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A new review published in the journal JAMA Pediatrics in April 2020 raises the concern that there may be a significant overdiagnosis of cow’s milk allergy in babies and young children, stemming from the use of current medical recommendations. The study was carried out by researchers at the Imperial College London and Sechenov University in

Until now, the immune sensor TLR8 has remained in the shadows of science. A research team led by the University of Bonn has now discovered how this sensor plays an important role in defending human cells against intruders. The enzymes RNaseT2 and RNase2 cut ribonucleic acids (RNAs) of bacteria into small fragments that are as

Reviewed by Emily Henderson, B.Sc.Apr 14 2020 The silence was striking. On a normal day, the well-child waiting room at Berkeley Pediatrics bustles with children playing, infants crying and teenagers furiously tapping on their smartphones. On a recent Monday, the room was deserted, save for a bubbling tropical fish tank and a few empty chairs.

Reviewed by Emily Henderson, B.Sc.Apr 13 2020 Commercially prepared baby foods that purport to be loaded with dark green vegetables are sweetened with fruit puree and often don’t contain a high percentage of dark green vegetable content, according to a team of researchers. The resulting lack of dark green vegetable taste matters, said team leader

Researchers at the San Diego Supercomputer Center (SDSC) at the University of California San Diego have been applying their high-performance computing expertise by porting the popular UniFrac microbiome tool to graphic processing units (GPUs) in a bid to increase the acceleration and accuracy of scientific discovery, including urgently needed COVID-19 research. Our initial results exceeded

A team of researchers at Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia (CHOP) has characterized how the gut microbiome develops in the first hours of infancy, providing a critical baseline for how changes in this environment can impact health and disease later in life. The findings were published online by the journal Nature Microbiology. While researchers understand the

Reviewed by Emily Henderson, B.Sc.Apr 20 2020 Pain is one of the most common reasons for seeking emergency department (ED) care, yet is often poorly assessed and treated. In an effort to improve pain management among children, Monika Goyal, M.D., M.S.C.E., associate division chief of Emergency Medicine, director of Academic Affairs and Research at Children’s

Apr 20 2020 Sitting a baby in front of a tablet or television, as well as less parent-child play time, are associated with developing greater autism spectrum disorder (ASD)-like symptoms later in childhood. These findings, from the first prospective study on the subject, are published today in JAMA Pediatrics from researchers at Drexel University’s College

Boxes, barriers, and shields of various types and designs are making their appearance the world around to protect vulnerable healthcare professionals and allied staff from picking up COVID-19 while undertaking their duties. One such new device is the intubation box from West Virginia University (WVU). Tracheal intubation, usually simply referred to as intubation, is the

Reviewed by Emily Henderson, B.Sc.Apr 20 2020 In spring of 2019, researchers set out to investigate what chemicals could be found in the waters of Bangladesh. The scientists — from the University at Buffalo and icddr,b, a leading global health research institute in Bangladesh — tested a lake, a canal and a river in Dhaka,

Many cases of autism spectrum disorders (ASDs) may result from problems in immune cells that normally work to trim back unneeded brain connections in early life, suggests a new study led by scientists at Scripps Research. The study, published Tuesday in Nature Communications, examined the effects of a set of gene mutations that account for

Reviewed by Emily Henderson, B.Sc.Apr 15 2020 Even small amounts of breastmilk strongly influences the accumulation of viral populations in the infant gut and provides a protective effect against potentially pathogenic viruses, according to researchers who examined hundreds of babies in a study from the Perelman School of Medicine at the University of Pennsylvania. The

A Finnish study coordinated by the Research Centre of Applied and Preventive Cardiovascular Medicine at the University of Turku, Finland, shows that exposure to parental smoking in childhood and adolescence is associated with poorer learning ability and memory in midlife. With the aging population, cognitive deficits such as difficulties in learning and memory are becoming

A new study shows that women who eat vegetables regularly before becoming pregnant have a significantly lower risk of premature birth. The new study from the University of Queensland titled, “Prepregnancy dietary patterns and risk of preterm birth and low birth weight: findings from the Australian Longitudinal Study on Women’s Health,” was published in the

Reviewed by Emily Henderson, B.Sc.Apr 16 2020 Emotional, social and psychiatric problems in children and adolescents have been linked to higher levels of genetic vulnerability for adult depression. University of Queensland scientists made the finding while analyzing the genetic data of more than 42,000 children and adolescents from seven cohorts across Finland, the Netherlands, Norway,

Apr 16 2020 A newly validated app called Rafi-Tone, developed by clinicians in the UK, makes using an inhaler with a spacer easier and more fun for young children with wheeze or asthma symptoms. By motivating positive inhaler technique, medication is likely to be far more effective; something that is even more crucial during the

The pandemic spreading over the world has affected over 185 countries and territories so far, with over 2 million cases and 134,354 deaths. In response, many countries and regions have enforced lockdowns, in addition to the almost universal recommendations for social distancing. One of the most significant impacts has been the effect on economic activity

A study conducted by a team of psychologists and social scientists has revealed that the social distancing and isolation measures introduced in the UK as a result of COVID-19 may already be having significant negative impacts on people’s mental health and well-being. The study found that a large proportion of the public may be experiencing

Reviewed by Emily Henderson, B.Sc.Apr 16 2020 While the current coronavirus pandemic continues to affect all people, families will still give birth and bring new life into the world. During the COVID-19 crisis, breastfeeding and the provision of human milk to infants is recommended by national and international organizations because it is effective against infectious

A new study published preprint in the non-peer-reviewed journal medRxiv in April 2020 provides a systematic review of maternal and fetal outcomes in pregnancy affected by COVID-19, as well as the risk of vertical transmission of the virus. Pregnancy with COVID-19 is becoming more common, but the absolute number of cases is still low. This