News

NICHD issues News Releases and Media Advisories to the news media. Spotlight and Research Feature articles explain NICHD research findings and public health issues to the general public. An Item of Interest is a short announcement of relevant information, such as a notable staff change.

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Spotlight: Women in Science: Alison Cernich: A Practice in Resilience and Compassion

Dr. Cernich raises her right hand while Dr. Diana W. Bianchi, NICHD Director, reads from a piece of paper.

Read about the career and achievements of NICHD Deputy Director Dr. Alison Cernich.

Science Update: Adolescents who take positive risks tend to be less impulsive, more connected to school, suggests NIH-funded study

Teen boys and girls, seated at a long table, filling out a form with pencils.

Teens who take positive risks, such as enrolling in a challenging course or initiating a new friendship, tend to be more involved in school and less likely to act impulsively, compared to those who take negative risks like drinking alcohol or stealing, according to a study funded by the Eunice Kennedy Shriver National Institute of Child Health and Human Development (NICHD), part of the National Institutes of Health.

Science Update: Binge drinking in 12th grade linked to driving while impaired 4 years later, NIH study suggests

Multiple empty beer bottles on a coffee table.

Four years after high school, adolescents who were binge drinkers during their senior year were more likely than non-binge drinkers to drive while impaired, to ride with an impaired driver, to black out from alcohol, to extreme binge drink, and to engage in risky driving practices, according to a study by researchers at the National Institutes of Health and other institutions.

Science Update: Later school start times may reduce sleep deficits for high school students, suggests NIH-funded study

Teen male resting his head on a desk between two stacks of books.

High school students who began classes roughly an hour later than students at neighboring schools slept an average of 43 minutes more per night, according to a study funded by the Eunice Kennedy Shriver National Institute of Child Health and Human Development (NICHD), part of the National Institutes of Health. The study authors wrote that the later morning start times accommodated the teens’ natural sleep period, which begins about two hours later than that of younger children.

Science Update: Frequent driving practice linked to lower crash risk among teen drivers, NIH study finds

Teenage boy, sitting on curb, talking on a cell phone, in front of a car with front end collision damage.

Teens with a learner’s permit who had regular, behind-the-wheel practice sessions had a lower crash risk in the year after they obtained their driver’s license, compared to teens who practiced less frequently, according to a study by researchers at the NICHD and other institutions.

Women in Science: Diana Bianchi and the Value of Connections

Dr. Bianchi and her lab members are all wearing white lab coats and standing in two rows on a staircase.

Read about the career and achievements of NICHD Director Dr. Diana Bianchi.

Science Update: Adolescent drivers with ADHD have higher crash rate than their peers, NICHD-funded study suggests

Adolescent drivers with attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) have a higher crash rate than adolescents who do not have the disorder, according to a study funded by the Eunice Kennedy Shriver National Institute of Child Health and Human Development.

Release: Reaching for objects while driving may raise teen crash risk nearly sevenfold

Teenage boy uses cell phone with two hands behind the driver’s wheel.

NIH study also suggests handling a cell phone doubles teen driving crash risk.

Spotlight: Selected NICHD Research Advances of 2018

Infocard has the text '2018 Research Advances #NICHD2018' in a green box surrounded by various images

In 2018, researchers funded by NICHD made significant progress in advancing the health and well-being of infants, children, teenagers, and adults across the United States and around the world.

Science Update: Sexual minority females less likely to obtain a driver’s license than heterosexual peers, NICHD study suggests

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

Release: Teen crash risk highest during first three months after getting driver’s license

Young man in front of steering wheel, driving a car

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.

Spotlight: Focus on Pediatric Trauma and Critical Illness

Hospital staff attend to a child in bed in the pediatric critical care ward, while the child’s mother stands by the bed

The month of May offers an opportunity to focus on NICHD’s Pediatric Trauma and Critical Illness Branch, which observes its 5th anniversary supporting research on preventing, treating, and reducing all forms of childhood trauma, injury, and critical illness.

Release: A third of young adults have ridden with an impaired driver, NIH analysis suggests

Stock image of an out-of-focus car dashboard at night

Roughly a third of recent high school graduates have ridden in a motor vehicle with a substance-impaired driver, according to a study by researchers at the National Institutes of Health and other institutions.

Impulsive personality linked to risky driving among certain young adults, NIH study finds

Hands holding car steering wheel while clutching liquor bottle.

At-risk young adults who scored higher than their peers on a questionnaire that measures impulsive personality traits had a higher chance of engaging in reckless and impaired driving, according to a study by researchers at the National Institutes of Health and other institutions.

Selected NICHD Research Advances of 2015

Over the past year, NICHD contributed to numerous scientific advances and key initiatives.

Physical labor, hypertension and multiple meds may reduce male fertility

Working in a physically demanding job, having high blood pressure, and taking multiple medications are among health risks that may undermine a man’s fertility, according to a study by researchers at the National Institutes of Health and Stanford University, Stanford, California.

"Cool" Kids More Likely to Have Problems as Young Adults

A new study has found that it’s not so cool to have been cool after all. When they reached adulthood, a sample of formerly cool kids were much more likely than their uncool peers to have relationship problems, major problems with alcohol and substance use, and even to have run afoul of the law.

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