In the News

Research advances from the National Institutes of Health (NIH) Intramural Research Program (IRP) often make headlines. Read the news releases that describe our most recent findings:

Featured Article

Yes, Cooking Can Help Improve Your Mental Health — Here’s What Health Professionals Have to Say About It

Food & Wine
November 7, 2024

The act of cooking offers the chance to unwind and create something special, whether you’re planning to feed a crowd or just yourself. And while you may have noticed feeling good after whipping up that perfect pie or braise, there’s actually a lot of scientific data to suggest that cooking can have a positive impact on mental health. 

One meta-analysis (a report of pre-existing research) from the National Institutes of Health looked at 11 studies and found that “cooking interventions” — encouraging people to follow certain recipes or giving people cooking classes — can improve a person’s mental well-being. It specifically found that people who participated in cooking interventions reported having better self-esteem and quality of life, as well as a more positive emotional state after the fact. Another study even discovered that baking can help raise a person’s confidence level. 

Patient with exposure to Ebola arrives safely at NIH Clinical Center

A patient with exposure to the Ebola virus while in Sierra Leone has arrived safely at the NIH Clinical Center for observation and to enroll in a clinical protocol. The patient was transferred from an overseas location via private charter medevac in isolation and admitted to the NIH Clinical Center at approximately 12:42 p.m. EST.

NIH researchers link chromosome region to gigantism

Duplication of gene on X chromosome appears to cause excessive growth

Researchers at the National Institutes of Health have found a duplication of a short stretch of the X chromosome in some people with a rare disorder that causes excessive childhood growth. They believe that a single gene within the region likely has a large influence on how much children grow. The research comes from a lab at NIH’s Eunice Kennedy Shriver National Institute of Child Health and Human Development (NICHD), which seeks to understand growth.

Researchers conduct comprehensive genomic study of sub-Saharan Africans

New data resource will enhance disease research and genomic diversity studies

An international team that includes researchers from the National Institutes of Health has completed the first comprehensive characterization of genomic diversity across sub-Saharan Africa. The region is the most genetically diverse in the world, yet few studies have looked into genomic risk factors for disease in Africa.

Researchers conduct comprehensive genomic study of sub-Saharan Africans

NIH researchers link chromosome region to gigantism

Duplication of gene on X chromosome appears to cause excessive growth

Researchers at the National Institutes of Health have found a duplication of a short stretch of the X chromosome in some people with a rare disorder that causes excessive childhood growth. They believe that a single gene within the region likely has a large influence on how much children grow. The research comes from a lab at NIH’s Eunice Kennedy Shriver National Institute of Child Health and Human Development (NICHD), which seeks to understand growth.

NIH takes step to speed the initiation of clinical research by ensuring use of single IRB

The National Institutes of Health issued a draft policy today to promote the use of single institutional review boards or IRBs, in multi-site clinical research studies. IRBs play a critical role in assuring the ethical conduct of clinical research, and studies must be reviewed and approved by an IRB before they can begin. When the regulations for protection of human subjects were first published, most clinical research was conducted at a single institution. Since then, the research landscape has evolved, and many studies are carried out at multiple sites and within large networks. Studies that go beyond a single site are often able to recruit more individuals from diverse populations. These multi-site studies can often generate important results in less time. However, working through IRB review at each site can add delay without increasing the protections for the research participants in the study.

Nearly 55 percent of U.S. infants sleep with potentially unsafe bedding

NIH, CDC study shows unsafe infant bedding use still common, despite warnings

Nearly 55 percent of U.S. infants are placed to sleep with bedding that increases the risk of sudden infant death syndrome, or SIDS, despite recommendations against the practice, report researchers at the National Institutes of Health, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, and other institutions.

NIAID/GSK experimental Ebola vaccine appears safe, prompts immune response

Results from NIH Phase 1 clinical trial support accelerated development of candidate vaccine

An experimental vaccine to prevent Ebola virus disease was well-tolerated and produced immune system responses in all 20 healthy adults who received it in a phase 1 clinical trial conducted by researchers from the National Institutes of Health. The candidate vaccine, which was co-developed by the NIH’s National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID) and GlaxoSmithKline (GSK), was tested at the NIH Clinical Center in Bethesda, Maryland.

NIAID/GSK experimental Ebola vaccine appears safe, prompts immune response

NIH scientists determine how environment contributes to several human diseases

Using a new imaging technique, National Institutes of Health researchers have found that the biological machinery that builds DNA can insert molecules into the DNA strand that are damaged as a result of environmental exposures. These damaged molecules trigger cell death that produces some human diseases, according to the researchers. The work, appearing online Nov. 17 in the journal Nature, provides a possible explanation for how one type of DNA damage may lead to cancer, diabetes, hypertension, cardiovascular and lung disease, and Alzheimer’s disease.

NIH study links ultraviolet filters to pregnancy delays

Researchers identify two chemicals that appear to reduce fertility in men.

Certain sunscreen chemicals used to protect against ultraviolent rays may impair men’s ability to father children in a timely manner, according to a study by the National Institutes of Health and the New York state Department of Health’s Wadsworth Center. But the researchers caution that the results are preliminary and that additional studies are needed to confirm their findings.

NIDA researchers confirm important brain reward pathway

NIH study in rodents identifies a pathway that starts with glutamate and ends with activation of dopamine reward system

Details of the role of glutamate, the brain’s excitatory chemical, in a drug reward pathway have been identified for the first time. This discovery in rodents — published today in Nature Communications — shows that stimulation of glutamate neurons in a specific brain region (the dorsal raphe nucleus) leads to activation of dopamine-containing neurons in the brain’s reward circuit (dopamine reward system).

NIDA researchers confirm important brain reward pathway

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This page was last updated on Thursday, December 26, 2024