U.S. Government Launches Massive Study of Children
The National Institute of Child Health and Human Development, one of the National Institutes of Health, is gearing up to track roughly 100,000 children from before birth. It's one of the most ambitious studies ever of this kind. This is from the NICHD's press release:
In the search for environmental influences on human health, and their relationship to genetic constitution, National Children's Study researchers plan to examine such factors as the food children eat, the air they breathe, their schools and neighborhoods, their frequency of visits to a health care provider, and even the composition of the house dust in their homes.
Initial results will be available in 2010, although the study will last for decades.
