A typical human pregnancy lasts 40 weeks, but most parents know this number is only a rough estimate.  

Babies are born on a seemingly unpredictable timeline, with a normal pregnancy ranging from 38 to 42 weeks. And 10 percent of all births are preterm, meaning they occur before 37 weeks of gestation, which puts babies at risk of a host of complications. 

Now, UC San Francisco researchers have discovered a molecular timer in mice that plays a role in controlling when they give birth. Surprisingly, the timer is activated in the very first days of pregnancy and operates within the uterus. 

A clinical trial demonstrates the effectiveness of telephone-delivered acceptance and commitment therapy (ACT) in reducing fatigue’s interference with functioning and improving the quality of life for survivors of metastatic breast cancer. The ACT intervention helped study participants to fall asleep with greater ease. Fatigue remains a significant challenge for these survivors, affecting up to 63 percent of patients and severely impacting daily functioning.

Houston Methodist researchers identified a key protein as a potential therapeutic target for stopping the body’s immune system from mistakenly attacking itself, offering new hope for treating autoimmune diseases and allergies. The researchers proved if they therapeutically target the protein Apex1 with chemical inhibitors to either turn it off or remove it completely, then this could be a highly effective way to block immune-mediated diseases. The study appeared recently in the Journal of Clinical Investigation.

With lawmakers in Washington, D.C. and state houses getting ready to make major health policy decisions, a pair of new University of Michigan studies shows how past policy decisions have affected older Americans with modest or low incomes. The new findings could also help inform upcoming decisions about health insurance programs that are currently open to people with incomes under about $60,000 per person, and programs aimed at those living in or near poverty.

For teenage girls, researchers have found that the ways they perceive and feel about their own physical appearance are important components in their emotional well-being.

But for Black adolescent girls, satisfaction with their hair may be of particular significance, according to new research from UConn recently published in the journal Body Image.