Heritability is easy to understand, but it elevates correlation to causation. At the same time, heritability looks solely under the lamppost for genes versus environment and doesn’t consider other possibilities—like gene-environment interaction. To find gene-environment interactions, you have to look for them. If they are not measured, they will not be found, but they absolutely exist.
The Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai has received a prestigious $4.5 million, five-year K12 award from the National Institutes of Health (NIH) to establish a pioneering program that will train the next generation of leaders in women’s health research.
Halloween is a fun time for kids: trick-or-treating, classroom parties, dressing up and costumes and more. But we understand safety is a concern for moms and dads, which is why we’ve come up with these 13 easy tips and tricks to make Halloween a safe and fun activity for all!
Most journeys go smoother when you use a map. It is more than a cliché to say life is a journey, and metaphors about life, journeys, and maps abound. We all have our own personal map of our life’s journey—which once drawn—reflects our personal exposome.
It’s time for the kids to head back to school. Here are some simple tips to encourage healthy habits and get them off to a great start!
Exposure to PFAS is associated with numerous health outcomes, with children being especially vulnerable. Learn about PFAS exposures and how to protect yourself and your family from it.
Exposure to a class of synthetic chemicals known as per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS)—often called “forever chemicals”—may increase the risk of developing type 2 diabetes, according to a new study led by Mount Sinai researchers.
A study led by researchers at the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai shows that exposure to lead during pregnancy and early childhood may accelerate the rate at which children forget information—a critical marker of memory impairment that may have implications for learning and development.
The Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai has announced the appointment of Dr. Manasi Agrawal as the inaugural Director of Environmental Gastroenterology in the Henry D. Janowitz Division of Gastroenterology.
What happens when everything you thought you knew suddenly no longer fits the world?
A new study led in part by Mount Sinai researchers has found a compelling link between the composition of the gut microbiome and the risk of cognitive impairment in adults, underscoring the role biology and social determinants—such as food insecurity— in brain health.
Solar radiation is hazardous for children. Blistering sunburns in childhood and adolescence are especially dangerous and are strongly associated with increased risk of skin cancer. Blond or red-haired and blue-eyed children, who often have lighter complexions, are at highest risk of solar injury, because their skin contains smaller quantities of the protective pigment, melanin, than children with darker complexions.
The Second Latin American Exposome Symposium will be held in Santiago, Chile, September 25-27, 2025, focusing on the theme “Integrating Environmental Exposures into Aging, Alzheimer’s Disease, and ADRD Research.”
Biological theories of molecular biology have long neglected the exposome. It’s time to integrate environment and genetics into a unified theorem.
Ticks are very small 8-legged bugs that can transmit diseases to humans (tick-borne diseases). It’s important to protect yourself and your family from tick bites
Exposure to lingering fine particulate matter (PM2.5) from wildfire smoke can have health effects up to three months afterwards, well beyond the couple of days that previous studies have identified. The exposure can occur even after the fires have ended.
Many turf products are available and some are even advertised as “green” or “ecofriendly”, but it can be difficult to assess their safety for use by children. Read this entry to learn what chemicals these products contain and understand what the potential health risks may be.
The Mount Sinai Children’s Environmental Health Center at the Institute for Exposomic Research recommends against the installation of artificial turf playing surfaces and fields due to the uncertainties surrounding the safety of these products and the potential for dangerous heat and chemical exposures.
Ultra-processed foods (UPFs) make up the vast majority of foods on grocery shelves. While convenient and low-cost, these foods often lack nutrients, and recent studies show that frequent consumption of UPFs may contribute to health risks.
We need a Human Exposome Project to catalyze exposome research and gene-environment interaction research—and we need it now. We need it to exponentially advance our understanding of biology. We need it to complete the human genome project—because with it, we will better understand the interactions between genes and environment.
