for white, black, and Hispanic children-may obscure the toll that lower income takes on ethnic minority children as well as the strengths that some families show in coping with poverty-related disadvantages.

Poverty remains a big problem in the United States, and vast numbers of working Americans and their families lack health insurance and other basic goods. Yet, the mid-20th century ideal of a generous "welfare state" providing these basic goods to everyone seems dead.

Patients with tuberculosis in the West African country of Senegal who participated in an intervention program that included improved communication with health personnel and community involvement had higher cure and treatment completion rates, according to a study in the January 24/31 issue of JAMA.

"More than 100 million Indonesians are surviving on less than $2 a day," the World Bank said Thursday, warning that widespread poverty in the world's fourth largest country is preventing children from getting an education.