News & Updates

New findings in zebrafish help explain how the brain filters information from the environment and may improve our understanding of neurological disorders.

Sequencing the fetal DNA that circulates in a pregnant woman’s blood holds promise for modern genomic medicine, according to a review article by NICHD Director Diana W. Bianchi, M.D., and a colleague. Fetal DNA sequencing improves the accuracy of prenatal screening tests for genetic conditions and at times has led to the diagnosis of maternal conditions that may have otherwise gone undetected.

NICHD researchers find that sexual minority men are more likely to have lived in three or more different places in the past year.

The study seeks to determine if exposure poses a risk for neural tube defects.

A protein found only in mouse embryos and not in adult mice is important for fetal neurodevelopment, according to NICHD researchers.

To reach their adult proportions, bones mature on separate time scales, with the long bones like those in the arms and legs maturing much more slowly than shorter bones, like those in the fingers and toes, according to a study by researchers at the National Institutes of Health. The study results may lead to new insights and potential treatments for disorders in which bones fail to grow normally.

Dr. Enrique Schisterman, Chief of the Epidemiology Branch shares his personal struggle with infertility, which led him to dedicate a research career focusing on ways to help couples boost fertility.

The vacuole, a compartment inside human red blood cells in which malaria parasites reproduce and develop, takes on a distinct spherical shape just minutes before its membrane ruptures, leading to the release of parasites into the blood stream, according to researchers at the National Institutes of Health and other institutions.

Teen drivers are more likely to be involved in a collision or near miss during the first three months after getting a driver’s license, compared to the previous three months on a learner’s permit.

The findings suggest new ways to treat long-term pain without opioids.

New findings raise the concern that Zika virus-associated pregnancy loss in people may be more common than currently thought.

As part of NICHD’s continued partnership with the Kappa Alpha Psi Fraternity®, Inc., the NICHD-led Safe to Sleep® campaign recently launched a mini-grant program to support fraternity members in conducting safe infant sleep outreach. The mini-grants will enable Kappa members to lead and host activities in their communities, where they can share safe infant sleep messages in culturally sensitive ways.

Siblings who feel close to each other in childhood are more likely to achieve similar levels of education, according to an analysis of a study funded by the Eunice Kennedy Shriver National Institute of Child Health and Human Development.

New trans-NIH INCLUDE Project will focus on improving the health and well-being of people with Down syndrome, while also studying risk and resilience factors for common diseases, such as Alzheimer’s disease and cancer.

Research supported by the National Institutes of Health finds that giving children intravenous (IV) fluids to treat diabetic ketoacidosis—an emergency complication of untreated diabetes—does not appear to worsen the brain swelling that may accompany the condition.

The National Institutes of Health has formed the Trans-NIH Pediatric Research Consortium to coordinate pediatric research programs across its institutes and centers. Nearly all of the 27 NIH institutes and centers fund some aspects of child health research. In fiscal year 2017, this support totaled more than $4 billion. The new consortium aims to harmonize these activities, explore gaps and opportunities in the overall pediatric research portfolio, and set priorities.

The Gynecologic Health and Disease Branch recently published its scientific vision. The document summarizes its research themes, which provide direction for future research.

Women in early pregnancy who have high levels of a certain thyroid hormone may be at greater risk for gestational diabetes, compared to women who have normal levels of the hormone, according to researchers at the National Institutes of Health. Their study appears in the Journal of Clinical Endocrinology and Metabolism.

Findings from the mouse study offer clues on myelin-related diseases that impair the nervous system in people.

Among women planning to conceive after a pregnancy loss, those who had sufficient levels of vitamin D were more likely to become pregnant and have a live birth, compared to women with insufficient levels of the vitamin, according to an analysis by researchers at the National Institutes of Health.