Learning why certain children who, from the moment they are born, have the odds against them survive and succeed in life at rates higher than would be logically expected is the research subject of UC Davis professor emerita Emmy Werner. Werner's longtime work in child development -- conducted through a 33-year study of children born on the Hawaiian island of Kauai -- has shown that certain factors, including temperament and having strong support systems, can contribute to children's ability to overcome difficult childhood backgrounds to have stable, happy adult lives. Werner notes that one of the keys to children surmounting unfortunate circumstances is having the opportunity to establish a close bond with an adult. Werner is presenting her research on Jan. 24 during a Nobel Symposium convened to examine the nature/nurture controversy. Her talk at the Karolinska Institute in Stockholm, Sweden, the oldest pediatric institute in the world, is titled, "Vulnerable but Invincible -- High-risk Children from Birth to Adulthood."