In Utero News and Research

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Biomedical research advances through new Australian Institute

The Institute of Biomedical Engineering and Technology (BMET) will be officially opened this evening at the University of Sydney, and will significantly advance this highly multidisciplinary research for life sciences and medicine.

14 Mar 2012

Obama campaign pushes back against Santorum attack on prenatal testing

Campaigning in Ohio on Saturday, Rick Santorum displayed his culture-warrior side in full force ... He lambasted the president's health care law requiring insurance policies to include free prenatal testing, "because free prenatal testing ends up in more abortions and therefore less care that has to be done because we cull the ranks of the disabled in our society".

21 Feb 2012

Study examines mercury exposure in pregnant women

A new study published by researchers at SUNY Downstate Medical Center's School of Public Health assesses mercury levels in pregnant women and examines dietary and environmental sources of exposure to mercury. The research, which focuses on an urban immigrant community, examined risk factors that may be associated with elevated mercury levels, measured through urine and cord blood samples.

18 Feb 2012

Pregnant mothers who are vitamin D deficient raise risk of language difficulties in kids: Study

The Telethon Institute for Child Health Research study is the first to show low levels of the vitamin in utero can harm a child's language development, including the ability to pick up new words and string together sentences.

15 Feb 2012

Mass spectroscopy identifies total of 1,210 UCB proteins

Blood tests have been a mainstay of diagnostic medicine since the late 19th century, offering a wealth of information concerning health and disease. Nevertheless, blood derived from the human umbilical cord has yet to be fully mined for its vital health information, according to Rolf Halden, a researcher at Arizona State University's Biodesign Institute.

15 Feb 2012

Breast-fed children less likely to develop obesity

Children of diabetic pregnancies have a greater risk of childhood obesity, but new research from the Colorado School of Public Health shows breastfeeding can reduce this threat.

8 Feb 2012

Researchers derive vessel-forming stem cells from amniotic fluid

Researchers at Rice University and Texas Children's Hospital have turned stem cells from amniotic fluid into cells that form blood vessels. Their success offers hope that such stem cells may be used to grow tissue patches to repair infant hearts.

7 Feb 2012

Link between prenatal exposure to armed conflict and birth weight

A new study shows pregnant women exposed to armed conflict have a higher risk of giving birth to underweight babies, a result that could change the way aid is delivered to developing countries.

19 Jan 2012

Vaginal progesterone safe and effective in preventing preterm birth

Women with a short cervix should be treated with vaginal progesterone to prevent preterm birth, according to a landmark study by leading obstetricians around the world. Vaginal progesterone decreased the rate of preterm birth by 42%, and significantly reduced the rate of respiratory distress syndrome and the need for mechanical ventilation, as well as a composite of several complications of premature newborns.

15 Dec 2011

Prenatal exposure to valproate may increase risk of autism in children

Investigators in a population-based study in Denmark reporting today at the American Epilepsy Society's 65th annual meeting have found there is an increased risk of autism spectrum disorder and childhood autism in children born of mothers who are exposed to the anticonvulsant valproate during pregnancy.

6 Dec 2011

Scientists use genetic methods to successfully repair cleft lips in mice embryos

Scientists at Weill Cornell Medical College used genetic methods to successfully repair cleft lips in mice embryos specially engineered for the study of cleft lip and cleft palate. The research breakthrough may show the way to prevent or treat the conditions in humans.

29 Nov 2011

Functional MRI can detect pathological foetal brain defects earlier in the womb

A team of researchers at the MedUni's Clinical Department of Neuroradiology and Musculoskeletal Radiology has demonstrated for the first time ever that there are foetal brain developments that can be measured using functional magnetic resonance tomography in the womb.

24 Nov 2011

Viewpoints: Blame for super committee mess, Supreme Court recusal is the judges' call

What's clear is that committee Democrats moved awfully far in the name of compromise. They offered more in Medicare cuts than Simpson-Bowles did - or than Obama did with Boehner, for that matter - and accepted less in the way of tax increases than those two proposals. For their part, Republicans moved off their position of complete intransigence on taxes. Then they refused to budge.

24 Nov 2011

New animal research finds life experiences influence brain development, behavior

Scientists presented new research today demonstrating the impact life experiences can have on genes and behavior. The studies examine how such environmental information can be transmitted from one generation to the next - a phenomenon known as epigenetics.

15 Nov 2011

Longer looks: Do extra brain cells offer a clue to autism?; doctors leaving medicine

There's growing evidence that the brains of autistic children are very different from the brains of other youngsters. Now a new study that found an excess of brain cells in children with autism comes closer to pinpointing the origins of the condition: in utero versus in toddlerhood. In research reported in the Journal of the American Medical Association (JAMA), scientists at the University of California, San Diego, found that autistic children have about 67% more nerve cells in a part of the brain known as the prefrontal cortex than children without autism.

11 Nov 2011

Tufts University professor earns March of Dimes Foundation award for tissue development

A new approach to studying tissue development has earned Catherine K. Kuo, Ph.D., an assistant professor of biomedical engineering in Tufts University's School of Engineering, the Basil O'Connor Starter Scholar Award from the March of Dimes Foundation.

9 Nov 2011

Study reveals need for defining optimal amount of iron in infant formula

A 10-year follow-up study examining iron-fortified vs. low-iron infant formula suggests that infants with high hemoglobin levels who received iron fortified infant formula have poorer long-term developmental outcomes.

9 Nov 2011

Researchers discover biomarker for earlier diagnosis of MS

Researchers from the Department of Neurology at NYU Langone Medical Center identified for the first time that changes in the tissue located at the junction between the outer and inner layers of the brain, called "blurring", may be an important, non-invasive biomarker for earlier diagnosis and the development of new therapies for degenerative brain conditions, such as multiple sclerosis.

1 Nov 2011

Gestational BPA exposure associated with behavior, emotional problems in young girls

Exposure in the womb to bisphenol A (BPA) - a chemical used to make plastic containers and other consumer goods - is associated with behavior and emotional problems in young girls, according to a study led by researchers at Harvard School of Public Health (HSPH), Cincinnati Children's Hospital and Medical Center, and Simon Fraser University in Vancouver, British Columbia.

24 Oct 2011

Diethylstilbestrol in utero affects immune system of the fetus

A synthetic estrogen — diethylstilbestrol (DES), prescribed to women in the 1940s, 1950s, and 1960s to prevent miscarriages, had serious, untoward effects in daughters of these women, including the development of a rare type of cancer of the uterus.

11 Oct 2011