News & Updates

Researchers at the National Institutes of Health are uncovering clues on how the brain and nervous system functions—from an unlikely source. NICHD neuroscientist Mark A. Stopher, Ph.D., studies locusts and other insects to gain insights into the workings of the human nervous system. Dr. Stopfer is an investigator in the NICHD’s Unit on Sensory Coding and Neural Ensembles.

NIH-funded study finds primary risk of obesity among children who enter kindergarten overweight.

Dr. Robert E. Cooke, a member of the Presidential Task Force that laid the groundwork for the founding of the NICHD, died at his home on Martha’s Vineyard on February 2. He was 93 years old.

NICHD Research Developments podcast with Dr. Bruce Simons-Morton.

Twenty percent of children in the United States grow up in rural communities, often experiencing higher rates of poverty and geographic isolation. Poverty is known to be stressful for young children and is associated with poor developmental outcomes. These effects can start to appear as early as 15 months of age. But the how and why—what scientists call the “mechanisms”—that lead to these poor outcomes have remained largely unknown.

Ten projects that will enable non-government researchers to conduct clinical research at the National Institutes of Health’s Clinical Center in Bethesda, Md. were announced today.

Two surgical treatments for a form of pelvic hernia affecting women have similar rates of success and safety, scientists in a National Institutes of Health research network have found. A guided exercise therapy to strengthen pelvic muscles did not add to the benefits of either surgery.

NIH funded study finds protection from stress reduces health problems.

During Trisomy Awareness Month in March, the NICHD joins other organizations to raise awareness about trisomy conditions and the challenges they can pose to individuals and families.

Women whose male partners have high concentrations of three common forms of phthalates, chemicals found in a wide range of consumer products, take longer to become pregnant than women in couples in which the male does not have high concentrations of the chemicals, according to researchers at the National Institutes of Health and other institutions.

Mutations in a gene containing part of the information needed to make an enzyme that provides energy for governing basic cell functions appear to contribute to a severe form of Cushing’s syndrome, according to researchers at the National Institutes of Health and nine European research institutions.

The NIH Down Syndrome Working Group, formed in 2006 and led by the NICHD, aims to coordinate ongoing and new research related to Down syndrome across the NIH.

Young parents in poverty are disproportionately affected by stress.

Recently, NICHD Director Alan E. Guttmacher, M.D., appeared on C-SPAN’s “Washington Journal,” along with 3 other NIH Institute Directors. Dr. Guttmacher and his colleagues and provided background on their respective Institutes, reported on new research findings, and took calls from viewers.

On February 28, the NIH observes Rare Disease Day to raise awareness of the approximately 7,000 rare diseases in the United States. The day is an opportunity to recognize how rare diseases affect those who have them, and to emphasize the importance of research to improve diagnosis and treatment.

Nearly half of adolescents who have had HIV since birth may be at increased risk for cardiovascular disease — including heart attack and stroke — later in life, according to a National Institutes of Health network study.

This February marks the 20th anniversary of the results of Pediatric AIDS Clinical Trials Group Protocol 076—the first study to show that drug therapy could reduce the risk of mother-to-child transmission of HIV/AIDS. The NICHD and the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID) co-funded this study.

The NICHD has joined with Spelman College in support of the Wellness Revolution Summit 2014: Power UP! at the college on Thursday, February 6.

More than 30 percent of young males who had sex with other males and who were subsequently enrolled in a government treatment and research network were found to have high levels of HIV, reported researchers from the National Institutes of Health and other institutions.