"Children in rural Nepal whose mothers were given iron and folic acid supplements during pregnancy were smarter more organized and had better fine motor skills than children whose mothers did not get them U.S. researchers said on Tuesday.  A store worker walks past rows of herbal vitamin and mineral pill products at a pharmacy in this file photo. REUTERSDavid Gray They said ensuring that pregnant women get this basic prenatal care could have a big effect on the educational futures of children who live in poor communities where iron deficiency is common.  Iron is essential for the development of the central nervous system said Parul Christian an expert in international health at the Johns Hopkins University Bloomberg School of Public Health whose study appears in the Journal of the American Medical Association.  Iron deficiency is the most common and widespread nutritional disorder in the world affecting  billion people according to the World Health Organization.  Early iron deficiency can interfere with nerve development biochemistry and metabolism hampering both intellectual and fine motor development.  Christians team studied  schoolage children whose mothers had been in a clinical trial in which some got iron and folic acid supplements and other nutrients while they were pregnant. About  percent of the children  aged  to   were enrolled in school.  We had the opportunity to follow the offspring of women who had participated in a randomized trial of iron and folic acid and other micronutrients to assess neurocognitive function and outcomes Christian said in a telephone interview.  What we showed is prenatal iron and folic acid supplementation had a significant impact on the offsprings intellectual level and motor ability and ability during school age which was a very exciting finding she said.  It had an impact across a range of function including intellectual function executive function and fine motor function factors that could affect a childs later academic success Christian said.  She said many children in poor communities would benefit from better prenatal programs that include the lowcost nutritional supplements.  These results speak to a large swath of people residing in that part of the world. Iron and folic acid deficiency are very common she said.  The World Health Organization estimates that in developing countries every other pregnant woman is anemic and about  percent of preschool children are anemic.  The study was funded by the National Institutes of Health and the Bill  Melinda Gates Foundation.   Ford and VW are exploring closer cooperation as trade frictions force carmakers to rethink where they build cars for Europe the United States and China and as software companies prepare to launch their own selfdriving cars.  A global alliance is expected to be announced one source said adding that the pact will be unveiled next Tuesday.  The scope of the alliance is still being determined the sources said as talks about cooperation in the area of electric and autonomous cars continue.  Talks are going well said a second source who declined to be named. Volkswagen is reviewing whether to invest in Fords autonomous vehicles division while Ford executives are considering licensing Volkswagens MEB electric vehicles platform the second source said.  Ford and VW had no immediate comment.  In June Ford and VW unveiled a pact in commercial vehicles including vans adding that they were investigating several joint projects.  U.S. China could settle immediate trade issues  Ross In December VW CEO Herbert Diess said We are in quite advanced negotiations and dialog with Ford Corporation to really build up a global automotive alliance which also would strengthen the American automotive industry.  At the time Ford Executive Chairman Bill Ford Jr told reporters that talks with Volkswagen about an alliance were going very well  The auto show runs from January  to January .  Reporting by Jan Schwartz in Hamburg and Ben Klayman in Detroit Writing by Edward Taylor Editing by Joe White Georgina Prodhan and Elaine Hardcastle Our StandardsThe Thomson Reuters Trust Principles. httpthomsonreuters.comenaboutustrustprinciples.html"