News & Updates

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.

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.