Study on genes Vs. environment recruiting now.(OBSTETRICS)

Researchers in North Carolina and New York are beginning to recruit the first volunteers as part of a huge federal study that will examine the relative effects of genes and environment on development.

The researchers plan to track 100,000 women through pregnancy and then follow their children through age 21 years as part of the National Children's Study. In addition to tracking their development, the researchers will collect biological and environmental samples from study participants. Researchers aim to use this information to help identify the environmental and genetic factors that contribute to conditions such as autism, cerebral palsy, learning disabilities, birth defects, diabetes, asthma, and obesity.

Women are being recruited and enrolled from areas of the country that are representative of the diversity of U.S. children in terms of race, ethnicity, socioeconomic status, and community size. The initial recruitment began in mid-January in the borough of Queens, N.Y., and in Duplin County, N.C. In April, five other ...