Children's Health: Infant antibiotic use linked to adult diseases ♦ Treatments for childhood cancer may increase obesity risk ♦ Gut microbiome knocked out of balance

Certain treatments for childhood cancer may increase obesity risk later in life Individuals who had cancer as a child may be at increased risk of being obese due to the therapies they received during their youth. The findings may help identify cancer survivors who are most likely to become obese, and could provide a foundation for future research

Baby talk: Babies prefer listening to their own kind Scientists have discovered that 6-month-old infants appear to be much more interested in listening to other babies than they are in listening to adults. The researchers believe that an attraction to infant speech sounds may help to support the processes involved in learning how to talk.

Study matches infant stiff-joint syndromes to possible genetic origins A study has matched dozens of infantile diseases and syndromes involving muscle weakness and stiff joints to their likely genetic origins. The study's goal is to better enable physicians and geneticists to advance new treatments to help these children.

Infant antibiotic use linked to adult diseases A new study has found a three-way link among antibiotic use in infants, changes in the gut bacteria, and disease later in life.

The infant gut microbiome: New studies on its origins and how it's knocked out of balance A fecal sample analysis of 98 Swedish infants over the first year of life found a connection between the development of a child's gut microbiome and the way he or she is delivered. Babies born via C-section had gut bacteria that showed significantly less resemblance to their mothers compared to those that were delivered vaginally.