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Early screen time may impact subsequent academic performance and working memory

The World Health Organization (WHO) and the American Academy of Pediatrics recommend no screen time before 18-24 months and less than one hour per day for children ages 2 to 5.

22 Jun 2026

Gene therapy successfully treats deadly childhood liver disease in mice

A new gene therapy has been used to successfully treat a deadly childhood liver disease using mice that model this disease by researchers at UCL and Great Ormond Street Hospital.

19 Jun 2026

Nursery videos effectively educate first-time fathers on infant care

Brief videos shown in the hospital newborn nursery may be an effective way to educate first-time fathers on infant care topics, such as safe sleep, infant crying and car safety, according to a pilot study published in the journal Pediatrics Open Science.

19 Jun 2026

Study maps biological pathways of weed killer during pregnancy

Exposure to glyphosate, the active ingredient in many weed killers, was linked to changes in several hormones that support pregnancy and fetal development-in one of the few studies to examine how a widely used herbicide may affect the body during pregnancy. The results come from a new study led by University of Michigan School of Public Health researchers.

16 Jun 2026

Weight-loss surgery for obese teens found to be cost-effective over 10 years

Metabolic and bariatric surgery for teens with severe obesity was found to be cost-effective over 10 years, according to the new analysis from Ann & Robert H. Lurie Children's Hospital of Chicago published in JAMA Network Open.

15 Jun 2026

New poll reveals how politics reshaped trust in U.S. public health

A Harvard Chan/de Beaumont national poll of 2,205 U.S. adults found CDC trust dropped to 50% one year into new federal public health leadership, while state and local health agencies remained more trusted.

14 Jun 2026

High social media use increases mental health risks for adolescents

Adolescents who spend at least two hours a day on social media are more likely to experience depressive symptoms and poorer wellbeing, with the strongest effects in early adolescence, according to new research.

11 Jun 2026

Global warming increases childhood stunting rates in poor communities

In 2022, about 149 million children under age five worldwide suffered from childhood stunting. A critical marker of chronic undernutrition, stunting is more than a metric of physical height.

11 Jun 2026

Low-methionine diet shows promise against aggressive brain tumors

An unexpected lab observation led a team of scientists to discover how diet can influence survival in animal models of glioma, one of the most aggressive and deadly forms of brain cancer.

10 Jun 2026

New study maps early genetic disruptions in Rett syndrome

To better understand what drives the emergence of symptoms in Rett syndrome, researchers at Baylor College of Medicine and the Duncan Neurological Research Institute (Duncan NRI) at Texas Children's Hospital took a closer look at brain cells in mice modeling Rett syndrome before symptoms appeared.

10 Jun 2026

NIH awards $1 million five-year grant to study the genetics of cataracts in children

Jennifer Rossen, MD, a pediatric ophthalmologist at Ann & Robert H. Lurie Children's Hospital of Chicago, recently received a $1 million five-year grant from the National Institutes of Health/National Eye Institute (NIH/NEI) to study the genetics of cataracts in children.

10 Jun 2026

Fertility challenges may influence children's behavioral and developmental outcomes

Difficulty conceiving a pregnancy may be associated with small differences in children's learning and behavior, according to a new study funded by the Environmental influences on Child Health Outcomes (ECHO) Program at the National Institutes of Health (NIH).

9 Jun 2026

Moderate alcohol consumption linked to premature death and chronic illness

Even what many Americans consider moderate drinking is linked to an increased risk of death, disability, and chronic diseases such as cancer and heart disease, according to a new study published in the Journal of Studies on Alcohol and Drugs.

9 Jun 2026

Early egg introduction reduces childhood allergy rates in Australia

Australian guidelines recommending egg be introduced into a child's diet in the first year of life has seen the number of children with egg allergy drop by 17 per cent, researchers have found.

8 Jun 2026

Father's alcohol use before conception impacts offspring development

A growing body of research suggests that a father's health before conception may play a larger role in child development than previously understood - and researchers are working to understand how a father's drinking before conception may affect offspring health and development.

8 Jun 2026

Children facing food insecurity show distinct gut microbiomes

Food insecurity may leave a measurable biological signature in the gut microbiome of children, according to new research presented at ASM Microbe 2026.

7 Jun 2026

Noninvasive technology detects early intestinal disease in premature infants

A new noninvasive technology, called broadband optical spectroscopy (BOS), has promise to reliably detect necrotizing enterocolitis (NEC) in premature infants at earlier stages, before this devastating intestinal disease progresses enough to be visible on x-ray, according to a first-in-human study from Ann & Robert H. Lurie Children's Hospital of Chicago published in the Journal of Pediatric Surgery.

5 Jun 2026

Large clinical trial shows both common septic shock fluids are equal

A randomized clinical trial conducted across five countries in 47 pediatric emergency departments, including Ann & Robert H. Lurie Children's Hospital in Chicago, established that both commonly used IV fluids for treating septic shock – balanced crystalloid fluid and 0.9% saline – are equally safe and effective. Results were published in the New England Journal of Medicine.

5 Jun 2026

Fatherhood linked to lower mortality risk among Black men

Fatherhood in Black men is associated with lower rates of all-cause mortality by middle age compared to nonfathers, according to the U.S.-based longitudinal study that enrolled Black and White individuals aged 18-30 years at baseline (1985-86).

4 Jun 2026

Fathers' health may shape children's future obesity ris

As obesity rates rise across the U.S., new research from Joe C. Wen School of Population & Public Health at the University of California, Irvine scientists draws attention to an often-overlooked factor in children's long-term health: fathers.

4 Jun 2026