Children's Health

Matt Haimovitz is 42 and a world-renowned cellist. His mother took him to many concerts as a kid, but nothing in his family history explains where he got his extraordinary talent. And that's typical, says Ellen Winner, a psychology professor at Boston College who has spent much of her career studying prodigies.

Pregnant women are told not to drink, smoke or stress out. But it hasn't been clear how those choices may affect a fetus. By studying how genes are turned on and off, scientists say they are getting closer to understanding what experiences in the womb really affect a child's health.

Last year, two sisters took in Arefa, a badly burned Afghan girl, while she received medical treatment in the U.S. The sisters were ecstatic to host a goofier and wigglier Arefa during a return visit this summer, but they say the U.S. withdrawal from Afghanistan may make future reunions difficult.

Cut a tumor from a child's brain and you may save a life. But surgery can hurt the child if healthy brain cells are removed. A Seattle doctor is working on a substance that might help. It binds tightly to cancer cells and makes them glow, so they're easier to distinguish from healthy tissue.

After being free of polio for decades, Israel has detected the virus in sewers across the country. No children have become ill. But health officials are worried that polio has regained a foothold in Israel.

Even infants too young to discern the meaning of words seem better able to learn while listening to the sound of human speech than while listening to nonsense — speech run backward. Little surprise there, perhaps, but a study shows that recordings of lemur calls spark learning, too.

Last year, the federal government made accessible playgrounds a requirement under the Americans with Disabilities Act. But whether children with disabilities are able to enjoy their new civil rights may depend on where they live.

Parent advocates and a new federal law making accessible play areas a civil right are changing the landscape for public playgrounds.

The flavors may be sweet, but it's still tobacco. That's why tobacco control advocates are trying to restrict sales of candy- and fruit-flavored tobacco products, which they say lure in teenagers.

Most parents think that their kids eat healthfully. But in reality, they may not know much about their kids' eating habits, especially as their children get older. Many kids don't talk to their parents about what they eat, and sneak unhealthy snacks after school.

Mothers with the "sensitive" version of a gene became more likely to strike or scream at their children during the Great Recession, researchers say. But as a complete economic collapse became less likely, the moms relaxed. Those with the "insensitive" version didn't change their behavior.

Federal officials say obesity rates among low-income preschoolers are declining in 19 states and U.S. territories. Rates are flat in 20 more states. The findings are cause for optimism, the officials say.