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ATLANTA (Feb. 1, 2016)--In a study to be presented on Feb. 4 at 1:15 p.m. EST, at the Society for Maternal-Fetal Medicine's annual meeting, The Pregnancy Meeting™, in Atlanta, researchers will present findings from the Proteomic Assessment of Preterm Risk study (PAPPR study, #NCT01371019) with the title Clinical validation of a two-protein test for spontaneous preterm birth (sPTB) prediction in a large multicenter prospective study of asymptomatic women.

ATLANTA (Feb. 1, 2016)--In a study to be presented on Feb. 4 at 1:15 p.m. EST, at the Society for Maternal-Fetal Medicine's annual meeting, The Pregnancy Meeting™, in Atlanta, researchers will present findings from a study titled, Racial and ethnic disparities in use of 17-hydroxyprogesterone caproate for prevention of preterm birth.

ATLANTA (Feb. 1, 2016)--In a study to be presented on Feb. 4 in an oral concurrent session at 1:15 p.m. EST, at the Society for Maternal-Fetal Medicine's annual meeting, The Pregnancy Meeting™, in Atlanta, researchers will present findings from a study titled, How to Predict Cesarean Delivery in the Nulliparous Patient: Results from the Prospective Multi-center Genesis Study. The objective of the Genesis study, was to assess the use of a range of demographic, clinical and ultrasound features to develop a predictive tool for cesarean delivery (CD) in nulliparous, singleton pregnancies.

ATLANTA (Feb. 1, 2016)--In a study to be presented on Feb. 4 at 1:15 p.m. EST, at the Society for Maternal-Fetal Medicine's annual meeting, The Pregnancy Meeting™, in Atlanta, researchers will present findings from a study titled, High-flavanol chocolate to improve placental function and to decrease the risk of preeclampsia: a double blind randomized clinical trial.

ATLANTA (Feb. 1, 2016)--In a study to be presented on Feb. 4 at 1:15 p.m. EST, at the Society for Maternal-Fetal Medicine's annual meeting, The Pregnancy Meeting™, in Atlanta, researchers will present findings from a study titled, Short and long sleep durations in pregnancy are associated with extremes of gestational weight gain.

Epidemiologic data from non-pregnant women has linked poor sleep with obesity and weight gain. The researchers in this study set out to determine the relationship between objectively measured sleep duration and weight gain during pregnancy.

ATLANTA (Feb. 1, 2016)--In a study to be presented on Feb. 5 at 8 a.m. EST, at the Society for Maternal-Fetal Medicine's annual meeting, The Pregnancy Meeting™, in Atlanta, researchers will present findings from a study titled, Long-term mortality risk following hypertensive disease of pregnancy (HDP).

ATLANTA (Feb. 1, 2016)--In a study to be presented on Feb. 5 in an oral plenary session at 8 a.m. EST, at the Society for Maternal-Fetal Medicine's annual meeting, The Pregnancy Meeting™, in Atlanta, researchers will present findings from a study titled, Cryopreserved Human Umbilical Cord (HUC) vs. Biocellulose Film (BCF) for Antenatal Spina Bifida Repair.

We humans are affecting nature to a greater and greater degree and this is contributing to the reduction of biodiversity globally. To better assess the consequences requires a better understanding of the environmental conditions that the species in an ecosystem live under. A group of biophysicists from the Niels Bohr Institute have therefore analysed data and calculated how the species in an area affect each other and how an ecosystem can be in balance or out of balance. The results are published in the scientific journal, PLoS Computational Biology.

ATLANTA (Feb. 1, 2016)--In a study to be presented on Feb. 4 in the oral plenary session at 8 a.m. EST, at the Society for Maternal-Fetal Medicine's annual meeting, The Pregnancy Meeting™, in Atlanta, researchers with the Eunice Kennedy Shriver National Institute of Child Health and Human Development and Maternal-Fetal Medicine Units Network (MFMU) found that the administration of antenatal steroids in pregnancies at risk for late preterm delivery prevents respiratory and other neonatal complications.

During hysterectomies for non-cancerous conditions, removing both fallopian tubes while keeping the ovaries may help protect against ovarian cancer and preserve hormonal levels, but few women receive this surgical option, according to a new study by Yale School of Medicine researchers.

Published in the February issue of the journal Obstetrics & Gynecology, the study was led by Xiao Xu, assistant professor in the Department of Obstetrics, Gynecology & Reproductive Sciences at Yale School of Medicine.

COLUMBIA, Mo. (Feb. 1, 2016) -- An estimated 1 in 68 children in the United States has autism. The neurodevelopmental disorder, which impairs communication and social interaction skills, can be treated with medications and behavioral therapies, though there is no cure. Now, University of Missouri researchers have found that a medication commonly used to treat high blood pressure and irregular heartbeats may have the potential to improve some social functions of individuals with autism.

By swabbing babies born by Caesarian section with their mothers' birth fluid, researchers partially restored the mix of bacteria that coat a newborn's body when delivered vaginally. This is the finding of a pilot study co-led by researchers from NYU Langone Medical Center and published online on February 1 in Nature Medicine.

The study revolves around the microbiome, the set of bacterial species that live on and in human skin, mouths and guts. Such microbes evolved over millions of years to play roles in human digestion, metabolism and immunity.

In 2010, a research team garnered attention when it published evidence of finding the first animals living in permanently anoxic conditions at the bottom of the sea. But a new study, led by scientists at the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution (WHOI), raises doubts.

Canada should create a national body to set and enforce standards for medically reporting death because no such body exists, argues an editorial in CMAJ (Canadian Medical Association Journal).

ALEXANDRIA, Va.--Feb. 1, 2016--Vice President Joe Biden's 'moonshot' initiative to defeat cancer earns support for a tax increase to fund cancer research among half of respondents (50%) in a new national public opinion survey commissioned by Research!America. Thirty-eight percent disagree and an additional 12% are not sure. A significant majority of Democrats (67%), and more than a third of Republicans (38%) and Independents (39%) support a tax increase, and support is particularly strong among Americans ages 18 - 49.