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Enlarge ImageHuman nature. Children born via IVF may hold clues to what makes us who we are. Credit: Jupiter Images It's perhaps the most controversial question in biology: Are we shaped by our genes or by our environment? The debate extends even to the womb, where the chemistry of the fetal environment may play as much of a role in our development as the genes we inherit from our parents. Now, scientists believe they have found a clever way to disentangle the effects of genes and environment in the womb. The solution is to look at babies conceived in...

When it comes to babies big really is better, according to research that links high birth weight to an elevated IQ in later life. Researchers from Britain and Queensland tracked 470 children from birth to adolescence, recording birth weight and IQ scores in tests at ages five and 14. They found a positive correlation between heavy infants and high intelligence in childhood, regardless of other factors that affect intelligence, such as socio-economic background. "There's a whole literature which is blossoming which links what happens in pregnancy with the subsequent health and development of a person," said study co-author Jake Najman,...

Kids Born to Obese Women Are More Likely to Be Overweight Associated Press CHICAGO, July 5 -- Children born to obese women are more than twice as likely to be overweight by age 4, according to a new study that indicates prevention efforts should begin at -- or even before -- birth. Although obesity is known to run in families, the study appears to be the first to follow children from birth until preschool to see how early the problem develops, said the study's author, Robert C. Whitaker, a pediatrician at Princeton, N.J.-based Mathematica Policy Research. The study of 8,494...

NEW YORK (Reuters Health) - Lower birth weight and slower weight gain early in life may be associated with poorer psychological health in adulthood, new research suggests. The study of more than 9,700 UK adults followed since birth found that as birth weight increased, the risk of psychological distress in adulthood declined. The same association was found for weight gain until the age of 7, according to findings published in the October 5th issue of the British Medical Journal. On a brighter note, though, the study authors also found that relatively rapid weight gain after birth may compensate for the...