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New Cochrane review highlights gaps in newborn pain assessment tools

A newly-published Cochrane review reveals significant gaps in the clinical rating scales used to assess pain in newborn babies, highlighting the urgent need for improved tools and global collaboration.

14 Apr 2025

Kids don’t learn to cook just by watching parents, study shows

Children do not appear to develop cooking skills merely by observing their parents’ food skills, even when those skills are high. Instead, early active involvement in meal preparation may be key to building lasting cooking abilities.

13 Apr 2025

Adolescent obesity in England rises by 50% over 15 years

New research to be presented at this year's European Congress on Obesity (ECO 2025, Malaga, Spain, 11-14 May) shows that the proportion of adolescents living with overweight or obesity in England has increased by 50% from 2008-2010 (22%) to 2021-2023 (33%).

12 Apr 2025

Study: Over 3 million children died in 2022 due to drug-resistant infections

A landmark study presented today at ESCMID Global 2025 has revealed that over 3 million children worldwide lost their lives in 2022 due to antimicrobial resistance (AMR)-related infections.

12 Apr 2025

Children's faces may reveal hidden gender bias

New research recently published in Archives of Sexual Behavior suggests children's gender biases can be reflected in their facial emotional expressions.

11 Apr 2025

Study highlights link between childhood maltreatment and parental empathy

Childhood maltreatment (CM) is a complex issue that is often passed on through generations. Studies have shown that parents who were abused as children may perpetuate a similar pattern of mistreating their children, creating a vicious cycle of abuse.

11 Apr 2025

ChatGPT improves exercise for neurodivergent kids

A University of Michigan research team has used AI to help deliver exercise "snacks" to kids with autism.

11 Apr 2025

Exploring the complex association between anemia and retinopathy of prematurity

Anemia is a common condition in premature infants, particularly those at risk for retinopathy of prematurity (ROP).

10 Apr 2025

Six early life factors found to influence obesity risk in South Asian children

Researchers at McMaster University have identified six key factors in the first three years of life that influence the trajectory of obesity in South Asian children.

10 Apr 2025

Eye tracking reveals untapped potential in individuals with multiple disabilities

Using eye-tracking - a technique for recording and analysing eye movements - a team from the University of Geneva (UNIGE) has shown that individuals with multiple disabilities can improve their social and emotional skills.

10 Apr 2025

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

Eating ultra-processed foods may rewire your brain’s hunger and reward circuits

High intake of ultra-processed foods is linked to adverse metabolic health and microstructural brain changes in regions that control appetite and reward. These effects occur both through obesity-related pathways and independently via inflammation and dyslipidemia.

9 Apr 2025

Early-life ozone exposure linked to increased risk of childhood asthma and wheezing

Researchers investigate the impact of early-life ozone exposure on asthma and wheezing in children alone and in combination with other air pollutants.

9 Apr 2025

How preschool in Japan shaped teen choices decades later

Researchers explored the long-term effects of preschool expansion in Japan in the 1960s, revealing significant reductions in risky behaviors amongst teenagers. By analyzing regional differences in the rollout of the program, the study identified links between early childhood education and lower rates of juvenile violent arrests and teenage pregnancy.

9 Apr 2025

Can nature-based therapies heal people and the planet? Study investigates holistic solutions

Researchers at Swansea University have developed a protocol for a scoping review to explore how nature-based interventions influence individual, collective, and planetary well-being.

9 Apr 2025

Children with potential ASD show preference for predictable movements

Children with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) often experience social communication impairments and engage in restricted and repetitive behaviors (RRBs).

8 Apr 2025

Your season of conception could shape your body’s calorie-burning ability

Being conceived in colder months may enhance your body’s ability to burn calories throughout life. A new study shows cold-season conception is linked to more active brown fat and greater energy expenditure in adulthood.

8 Apr 2025

Cannabis extract can improve behavior of children and teens with autism spectrum disorder

New research presented at the 2025 European Congress of Psychiatry reveals that the use of cannabidiol (CBD) cannabis extract can lead to meaningful benefits and improve the behavior of children and adolescents with autism spectrum disorder (ASD).

8 Apr 2025

Babies as young as three months can sense their own heartbeat

Body signals such as heartbeat and breathing accompany us constantly, often unnoticed as background noise of our perception. Even in the earliest years of life, these signals are important as they contribute to the development of self-awareness and identity. However, until know little has been known about whether and how babies can perceive their own body signals. A recent study from Wiener Kinderstudien Lab at the University of Vienna demonstrates for the first time that babies as young as 3 months can perceive their own heartbeat. In addition, the team, headed by researchers from the University of Vienna, together with colleagues from the University of Potsdam and Royal Holloway University of London, also investigated for the first-time infants' perception of their own breathing and found developments during the first two years of life. The results are now published in the prestigious journal eLife. The perception of internal body signals is closely linked to emotional awareness, mental health, and self-perception. Early in life the ability to perceive one's own body signals may be particularly important, as it often forms the basis for interactions with caregivers - for example babies rely on their caregivers to respond appropriately to signs of hunger or discomfort. Moreover, the development of self-awareness and identity partly depends on the perception and experience of one's own body. The study shows that even 3-month-old babies can perceive their own heartbeat and that this ability remains relatively stable during the first two years of life. At the same time, the findings indicate that the perception of breathing improves significantly during the second year. Interestingly, the ability to perceive the heartbeat and breathing does not appear to be related - much like in adults. Measuring body awareness in babies is challenging, as, unlike adults, you cannot simply rely on verbal report. Therefore, the research team used innovative methods by tracking the infants' eye movements as they watched child-friendly figures. These figures moved either in synchrony with the child's heartbeat or breathing, or with a slight time delay. Results showed that even at an early age, babies recognize the correspondence between their own heartbeat or breathing rhythm and the animated figures. They looked longer at the screen when the figures were in synchrony than when they were delayed. "The babies must have recognized that the figures moved simultaneously with their heartbeat or breathing, and then they paid more attention," said the study's lead author, Markus Tünte from the University of Vienna. These findings open up exciting perspectives for future developmental psychology research. In particular, it is important to explore how early body awareness relates to the development of emotional and social skills, as well as the role parents play in shaping early body perception. In the long term, such research could be used to promote healthy body awareness and, consequently, the mental health of children.

8 Apr 2025

Poor dietary habits in adolescence associated with social media overuse

Poor dietary habits in adolescence – lots of sweets, sugary drinks or skipping breakfast – is directly linked to overusing social media, University of Queensland research has found.

7 Apr 2025