In the first days of their lives, French infants already cry in a different way to German babies. This was the result of a study by researchers from the Max Planck Institute for Human Cognitive and Brain Sciences in Leipzig, the Centre for Pre-language Development and Developmental Disorders (ZVES) at the University Clinic W-rzburg, and the Laboratory of Cognitive Sciences and Linguistics at the Ecole Normale Sup-rieure in Paris. [More]

With the number of premature births and medically fragile infants now increasing in the U.S., a basic eye exam, including a red reflex test, should be given to all children shortly after birth, reports Angela Buffenn, M.D., M.P.H., Director of the Orbit and Eye Movement Institute at The Vision Center of Childrens Hospital Los Angeles. [More]

The $894 billion health reform bill working its way toward a House vote this week would repeal the Children's Health Insurance Program, shifting some low-income kids into Medicaid and others into private plans that would both cost more and guarantee fewer benefits," The Washington Independent reports. [More]

Representatives from Marriott hotels throughout the Washington, DC, area, along with co-workers, customers friends and family, joined forces last week to participate in a Torch Relay to benefit Children’s Miracle Network. [More]

How can the gift of a goat this holiday season transform the life of a child in Africa? [More]

The ELA association and Zinedine Zidane, its emblematic ambassador, are proud to announce a world premiere: the results regaring the gene therapy in adrenoleukodystrophy conducted in France have just been published in the prestigious journal Science. Two children have been treated and their diseases have been halted. The children are doing well, which is unexpected for a disease destroying the brain in a few months. This discovery opens up treatment perspectives for numerous widespread diseases. [More]

Climate change is the biggest health threat to children in the 21st century and represents an immediate global emergency, according to a new report, "Feeling the Heat," released today by Save the Children, at the Barcelona United Nations Climate Change talks. [More]

Infants who are exposed to higher levels of air pollution are at increased risk for bronchiolitis, according to a new study. [More]

According to a report (.pdf) by Save the Children, climate change is the biggest global health threat to children in the 21st century, the Hindu reports. Save the Children says that climate change will "exacerbate the leading causes of death among children, including diarrhoea, malnutrition and malaria. Diarrhoea, which kills one million children every year, is set to increase by 10 percent by 2020. [More]

Two studies published by the Southwest College of Naturopathic Medicine in the October issue of BMC Clinical Pharmacology investigated the use of oral dimercaptosuccinic acid (DMSA), a prescription medicine approved by the FDA for treating lead poisoning, and used off-label in these studies for treating heavy metal toxicity in children with autism. [More]

Childhood obesity in the United States is reaching epidemic proportions. With more than one fourth of advertising on daytime and prime time television devoted to foods and beverages and continuing questions about the role television plays in obesity, a study in the November/December issue of the Journal of Nutrition Education and Behavior examines how food advertising aimed at children might be a large contributor to the problem. [More]

Two innovative child welfare toolkits -- A Social Worker's Tool Kit for Working With Immigrant Families -- A Child Welfare Flowchart (August 2009) and A Social Worker's Tool Kit for Working with Immigrant Families -- Immigration Status and Relief Options (June 2009) -- are now available to public and private child protection services (CPS) workers, attorneys, immigration workers and legal aides who assist with child welfare-related cases. [More]

New research shows that the widely used pain reliever acetaminophen may be associated with an increased risk of asthma and wheezing in both children and adults exposed to the drug. Researchers from the University of British Columbia, Vancouver, BC, Canada, conducted a systematic review and metaanalysis of 19 clinical studies (total>The analysis showed that the pooled odds ratio (odds ratio for all studies combined) for asthma among users of acetaminophen was 1.63. [More]

Heavy traffic corridors in the cities of Long Beach and Riverside are responsible for a significant proportion of preventable childhood asthma, and the true impact of air pollution and ship emissions on the disease has likely been underestimated, according to researchers at the University of Southern California (USC). [More]

HHS Secretary Kathleen Sebelius today called on states and communities to join with HHS to redouble efforts to find and enroll the 5 million children who are currently eligible for Medicaid or the Children’s Health Insurance Program (CHIP), but are not yet covered. The Secretary issued this call to action as she opened the National Children’s Health Insurance Summit in Chicago, kicking off the nation’s largest campaign to find and enroll uninsured children in over a decade. [More]