The Los Angeles Times reported on a large new study finding that antidepressant use during pregnancy does not appear to significantly increase a child’s risk of autism or ADHD once family mental health history is taken into account. UCLA’s Dr. Katie Unverferth, medical director of the UCLA Maternal Mental Health Program, said the findings offer reassurance for expectant parents weighing treatment decisions during pregnancy. Unverferth also emphasized that the risks of untreated depression must be considered alongside concerns about medication use. Read more about UCLA in today’s Independent, BBC News and others.
More highlights from UCLA in the News: May 27, 2026
The many challenges facing the Ebola outbreak in the DRC | BBC News
“This is a very, very complex situation that is, under the best of circumstances, logistically very, very difficult. You’re working in a place without Ebola; you already have conflict. You already have a lack of infrastructure. The lack of USAID funding now … hospitals, they rely on aid funding, and USAID was a major part of that network that kept things going at a very base level,” said UCLA’s Anne Rimoin.
UCLA Festival of Preservation | KABC-TV
In this next story, we give thanks to a special community of experts at UCLA, who are not only saving priceless film, but are inviting you to witness some of their rarest treasures … “There is no single place outside of the Library of Congress here in the United States that has a larger collection of moving images,” said UCLA’s May Hong HaDuong.
How election ballots are processed | KCAL-TV
“I think the message comes from the top. Donald Trump has been saying ever since the COVID pandemic and the election held that he lost to Joe Biden that there’s a lot of fraud related to mail-in ballots. This is not true, but it certainly is having an effect,” said UCLA’s Rick Hasen (approx. 1:30 mark).
Inhaler usage lower among communities of color compared to whites | Scienmag
A groundbreaking study led by researchers at UCLA has unveiled persistent racial and ethnic disparities in the utilization of asthma inhalers across the United States, despite longstanding clinical guidelines that advocate for daily controller medications as the cornerstone of effective asthma management. This comprehensive analysis sheds light on the entrenched socioeconomic barriers and the critical impact of healthcare access inequities that contribute to uneven asthma treatment across diverse populations. (UCLA’s Dr. Utibe Essien was cited.)
Deep-sea octopus discovered near Galapagos confirmed as new species | Independent
The discovery of the octopus species, the researchers note, is a reminder of how much of the ocean around the Galápagos Islands remained unexplored. “Every new species helps us better understand these hidden ecosystems, and why protecting them matters,” Salome Buglass, marine scientist from the University of California Los Angeles, said. (Also: Phys.org.)