The mouse X chromosome contains two amplicons—regions in which a single gene is copied multiple times—that appear to control male fertility and offspring sex ratios, an NIH-funded study suggests. The findings could provide insight into male infertility among humans.
News
NICHD issues News Releases and Media Advisories to the news media. Spotlight and Research Feature articles explain NICHD research findings and public health issues to the general public. An Item of Interest is a short announcement of relevant information, such as a notable staff change.
Item of Interest: Joint study finds safe infant sleep practices need improvement
A study from federal researchers shows that information about ways to reduce the risk of sleep-related infant deaths is not reaching all caregivers or healthcare providers.
Science Update: High stress level may delay pregnancy in women with prior pregnancy loss, NICHD study suggests
Feeling stressed was linked to lower chances of ovulation, conception, and pregnancy among women who had earlier experienced a pregnancy loss, according to an analysis by researchers at the NICHD.
Science Update: Parents’ early adversity may affect offspring health, NIH-funded animal study suggests
Early life adversity among female baboons is directly linked to lower survival rates for their offspring, suggests an analysis funded by the National Institutes of Health. The study includes 45 years of data from a wild baboon population and overcomes a limitation of analyses of human populations, which have had difficulty distinguishing environmental effects on parents from environmental effects on children.
Media Advisory: High lead levels during pregnancy linked to child obesity, NIH-funded study suggests
Children born to women who have high blood levels of lead are more likely be overweight or obese, compared to those whose mothers have low levels of lead in their blood, according to a study funded by the National Institutes of Health and Health Resources and Services Administration.
Science Update: Researchers determine function of important Legionnaires’ protein
A protein essential for the survival of the bacterium that causes Legionnaires' disease works by stealing iron from the host cells it infects, according to a study by researchers from the National Institutes of Health and other institutions. Their findings may provide information useful for designing new drug treatments for Legionnaires’ disease.
Science Update: Sleeping position during early and mid pregnancy does not affect risk of complications, NIH-funded study suggests
Sleeping on the back or side through the 30th week of pregnancy does not appear to increase the risk of stillbirth, reduced size at birth, or high blood pressure disorders of pregnancy, suggests an analysis funded by the NICHD.
Release: NICHD strategic plan sets priorities for research on pregnancy, child health and human development
NICHD releases a strategic plan outlining its research priorities for the next 5 years.
Release: Surgery may benefit women with two types of urinary incontinence
Surgery for stress urinary incontinence improves symptoms of another form of incontinence, called urgency urinary incontinence, in women who have both types, according to a study supported by NIH.
Release: Mesh implants have similar outcomes to hysterectomy for vaginal prolapse repair
Two surgical procedures used to correct vaginal prolapse—one to remove the uterus and one that supports the uterus with mesh—have comparable three-year outcomes.
Media Advisory: NIH-funded study suggests teen girl ‘night owls’ may be more likely to gain weight
Teen girls—but not boys—who prefer to go to bed later are more likely to gain weight, compared to same-age girls who go to bed earlier, suggests a study funded by the National Institutes of Health.
Science Update: Differences in fatty acid metabolism as early as the first trimester may provide insight into gestational diabetes risk, NIH study suggests
Blood levels of omega-6 fatty acids produced in the body could influence the likelihood of developing gestational diabetes, suggests a study by researchers at the National Institutes of Health and other institutions. However, the researchers found no association with gestational diabetes from consuming foods containing omega-6 fatty acids, such as vegetable oils, nuts, and seeds.
Release: Higher air pollution exposure during second pregnancy may increase preterm birth risk, NIH study suggests
Pregnant women who are exposed to higher air pollution levels during their second pregnancy, compared to their first one, may be at greater risk of preterm birth, according to researchers at the National Institutes of Health.
Media Advisory: Prolonged antibiotic treatment may alter preterm infants’ microbiome
Treating preterm infants with antibiotics for more than 20 months appears to promote the development of multidrug-resistant gut bacteria, suggests a study funded by the National Institutes of Health. The research appears in Nature Microbiology.
Media Advisory: NIH scientists call for coordinated research to improve pregnancy-related health in the United States
Improved data reporting among the factors critical to reducing life-threatening complications of pregnancy and childbirth
Spotlight: Women in Science: Mary Dasso Balances Passion and Practicality in Research
NICHD researcher Mary Dasso, Ph.D., considers herself to have been lucky at many points in her
career. But luck alone cannot account for her success as a principal investigator and program leader. Read about her
career over the decades.
Release: NICHD appoints Alison Cernich, a leader in medical rehabilitation research, as deputy director
After a nationwide search, Alison Cernich, Ph.D., has been selected as deputy director of the Eunice Kennedy Shriver National Institute of Child Health and Human Development (NICHD), part of the National Institutes of Health. Since 2015, Dr. Cernich has served as the director of NICHD’s National Center for Medical Rehabilitation Research.
Science Update: Fragile X carriers may be at higher risk for several health conditions, NIH-funded study suggests
Carriers of the FMR1 premutation—a mutation in the gene associated with the developmental disorder Fragile X syndrome—may have a higher risk for several health conditions, according to an analysis funded by the National Institutes of Health.
Science Update: Naltrexone could hold promise for treating opioid use disorder during pregnancy, NICHD-funded study suggests
Infants born to mothers taking the drug naltrexone to treat opioid use disorder showed no signs of drug withdrawal and had shorter hospital stays than infants born to mothers undergoing the standard treatment, according to a small study funded by the Eunice Kennedy Shriver National Institute of Child Health and Human Development.
Science Update: Air pollutants may increase risk of pregnancy-related blood pressure disorders, NIH study suggests
Exposure to high levels of certain common air pollutants in early pregnancy may increase the risk of pregnancy-induced high blood pressure, suggests an analysis by researchers at the Eunice Kennedy Shriver National Institute of Child Health and Human Development. In addition, exposure to a class of air pollutants known as volatile organic compounds in mid-pregnancy may increase the risk for preeclampsia, a potentially fatal disorder of pregnancy affecting blood pressure and kidney function.