Birth Defects News and Research

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Mechanical pressure revealed as key factor in embryonic organ formation

A collaboration between research groups at the University of California, TU Dresden in Germany and Cedars-Sinai Guerin Children's in Los Angeles has identified a mechanism by which embryonic cells organize themselves to send signals to surrounding cells, telling them where to go and what to do.

3 Apr 2024

Researchers discover diverse and spatially coordinated cardiac cells involved in heart development

Researchers use a combination of scRNA-seq and multiplexed error-robust fluorescence in situ hybridization to better understand cardiac cell types.

13 Mar 2024

New method simplifies production of limb progenitor cells from fibroblasts

In a collaborative study, researchers from Kyushu University and Harvard Medical School have identified proteins that can turn or "reprogram" fibroblasts -; the most commonly found cells in skin and connective tissue -; into cells with similar properties to limb progenitor cells.

4 Mar 2024

Zika vaccine shows promise for protecting fetuses when administered during pregnancy

A vaccine against Zika virus is safe and effective when administered both before and during pregnancy, according to new research published in npj Vaccines.

4 Mar 2024

Research identifies genetic change associated with human tail loss

A genetic change in our ancient ancestors may partly explain why humans don't have tails like monkeys, finds a new study led by researchers at NYU Grossman School of Medicine.

28 Feb 2024

Researchers discover protein key to toxoplasmosis pathogen multiplication

Researchers have identified a protein that evolved concurrently with the emergence of cellular compartments crucial for the multiplication of the toxoplasmosis pathogen.

16 Feb 2024

Study links Agent Orange exposure to neurodegenerative diseases

Agent Orange, an herbicide used during the Vietnam War, is a known toxin with wide-ranging health effects.

14 Feb 2024

Promising new CMV vaccine shows stronger immune response

An experimental mRNA vaccine against human cytomegalovirus (CMV), a common virus that can infect babies during pregnancy, elicited some of the most promising immune responses to date of any CMV vaccine candidate, according to a study by Weill Cornell Medicine investigators.

12 Feb 2024

DDT exposure found to alter sperm epigenome in humans

In a study that signals potential reproductive and health complications in humans, now and for future generations, researchers from McGill University, the University of Pretoria, Université Laval, Aarhus University, and the University of Copenhagen, have concluded that fathers exposed to environmental toxins, notably DDT, may produce sperm with health consequences for their children.

9 Feb 2024

Experimental mRNA vaccine against CMV elicits promising immune responses

7 Feb 2024

Surge in syphilis cases leads some providers to ration penicillin

When Stephen Miller left his primary care practice to work in public health a little under two years ago, he said, he was shocked by how many cases of syphilis the clinic was treating.

1 Feb 2024

Preterm babies at higher risk of long-term neurodevelopmental issues, study finds

Children born moderately (32-33 weeks) or late preterm (34-36 weeks) have higher long-term risks of neurodevelopmental difficulties that can affect their behavior and ability to learn, finds a study of over one million children published by The BMJ today.

24 Jan 2024

New study unlocks secrets to preventing birth defects

Cleft lip and palate are the most common craniofacial birth defects in humans, affecting more than 175,000 newborns around the world each year.

22 Jan 2024

Zika virus effective in eliminating neuroblastoma tumors in mice, study finds

Injecting neuroblastoma tumors with Zika virus shrank or eliminated those tumors in studies with mice, suggesting that the virus could someday serve as an effective cancer therapy, according to a study led by Nemours Children's Health researchers and published today in Cancer Research Communications, a journal of the American Association for Cancer Research.

9 Jan 2024

UW-Madison technology unveils autism gene's impact on early brain structure

Technology developed at the University of Wisconsin–Madison to grow "rosettes" of brain and spinal tissue gives scientists new ways to study the growing human brain, including a recent study of how genetic mutations linked to autism affect early stages of human brain development.

20 Dec 2023

Socioeconomic barriers hinder prenatal diagnosis of congenital heart defects

Prenatal diagnosis of congenital heart defects – the most common birth defects in the United States – is associated with improved outcomes.

18 Dec 2023

Hemoglobin-like protein plays an important role in the development of the heart, study finds

In a landmark study led by the University of Maryland School of Medicine, researchers discovered for the first time that a certain kind of protein similar to hemoglobin, called cytoglobin, plays an important role in the development of the heart.

15 Dec 2023

Paternal alcohol consumption prior to conception can have a negative effect on fetal development

Researchers at Texas A&M University have already shown that paternal drinking habits prior to conception can have a negative effect on fetal development -; with semen from men who regularly consume alcohol impacting placenta development, fetal alcohol syndrome (FAS)-associated brain and facial defects, and even IVF outcomes.

13 Dec 2023

Study reveals how maternal diabetes affects birth defects at the single-cell level

The mechanisms by which maternal diabetes mellitus contributes to congenital abnormalities in the fetus.

4 Dec 2023

Scientists uncover cellular cause of heart defects in babies born to women with diabetes

When women with diabetes become pregnant, they face not only the typical challenges of pregnancy and impending parenthood, but also a scary statistic: they're five times more likely to have a baby with a congenital heart defect.

30 Nov 2023