Unconditional cash transfers following childbirth increases breastfeeding
Peer-Reviewed Publication
Updates every hour. Last Updated: 15-Aug-2025 10:10 ET (15-Aug-2025 14:10 GMT/UTC)
The U.S. is facing a maternal health crisis with higher rates of maternal mortality than any other high-income country. Social and economic factors, including income, are recognized determinants of maternal morbidity and mortality. In addition, more than half of pregnancy-related deaths (deaths occurring during pregnancy or within one year after delivery) occur in the postpartum year.
In what is believed to be the first review to summarize evidence on the effect of unconditional cash transfers (UCTs) on postpartum health outcomes in the U.S., researchers have found strong evidence that UCTs increase breastfeeding rates and result in little to no difference in postpartum mood.
Women age differently from men when it comes to health – particularly in conditions like cardiovascular disease and neurodegenerative disorders such as dementia and Parkinson’s. A team at the Technical University of Munich (TUM) has proposed a new explanation for this. In aging female mice, genes on the previously silenced second X chromosome become active again. This mechanism might also influence women's health later in life.
Young people who are diagnosed with conduct disorder show significant differences in their brain structure depending on whether or not they have also suffered childhood abuse, according to new research led by the University of Bath in the UK. This finding suggests the combined effects of childhood maltreatment and conduct disorder impact the architecture of the brain.
Immune environments in most tongue cancer tumors help identify cases for effective treatment, report researchers from Institute of Science Tokyo. By profiling immune cell presence and activity in tumor samples from 87 patients, they identified five immunotypes, with most patients categorized in these immunotypes featuring low immune engagement. These findings explain why immune checkpoint inhibitors prove inefficacious in tongue cancer and suggest that immune-based classification could better guide personalized treatment strategies.
A study from Fujita Health University reveals that meal type, rather than meal sequence, significantly impacts how long people eat, how much they chew, and how fast they chew. Bento meals—typically eaten with chopsticks—led to longer mealtimes and more chewing than fast food like pizza. This is the first study to isolate meal structure as a key factor in eating speed, offering simple, practical strategies to combat obesity and promote mindful eating.
In a step towards engineering artificial cell membranes, researchers at Institute of Science Tokyo (Science Tokyo) used quartz crystal microbalance with energy dissipation monitoring (QCM-D) to study how DNA nanopores interact with lipid bilayers. Unlike conventional optical methods, QCM-D tracks changes in mass and viscosity in real time, offering unique mechanical insights into DNA–lipid interactions. This approach paves the way for designing DNA-based membrane technologies that modify the functionality of cell lipid membranes.