News

NICHD podcasts provide a window into research that goes beyond descriptions in news releases. Learn about NICHD research and what the findings might mean for you, your family, and your community. Here's a round-up of some recent podcasts.

Researchers publishing in Science have found that disadvantaged children who attended a high-quality early childhood development program had, on average, become much healthier adults than those without the benefit of such a program.

NICHD Director Dr. Alan Guttmacher sat down recently with Dr. Janine Clayton, Director of NIH’s Office of Research on Women’s Health, to discuss advances in women’s health research and possible future directions.

The NICHD spent the last month highlighting important information about infertility.

Conversation between Rebecca Lazeration and three NICHD researchers who are working to advance the field of reproduction science.

The hormone oxytocin appears to increase social behaviors in newborn rhesus monkeys, according to a study by researchers at the National Institutes of Health, the University of Parma in Italy, and the University of Massachusetts Amherst. The findings indicate that oxytocin is a promising candidate for new treatments for developmental disorders affecting social skills and bonding.

Check out our infographic to learn the facts, and share it to spread the word.

NIH-funded analysis identifies patterns of nicotine use across generations.

Child abuse and neglect are serious problems in the United States, with an estimated 679,000 victims in 2012, according to the Administration for Children and Families (ACF). The NICHD is working to understand and prevent child abuse and neglect through federal partnerships and research support.

The National Institute on Minority Health and Health Disparities (NIMHD) announced today the appointment of Dr. Yvonne T. Maddox, Ph.D., as NIMHD's acting director. This appointment follows Dr. John Ruffin's announcement last month of his retirement from federal service and as director of NIMHD after 24 years.

A variant in a gene active in cells of the ovary may lead to the overproduction of androgens—male hormones similar to testosterone— occurring in women with polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS), according to scientists funded by the National Institutes of Health. The discovery may provide information to develop a test to diagnose women at risk for PCOS and also for the development of a treatment for the condition.

NIH funded study shows mothers breastfeed longer after consultant visits.

NIH-funded study finds low birthweight could reduce overall effectiveness of drug treatments.

Endometriosis is a condition in which a type of tissue called the endometrium, which normally lines a woman’s uterus, grows elsewhere in her pelvic cavity. These growths of endometrial tissue are called “implants,” “nodules,” or “lesions” and may be found on a woman’s ovaries, fallopian tubes, bowel, bladder, or other locations.

For National Infertility Awareness Week, this April 20–26, the NICHD joins the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services Office on Women’s Health (OWH), the American Society for Reproductive Medicine (ASRM), and RESOLVE: The National Infertility Organization for a Twitter chat on infertility.

A daily low dose of aspirin does not appear to prevent subsequent pregnancy loss among women with a history of one or two prior pregnancy losses, according to researchers at the National Institutes of Health.

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.