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.

Science Update: Antiviral drug TEMPOL targets multiple SARS-CoV-2 proteins

The cell’s surface is covered in short filaments, and the color changes in a gradient from pink in the lower left corner to blue in the top right corner. In some areas, the filaments are covered with clumps of small yellow spheres.
The experimental drug TEMPOL prevents viral replication by targeting the SARS-CoV-2 helicase, in addition to the virus’ replicase, according to a new NICHD study.

Selected NICHD Research Advances of 2022

A group of teenagers walk down a school hallway, and one student is being pushed down the hall in his wheelchair. Everyone is wearing facemasks.
Read about NICHD’s research findings and activities from 2022.

Science Update: Antiviral drug TEMPOL effective in hamster model of COVID-19, suggests NICHD-led study

The 3-dimensional cell is very bumpy and colored light teal against a black background. The viral particles are much smaller and dot the surface of the cell.
The experimental drug TEMPOL prevents viral replication and reduces disease severity in a hamster model of COVID-19, according to a new study led by NICHD.

Item of Interest: NIH-funded research leads to pediatric labeling updates for diazepam and clindamycin

A boy sits up in a hospital bed. He’s wearing a mask and holding onto a blue stuffed bunny.
Drug labels for diazepam and clindamycin now include better information for healthcare providers on recommended usage and dosage in pediatric populations.

Spotlight: Scientific advances from the Division of Intramural Research

The microscopy image shows fluorescent colors against a black background.
The Division of Intramural Research provides fundamental knowledge about the nature and behavior of living systems through basic, clinical, and population-based research.

Spotlight: Scientific advances from the Division of Intramural Research

The image is zoomed in on the zebrafish head, with the eye (pink) and various vessel (green) visible against a black background.
The Division of Intramural Research provides fundamental knowledge about the nature and behavior of living systems through basic, clinical, and population-based research.

Spotlight: Scientific advances from the Division of Intramural Research

DHHC20 is shown in red, white, and blue, and the membranes are a yellow lipid bilayer.
The Division of Intramural Research provides fundamental knowledge about the nature and behavior of living systems through basic, clinical, and population-based research.

Spotlight: Selected NICHD Research Advances of 2021

A pregnant woman holds her belly as she sits across from her healthcare provider, who is holding a stethoscope. Both are wearing masks.
Read about NICHD’s research findings and activities from 2021.

Director's Corner: Understanding Long COVID in Children

A healthcare provider examines a young girl with a stethoscope as her mother looks on. Everyone is masked.
Dr. Bianchi discusses NICHD-led research on long COVID in children.

Media Advisory: Antibody treatment for MIS-C works by depleting inflammatory immune cells

A girl is in a hospital bed flanked by a healthcare provider, who is filling out a chart, and her father, who is sitting down and holding her hand.
NIH-funded study explains how intravenous immune globulin helps children with rare COVID condition.

Release: NIH researchers identify potential new antiviral drug for COVID-19

Small viral particles are colorized against a cellular background.
The experimental drug TEMPOL may be a promising oral antiviral treatment for COVID-19, suggests a study by researchers at NIH.

Director's Corner: One Year of Rapid Acceleration of Diagnostics, and Anticipating New Challenges

Conceptual illustration of healthcare providers and researchers wearing masks superimposed over a crowd of diverse people.
Looking back and looking ahead. NICHD Director Dr. Diana W. Bianchi joins other leaders across NIH in reflecting on the work of the Rapid Acceleration of Diagnostics (RADx) program and discussing plans for the future.

Director's Corner: Advancing Research to Understand, Treat, and Prevent Long COVID

African American woman in healthcare provider’s office wearing a mask and speaking to a provider.
For many COVID-19 patients, full recovery remains elusive even long after they should feel “better.” NIH recently announced research opportunities to understand COVID-19 long haulers, who have what researchers now refer to as Post-acute sequelae of SARS-CoV-2 infection (PASC). NICHD joins these opportunities while remaining focused on PASC patients within our audiences of interest—pregnant and lactating people, children, and those with disabilities.

Spotlight: Selected NICHD Research Advances of 2020

An African American woman smiling at the baby she’s holding in her arms.
Read about NICHD’s research findings and activities from 2020.

Director's Corner: It’s a Family Matter: The NIH INCLUDE Project

ther smiling while playing with her son, who has Down syndrome.
The pandemic reinforces why the NIH INCLUDE (INvestigation of Co-occurring conditions across the Lifespan to Understand Down syndromE) Project matters to families and communities.

Director's Corner: Push to IMPROVE health outcomes for pregnant women

African American pregnant mother and her daughter.
NIH has launched a new initiative that will combat the growing problem of maternal mortality and morbidity in the United States.

Release: NIH-funded study to evaluate drugs prescribed to children with COVID-19

An infant’s feet and torso are visible in a hospital setting.
Researchers funded by the National Institutes of Health have launched an effort to evaluate drugs prescribed to treat COVID-19 in infants, children and adolescents across the country.

Director's Corner: Addressing opioid withdrawal in newborns, improving pain management for women

NICHD Director Dr. Diana Bianchi observes during an NIH HEAL Initiative meeting.
I recently joined NIH Director Dr. Francis Collins, HHS Secretary Alex Azar, and Surgeon General Vice Admiral Jerome to highlight the integral role NICHD plays through our ACT NOW initiative.

Science Update: Researchers determine function of important Legionnaires’ protein

The dark oblong shapes in this image are Legionella bacteria, which causes Legionnaires' disease.
A protein essential for the survival of the bacterium that causes Legionnaires' disease works by stealing iron from the host cells it infects, according to a study by researchers from the National Institutes of Health and other institutions. Their findings may provide information useful for designing new drug treatments for Legionnaires’ disease.

Release: NIH scientists call attention to the impact of opioids on women and children

Pregnant woman and her healthcare provider, with a focus on the woman’s belly and the provider’s clipboard.
In an editorial, Diana W. Bianchi, M.D., NICHD Director and Matthew W. Gillman, M.D., S.M., emphasize that women and children bear a substantial burden of the U.S. opioid epidemic and that coordinated, long-term research is essential to filling knowledge gaps about how opioids affect women and children.
top of pageBACK TO TOP