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.

Item of Interest: Biospecimens from National Children’s Study pilot now available

Environmental, biological samples span the period from preconception to early childhood.

Item of Interest: James A. Griffin, Ph.D., named new Chief of NICHD’s Child Development and Behavior Branch

James A. Griffin, Ph.D., named new Chief of NICHD’s Child Development and Behavior Branch

Media Advisory: Maternal obesity linked to ADHD and behavioral problems in children, NIH study suggests

Maternal obesity may increase a child’s risk for attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), according to an analysis by NICHD researchers.

Spotlight: A Decade of Human-Animal Interaction (HAI) Research

NICHD marks a 10-year partnership with WALTHAM® PetCare Science Institute, a division of Mars, to support research exploring the impact of interactions between animals and human companions.

Release: High amounts of screen time begin as early as infancy, NIH study suggests

Children’s average daily time spent watching television or using a computer or mobile device increased from 53 minutes at age 12 months to more than 150 minutes at 3 years, according to an analysis by researchers at the National Institutes of Health and other institutions.

Science Update: Parents’ early adversity may affect offspring health, NIH-funded animal study suggests

Early life adversity among female baboons is directly linked to lower survival rates for their offspring, suggests an analysis funded by the National Institutes of Health. The study includes 45 years of data from a wild baboon population and overcomes a limitation of analyses of human populations, which have had difficulty distinguishing environmental effects on parents from environmental effects on children.

Spotlight: NICHD Looks Back on 50 Years of Learning Disabilities Research

NICHD’s contributions to research on learning disabilities highlight decades of studies that informed the identification, recognition and treatment of these disorders.

Release: Kids living near major roads at higher risk of developmental delays, NIH study suggests

Young children who live close to a major roadway are twice as likely to score lower on tests of communications skills, compared to those who live farther away from a major roadway, according to an analysis by researchers at the National Institutes of Health.

Media Advisory: NICHD chronicles its major research advances of 2018

As 2018 winds down, a new slideshow highlights a selection of initiatives, therapies, and scientific advances supported by NIH’s Eunice Kennedy Shriver National Institute of Child Health and Human Development (NICHD).

Spotlight: Selected NICHD Research Advances of 2018

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.

Spotlight: Highlighting Research on Attention Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder

NICHD’s mission includes understanding child development and behavior. Check out these scientific advances related to Attention Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder.

Science Update: Siblings with close relationships more likely to achieve similar levels of education, NICHD study suggests

Siblings who feel close to each other in childhood are more likely to achieve similar levels of education, according to an analysis of a study funded by the Eunice Kennedy Shriver National Institute of Child Health and Human Development.

Release: Atypical brain development observed in preschoolers with ADHD symptoms

NIH-funded study uses high-resolution brain scans to uncover structural changes.

Release: Graduates of early childhood program show greater educational gains as adults

Students who participated in an intensive childhood education program from preschool to third grade were more likely to achieve an academic degree beyond high school, compared to a similar group that received other intervention services as children, according to a study funded by the National Institutes of Health.

Spotlight: Selected NICHD Research Advances of 2017

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

Science Update: Preschool program to boost executive function leads to success in primary grades

A program to teach preschoolers pre-reading, social, and thinking skills appears to have benefits through third grade, particularly in executive functioning—the mental skills that include planning, paying attention, organizing, and remembering details.

NIH awards nearly $100 million for Autism Centers of Excellence program

The National Institutes of Health has awarded nine research grants totaling nearly $100 million over the next five years for the Autism Centers of Excellence (ACE), a program that supports large research projects aimed at understanding and developing interventions for autism spectrum disorder (ASD).

Focus on Early Learning

Children start learning long before they start going to school. Find out how you can support your child's learning from birth.

Socioeconomic disadvantage linked to immune activity during pregnancy

Infants born to mothers in poverty had a greater chance of developing neurological problems within the first year of life, according to a study by researchers at the National Institutes of Health (NIH) and Harvard University.

NICHD-funded study explores the toll of pediatric trauma

A conversation with Dr. Sheri Crow, a pediatrician specializing in critical care at the Mayo Clinic, about her NICHD-funded research. Dr. Crow has explored the long-term health outcomes of children who experience traumatic injury or a life-threatening illness in early childhood.
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