Preterm birth can cause health problems later in life, should be considered in adult health records, URI study shows - The University of Rhode Island

Spleen tissue from a mouse without PHF19 (left) and a mouse with normal PHF19 function (right). Dense clusters of immune cells sit within blood-rich regions in pink. Without PHF19, cells are altered in their differentiation process. Image credit: Gianni Gamarra/Centro de Regulación Genómica Experiments with mice and patient data reveal new genes that can predict acute myeloid leukaemia outcome

Children who eat more ultra-processed foods (UPFs) show stronger responses in the brain's reward network when viewing images of appetizing foods-and these brain responses are linked to increases in body fat one year later. The findings, just published in JAMA Network Open, suggest that the brain may become more sensitive to food cues when children consume more UPFs. UPFs are manufactured food products-such as breakfast cereals, packaged bread and instant soups-that are designed to be highly palatable, convenient and shelf-stable. They often contain artificial sweeteners, colors and other ingredients that people do not typically use when cooking at home. On average, U. S. children get about 67% of their daily calories from UPFs.