In half of American homes containing a loaded gun, that gun is kept unsecured and ready for potential use, often with children in the home, new research shows. The finding is especially troubling given the link between gun accessibility and accidental child deaths, as well as rising rates of gun-related suicides in the United States,…  read on >  read on >

Dads appear to make a small but important contribution to a newborn baby’s gut health, a new study discovers. Many microbes found in babies throughout their first year of life originate in the father rather than the mother, researchers report June 12 in the journal Cell Host & Microbe. Most importantly, these include Bifidobacterium longum…  read on >  read on >

A ban on Juul e-cigarettes has been reversed, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration announced Thursday. Why? The agency said it needs to review both new court decisions and updated data from the vape maker. While the company’s e-cigarettes are back under review, they have not been fully cleared for sale in this country, the…  read on >  read on >

If your child is among the youngest in their school grade, it’s more likely they’ll be mistakenly identified by teachers as having ADHD or autism, a new study confirms. “Adults involved in identifying or raising concerns over a child’s behavior — such as parents and teachers — may be inadvertently misattributing relative immaturity as symptoms…  read on >  read on >

Severe forms of autism could be linked to overgrowth of the brain’s outer layer that starts while a baby is in the womb, a new study finds. Toddlers with autism have cerebral cortexes — often referred to as “gray matter” — that are roughly 40% larger than those of children without the developmental disorder, researchers…  read on >  read on >

Teenagers who are part of close-knit neighborhoods and families are less likely to have sex at a young age, a new study has found. On the other hand, teens’ schools have less influence on their sexual behavior, researchers report. “Our results echo other studies’ findings on the importance of families and neighborhoods in protecting youth…  read on >  read on >