A new study has uncovered how stress experienced by mothers during pregnancy leaves a molecular imprint on their babies—starting before birth. The research shows that prenatal stress alters the expression of tiny RNA molecules in newborn blood, particularly in female children, and affects key enzymes in the brain's stress-regulation system. These changes may help explain why some children are more vulnerable to developmental or psychiatric challenges. The study opens new possibilities for early diagnosis and interventions targeting stress-related health risks.

Five-year-olds exposed to paternal depression are more likely to have behavioral issues in grade school, Rutgers Health researchers find

Henry Daniell of the School of Dental Medicine at the University of Pennsylvania and collaborators found that medications commonly prescribed for the treatment of hypertension have a negative impact on the same pathway they target to lower blood pressure. Daniell says that when trying to lower blood pressure “you don’t want to inhibit a key cardioprotective enzyme, ACE2, and you don't want to increase the angiotensin II pool. And here we observed both.”