According to a new study, infants respond to the rhythm and tempo of music, and find it to be more engaging than speech. The findings are based on a study of infants aged between five months and two years old, and suggest that babies may be born with a predisposition to move rhythmically in response to music.

The study was conducted by Dr. Marcel Zentner of the University of York's Department of Psychology and Dr. Tuomas Eerola from the Finnish Centre of Excellence in Interdisciplinary Music Research at the University of Jyvaskyla. In the study, infants listened to a variety of audio stimuli which included classical music, rhythmic beats and speech.

The infants' spontaneous movements were recorded by video and #D motion-capture technology, which were then compared across the different stimuli. Researchers also enlisted the help of professional ballet dances to analyze the extent to which babies matched their movement to the music.

Speaking of the study, Dr. Zentner said:

"We also found that the better the children were able to synchronize their movements with the music the more they smiled.

A new study published Wednesday in the Journal of the American Medical Association showed that babies who died from sudden infant death syndrome (SIDS) have lower levels of the brain chemical serotonin. The study, which was funded by the National Institutes of Health, showed that serotonin levels, which regulate a baby's sleep, heart rate and breathing, were 26 percent lower in the brainstems of babies who died from SIDS than in those of babies who died from other causes.

Researchers now believe that low serotonin levels may be the "fundamental abnormality" in babies who die from SIDS. Serotonin acts as a sort of alarm system in the brainstem, waking a sleeping baby when breathing is disrupted. Without it, babies can be unware that they are not breathing in enough oxygen, which thus causes them to die in their sleep, claims the study.

In addition, the study also found that babies with low serotonin also had low levels of the enzyme tryptophan hydroxylase, which is required to make serotonin. These levels were found to be 22 percent lower in the SIDS babies.

On Tuesday, the medical journal The Lancet formally retracted a controversial paper published in 1998 that had linked the measles, mumps and rubella (MMR) vaccine to autism. It had formed the basis for the argument that vaccines cause an increase risk of autism. The study was later discredited, and last week the lead author -- Dr. Andrew Wakefield -- was found to have acted unethically in his research.

Britain's General Medical Council, which oversees doctors in England, said that "there was a biased selection of patients in The Lancet paper" and added that his "conduct in this regard was dishonest and irresponsible." In addition, they found that Dr. Wakefield had subjected some children to various invasive procedures such as colonscopies and MRI scans, and paid children at his son's birthday party to have their blood drawn for research purposes.

Following the Council's findings last week, The Lancet retracted the study and issued a statement, which reads:

For the first time in over a decade, the pregnancy rate among teenage girls in the United States has risen, raising alarm that the long campaign to curb teen motherhood is failing. Between 2005 and 2006, the pregnancy rate among 15 to 19-year-olds rose 3 percent.

According to an analysis of the most recent data collected by the federal government and a leading reproductive health organization, this marks the first jump in teen pregnancy rates since 1990.

Lawrence Finer, director of domestic research for the Guttmacher Institute, said:

"The decline in teen pregnancy has stopped -- and in fact has turned around. "These data are certainly cause for concern."

On a related note, the abortion rate also rose for the first time in more than a decade. It increased by 1 percent, and coupled with the rising teen pregnancy rates, is intensifying concern.

Sarah Brown from the National Campaign to Prevent Teen and Unplanned Pregnancy said:

"One of the nation's shining success stories of the past two decades is in danger of unraveling. "Clearly, the nation's collective efforts to convince teens to postpone childbearing must be more creative and more intense, and they must begin today."

Graco issued a massive recall of 1.5 million strollers today because the stroller's canopy pose a fingertip amputation and laceration hazard to the child when the consumer is opening or closing the canopy.The affected models are Graco's Passage , Alano and Spree Strollers and Travel Systems which were sold at AAFES, Burlington Coat Factory, Babies "R" Us, Toys "R" Us, Kmart, Fred Meyer, Meijers, Navy Exchange, Sears, Target, Walmart and other retailers nationwide from October 2004 and December 2009.

The press release says:

A report published Monday in the January issue of Pediatrics disputes the belief of Jenny McCarthy and other parents, stating that there is no evidence that autistic children have more digestive problems than others, or that diets can help the condition. The paper says that while digestive pain can impact children's behavior and warrants medical treatment, digestive issues are not more common in children with autism.

A 1998 paper had first put forth the notion that autistic children often suffered from a problem called "leaky gut" or "autistic entercolitis". That paper has since been discredited, and the report issued today says that there is no evidence that autistic entercolitis even exists. The report does at least call for more scientific research into the efficacy of special diets, but says that right now there is no scientific evidence to support them.

Currently, one in five autistic child is on some form of special diet, with most eliminating gluten or casein, a milk protein. Jenny McCarthy and others credit special diets with helping their children "recover" from autism. As such, tyhis report is likely to ruffle some feathers.

Executives at Campbell Soup Co. say that they will be improving the nutrition of SpaghettiOs by cutting the amount of sodium in the canned pasta by up to 35 percent. They also say that this is the second time in two years that they are lowing the product's sodium level.

Sean Campbell, president of Campbell's U.S. soups, sauces and beverages, said in a statement:

"Changing the recipe of SpaghettiOs comes on the heels of reducing sodium in our condensed kids' soups to healthy levels. It's also consistent with our commitment to advertise only sound food choices to children."

The newly reduced sodium content SpaghettiOs and SpaghettiOs A to Z's should begin hitting grocery store shelves in April 2010. Other modified types of SpaghettiOs will begin arriving in July 2010.

Campbell's, like other manufacturers of food marketed to children, are under intense pressure from the federal Food and Drug Administration and Department of Agriculture to meet requirements for main dishes with controls on fat, saturated fat, cholesterol, and sodium.

Food intended for children is also supposed to contain a significant level of at least two positive nutrients.

A new statistical analysis of 10,000 households, whose members were asked questions about their happiness over a 15 year period, reveals that for married parents, each child makes them progressively happier. In contrast, those who are single, separated or living together are more likely to have negative feelings about parenthood.

Writing in the Journal of Happiness Studies, Dr. Luis Angeles, an economist at Glasgow University, said "raising kids makes married people happier" and that "the more they have, the happier they are."

Health insurance coverage denials know no age limit. Alex Lange, a four month old baby from Colorado, was recently denied insurance after he was deemed to be too fat for his age.

At 25-inches long and 17lbs., Alex is above average. Alex's father Bernie Lange and his wife Kelli say that their insurance went up 40% when he was born. So when they went to shop for better premiums, they were shocked to learn that the size of their baby matter.

An insurance underwriter for Rocky Mountain Health Plans simply wrote, "Your baby is too fat."

Alex born at a healthy 8 1/4 pounds. He boasts quite a healthy appetite, which is why he has been packing on the pounds. For a baby of his age at his weight and height, he ranks in the 99th percentile.

Bernie, a part-time news anchor for KKCO-TV in Grand Junction, CO said:

"We can't put him on the Atkins diet or on a treadmill."

Kelli added: "He's healthy in our eyes. It's like we're being punished."

Dr. Douglas Speedie, director of Rocky Mountain Health Plans, explained:

"We do it because everybody else in the industry does it."

The school year is fast approaching and that means a whole new schedule for your youngsters. The Cleveland Clinic has just uploaded a video with tips on how to prepare your children to get into a sleep routine. The video states:

They are the three words kids hate most these days: back to school. Health experts say now is the time parents should get their kids back into a "school night" routine.

Here is what the experts say to prepare your child for school: