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Cerebellar structural changes influence social behavior in autism

Researchers at Kanazawa University have identified a previously unrecognized mechanism by which structural changes in the cerebellum influence social behavior.

12 Jun 2026

New vascularized grafts may improve bladder surgery for children

Can growing blood vessels within a lab-engineered graft improve bladder reconstruction for children? For more than two decades, UC Davis pediatric urologic surgeon Eric Kurzrock has been developing and testing grafts to avoid the complications after standard enterocystoplasty, a surgery for bladder augmentation.

12 Jun 2026

Newborn upper lip frenulum unlikely causes breastfeeding difficulties

A joint study by the University of Oulu and Oulu University Hospital suggests that a newborn's upper lip frenulum is unlikely to be a major cause of breastfeeding difficulties.

12 Jun 2026

No link between cat ownership and asthma flare-ups in children

A study of over 30,000 children reveals no link between cat exposure and asthma outcomes, challenging previous concerns about pet ownership and asthma control.

12 Jun 2026

Moderate screen time post concussion may help teens recover faster

New research indicates that balanced screen use after a concussion can accelerate recovery in youth, suggesting a 'Goldilocks' approach to screen time.

12 Jun 2026

Comprehensive food regulations lower obesity risk among children

Chile's complementary set of policies targeting food products high in fat, salt and sugar plausibly reduces the risk of school age children being overweight or having obesity, finds a study published in The Lancet.

11 Jun 2026

Study supports atropine drops for managing childhood short-sightedness

Low concentration atropine eye drops are a safe and effective treatment for short-sightedness (myopia) in UK children, although the effects are small, suggests a clinical trial published by The BMJ today.

11 Jun 2026

Childhood lead exposure declines but disparities persist nationwide

Blood lead levels in young children in the United States declined in the last decade, but state data reveal that children of color and children from low-wealth families are still exposed to higher levels of lead, according to a new study in the American Journal of Public Health.

11 Jun 2026

Boston Children's joins landmark initiative to advance autism therapies

Boston Children's Hospital has been awarded up to $17.25 million to serve as a participating site within the Innovative Medicine and Precision Approaches to Clinical Trials (IMPACT) Network, an international effort funded through Aligning Research to Impact Autism (ARIA).

11 Jun 2026

Increased stress, reduced sleep alter brain structure and function in children

A new study suggests that variables linked to socioeconomic status (SES) – such as increased stress and reduced sleep – have strong relationships to brain structure and function in children.

11 Jun 2026

Texas Children’s Hospital and Baylor researcher joins ARIA IMPACT Network to advance autism therapies

Dr. Jimmy Holder, associate professor in pediatrics at Baylor College of Medicine and Principal investigator at the Jan and Dan Duncan Neurological Research Institute at Texas Children's Hospital, and his team have received a grant for up to $17.25 million from Aligning Research to Impact Autism (ARIA) to become a part of the Innovative Medicine and Precision Approaches to Clinical Trials (IMPACT) Network.

11 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

Teenage risk-taking linked to lower baseline dopamine levels

Teenage risk-taking, such as experimentation with alcohol, cannabis, nicotine and other substances, may reflect a compensatory response to lower baseline dopamine, the brain chemical for reward activity, suggests a new University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine study, published today in Nature Communications.

11 Jun 2026

First-in-the-world gene therapy delivers missing gene directly to infant’s brain, marking historic milestone in precision medicine

An eight-month-old baby from Israel has become the first human ever to receive an experimental gene therapy designed to replace a missing gene responsible for a devastating neurological disease that until now offered no hope of survival.

11 Jun 2026

Physical punishment linked to detrimental childhood outcomes, UCL researchers warn

Hitting children (often referred to as smacking) by parents or caregivers as a form of punishment is linked to behavioral problems and worse exam results and should be prohibited in England and Northern Ireland as soon as possible, UCL researchers say.

11 Jun 2026

Western diet weakens the gut’s nervous system through iron-dependent damage

A JCI study found that exposure to a Western diet in mice and to palmitic acid in murine and ex vivo human enteric nervous system models triggered ferroptosis, characterized by iron loading, lipid peroxidation, mitochondrial stress, and enteric neuronal loss. Boosting Nrf2 signaling protected enteric neurons and prevented Western diet-induced delayed colonic transit in mice, pointing to a potential pathway linking dietary fat exposure to gut motility dysfunction.

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

Living with cats does not worsen childhood asthma outcomes

Children with asthma and allergies who live with one or more cats do not experience worse asthma outcomes than children without cats at home.

10 Jun 2026

European study connects youth mental health to economic parity

Xabi Martinez-Mendia, a researcher at the EHU-University of the Basque Country, has analysed how adolescent psychotropic drug consumption is linked to gender inequality and economic factors in 32 European countries.

10 Jun 2026