Study: Why Cancer Incidence May Increase with Age

The accumulation of age-associated changes in a biochemical process that helps control genes may be responsible for some of the increased risk of cancer seen in older people, according to a National Institutes of Health (NIH) study.

DNA methylation

2013: Terrible Year for Great Ideas in Biomedical Research

A recent analysis shows that the National Institutes of Health (NIH) budget, adjusted for inflation, was $6 billion less in 2013 than it was ten years ago, and the number of research grants awarded by the NIH has fallen to the lowest level in 15 years.

Funding down

The NIH and NFL Tackle Concussion Research

The NIH recently announced eight research projects to study traumatic brain injury, funded largely by a donation from the NFL.

NIH NFL brain injuries

What the U.S. Government Shutdown Means to Your Health

The United States government shutdown has slowed or halted federal efforts to protect Americans’ health and safety. Now in its 9th day, the shutdown has impacted food safety efforts, flu programs and disease-tracking, scientific research, and the economic and social well-being of families, children, individuals and communities.

US is closed

Flu During Pregnancy May Increase Child’s Risk for Bipolar Disorder

Pregnant mothers’ exposure to the flu was associated with a nearly fourfold increased risk that their child would develop bipolar disorder in adulthood, in a study funded by the National Institutes of Health. The findings add to mounting evidence of possible shared underlying causes and illness processes with schizophrenia, which some studies have also linked to prenatal exposure to influenza.

Pregnant with the flu