Children's Health: Higher cigarette taxes linked to fewer infant deaths ♦ We change after we start dating, ♦ on’t want to raise a psychopath?

Higher cigarette taxes linked to fewer infant deaths Higher taxes and prices for cigarettes are strongly associated with lower infant mortality rates in the United State. The association was stronger for African American infants than for non-Hispanic white infants, which has implications for trying to reduce disparities in infant mortality between the two groups

We change after we start dating, Researchers put to test the hypothesis that adolescents become less similar to their friends and more similar to romantic partners after they start a new romantic relationship. This first study to use longitudinal data is a stark reminder how the peer social world changes during adolescence, and same-sex friends become less important and romantic affiliations become more important.

Interventions may temporarily raise kids' IQs, but there is fadeout over time A meta-analysis shows that the beneficial effects of interventions to raise intelligence in young children fade over time

Don’t want to raise a psychopath? Be sensitive to a child’s distress How do you stop a child, especially one who has experienced significant adversity, from growing up to be a psychopath? Responsive, empathetic care giving -- especially when children are in distress -- helps prevent boys from becoming callous, unemotional adolescents.

Children's Health: Infants under 12 months most at risk of physical abuse ♦ Increase in infant deaths attributed to crib bumpers ♦ Food odors activate impulse area of the brain in obese children

Infants under 12 months most at risk of physical abuse Infants under the age of 12 months are most at risk of serious physical abuse, reveals a large study of severely injured children. Compared with children whose injuries had been accidental, the injuries of abused children were more severe and tended to involve the head/brain.

Increase in infant deaths attributed to crib bumpers The number of infant deaths and injuries attributed to crib bumpers has spiked significantly in recent years, prompting researchers to call for a nationwide ban on the bedding accessory.

Food odors activate impulse area of the brain in obese children The area of the brain associated with impulsivity and the development of obsessive-compulsive disorder is activated in obese children when introduced to food smells.

Lack of protein in rare childhood disease also has role in cancer An expert who has treated rare childhood diseases has found that a protein that is missing in one such disease is also silenced by many cancers. Looking at how the lack of the protein affects the sick children also provides a “lens” on cancer.