Study highlights fluid sexual orientation in many teens

At least one in five teenagers reports some change in sexual orientation during adolescence, according to new research from North Carolina State University, the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill and the University of Pittsburgh. “This work highlights the…

Exposure to Multiple Chemicals in Consumer Products During Early Pregnancy Is Related to Lower IQ in Children

Exposure during the first trimester of pregnancy to mixtures of suspected endocrine-disrupting chemicals found in consumer products is related to lower IQ in children by age 7, according to a study by researchers at the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai and Karlstad University, Sweden, published in Environment International in October. This study is among the first to look at prenatal suspected endocrine-disrupting chemical mixtures in relation to neurodevelopment.

Pacifier biosensor could help monitor newborn health

Wearable biosensors that non-invasively monitor health and fitness are growing in popularity among adults. But adapting this technology for use with babies is difficult because the devices are often bulky or have rigid surfaces that could harm infants’ delicate skin.…

Mount Sinai Awarded $25 Million to Study the Environment’s Influence on People’s Health Throughout Their Lifetimes

Three world-renowned environmental health researchers from the Institute for Exposomic Research at Mount Sinai have been awarded grants worth a total of $25 million from the National Institutes of Health (NIH) for the newly formed Human Health Environmental Assessment Resource (HHEAR). This program is dedicated to measuring all the environmental factors faced in people’s lives—a new science called “exposomics,” which is expected to yield important insights about disease processes and potential treatments.

Simple test predicts dangerous pregnancy disorder

Australian researchers have developed a way to predict the onset of a deadly pregnancy condition that kills 76,000 women and half a million babies each year, mostly in developing countries. Researchers from Edith Cowan University in Perth Western Australia have…

Trial compares SSRI vs. placebo for obsessive-compulsive behaviors in kids, teens with ASD

Bottom Line: Researchers compared the selective serotonin reuptake inhibitor (SSRI) fluoxetine with placebo for reducing the frequency and severity of obsessive-compulsive behaviors in children and adolescents with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) in this randomized clinical trial in Australia. The trial…

Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia Offers Help and Cure for Picky Eaters

Families dealing with the stress and frustration of their child’s overly picky eating habits may have a new addition to their parental toolbox. Pediatric researchers describe a brief group cognitive-behavioral therapy program that provides parents with specific techniques to improve their child’s mealtime behaviors and expand the range of foods their children will eat.

Beverly Davidson, PhD, Elected to the National Academy of Medicine

Beverly L. Davidson, PhD, director of the Raymond G. Perelman Center for Cellular and Molecular Therapeutics at Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia, has been elected to the National Academy of Medicine. She is being recognized for her role in developing innovative therapies for fatal, inherited brain disorders.

Animal study shows how stress and mother’s abuse affects infant brain

A new study in rats shows the extent of brain damage in newborn rodents from even short-term abuse by their mother. Past studies in animals and humans have established how a mother’s abuse can lead to brain shrinkage in her…