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Oklahoma Children's Hospital improves care for babies with neonatal abstinence syndrome

In years past, health care providers took a punitive stance toward women giving birth to babies exposed to substances like opioids in the womb.

9 Apr 2025

Scientists link emulsifiers in processed foods to allergy and immune disorders

Review identifies common food additives in ultra-processed foods—particularly emulsifiers like carrageenan and polysorbate 80—as key drivers of gut dysbiosis, inflammation, and allergic diseases by disrupting intestinal barriers and activating proinflammatory pathways.

26 Mar 2025

How your diet and probiotics can improve vaccine effectiveness

Researchers uncover how probiotics and diet shape the gut microbiome to boost vaccine efficacy, offering new avenues for precision immunization.

23 Mar 2025

Tunneling Nanotube-Like Structures found to play a critical role in heart formation

From his lab at the University of Houston College of Pharmacy Drug Discovery Institute, Mingfu Wu, associate professor, is offering new hope for treating heart disease by sharing his insights into the fundamental process of how the heart is formed in utero.

17 Mar 2025

Air lead concentrations found to affect infant mortality

Concentrations of lead in the air remain substantial in developed and developing countries, largely the result of industrial emissions.

25 Feb 2025

First prenatal treatment for spinal muscular atrophy shows promising results

Spinal muscular atrophy (SMA) is a progressive neurodegenerative disorder set in motion before birth. Scientists at St. Jude Children's Research Hospital led the first in uterotreatment of SMA with the orally administered drug risdiplam.

20 Feb 2025

Infant exposure to herpes virus may cause memory problems later in life

Very early exposure to even a very small dose of herpes simplex virus (HSV) in infant mice can lead to cognitive decline later in life, according to findings from a new Dartmouth-led study, in collaboration with Harvard Medical School and published in the journal PLoS Pathogens.

19 Feb 2025

Babies develop food preferences in the womb, study suggests

Babies show positive responses to the smell of foods they were exposed to in the womb after they are born, according to a new study.

13 Feb 2025

UConn receives $400,000 grant for cutting-edge autism research

Just in time for the Super Bowl, researchers at UConn School of Medicine are part of a big win for autism research.

7 Feb 2025

Classical music influences fetal heart rhythms, enhancing predictability and stability

Research shows that classical music in the third trimester enhances fetal heart rate stability, potentially influencing neurodevelopment and movement patterns.

7 Feb 2025

Breakthrough model simulates human bone marrow function in the lab

Hidden within our bones, marrow sustains life by producing billions of blood cells daily, from oxygen-carrying red cells to immune-boosting white cells.

31 Jan 2025

Study finds a subset of artificial heart patients can regenerate heart muscle

A research team co-led by a physician-scientist at the University of Arizona College of Medicine – Tucson's Sarver Heart Center found that a subset of artificial heart patients can regenerate heart muscle, which may open the door to new ways to treat and perhaps someday cure heart failure.

20 Dec 2024

Study reveals poor diet quality among pregnant and postpartum individuals

New research from the University of Massachusetts Amherst finds a pervasive low-quality diet among pregnant and postpartum individuals, reflecting "an urgent need for widespread improvement."

19 Dec 2024

Gut-targeted antidepressants: A novel approach to battling depression and anxiety

Most of us have experienced the effects of moods and emotions on our gastrointestinal tract, from "butterflies" in the stomach caused by nervousness to a loss of appetite when we're feeling blue.

11 Dec 2024

New insights into anti-seizure medications during pregnancy

Two common antiseizure medications, lamotrigine and levetiracetam, are safe to use during pregnancy, according to a Stanford Medicine-led study.

3 Dec 2024

Study links prenatal immune activity to Alzheimer's risk in later life

Findings from a Mass General Brigham-led study that has followed participants since before birth may offer clues about the origins of Alzheimer's disease.

21 Nov 2024

Study reveals slower fat gain in babies exposed to gestational diabetes

A new study led by researchers at The University of Texas at Austin and Harvard Medical School reveals surprising findings about how babies exposed to gestational diabetes mellitus (GDM) grow during their first year of life.

20 Nov 2024

Antiseizure medications during pregnancy linked to neurodevelopmental risks in children

Children born to mothers who take antiseizure medications to manage seizures and psychiatric conditions during pregnancy may face increased risks of neurodevelopmental conditions, according to new data from researchers at Drexel's Dornsife School of Public Health.

15 Nov 2024

Prenatal cannabis exposure linked to increased risk of opioid addiction later in life

With the increased legalization of recreational cannabis, as many as 1 in 5 pregnant women in the U.S. are now using the drug to help with morning sickness, lower back pain or anxiety.

14 Nov 2024

Limited impact of prenatal COVID-19 exposure on child neurodevelopmental outcomes

Research shows prenatal exposure to SARS-CoV-2 linked to slight regulatory behavior improvements in infants, but no significant neurodevelopmental impacts.

12 Nov 2024