Gov. Jerry Brown said Tuesday that he intends to change California's landmark consumer-safety law in an attempt to reduce frivolous lawsuits and give the public clearer information about toxic chemicals.

More than 1 million babies die the day they are born every year, and the 14 countries with the highest rates of first-day deaths are all in Africa, according to a new report released Tuesday.

High levels of hazardous chemicals, many of which have been banned in children’s products, were found in garden hoses for the second year in row.

Injuries from gasoline, lamp oil and similar chemicals have dropped considerably among small U.S. children in the last decade, according to a new study.

Outbreaks of measles are putting Europe's commitment to eliminate the disease by 2015 under threat, the World Health Organization (WHO) has warned. Levels of vaccination have been too low in some countries, and claims of a link between the vaccine and autism damaged uptake figures - particularly in the UK.

Save the Children reports that income inequality in developing and developed countries alike is a key factor in newborn death rates. The US has the highest such rate in the developed world.

The health impact of indoor air pollution is a real environmental health issue, which is believed to have a bearing on respiratory conditions such as asthma.

China's top quality watchdog has destroyed some of L'Occitane's scrubbing cream, which was imported from France by its Shanghai company, for containing excessive levels of lead.

High levels of air pollution make the Pittsburgh region a risky area to live when it comes to asthma, cancer and cardiovascular disease, according to studies presented Tuesday by a parade of researchers at a public health summit Downtown.

Responding to complaints from businesses, Gov. Jerry Brown is proposing an overhaul of California's 26-year-old landmark clean water and anti-toxics law that he said is being misused by "unscrupulous lawyers" filing lawsuits.

Noise from busy roads and highways can raise the risk of developing type 2 diabetes, possibly by interrupting sleep and increasing stress, according to a large study from Denmark. The risk increased by 8 to 11 percent for every 10-decibel rise in road noise. The results add to the growing number of studies that link traffic noise to human health problems.

A growing consensus is arguing that sex differences exist in genetic susceptibility, brain development and social learning in autism—and they are meaningful to our understanding of the disorder and how it will be treated.

U.S. health regulators are warning doctors and women of child-bearing age that half-a-dozen medications used to treat migraine headaches – all containing the ingredient valproate sodium – can decrease children's intelligence if taken while their mothers are pregnant.

By the time babies were 18 months old, those whose parents sucked their pacifiers were less likely to have asthma and eczema, and the researchers concluded that this was because parents exposed their babies to bacteria in their saliva, stimulating babies’ immune systems.

Findings add to growing evidence that some degree of exposure to germs at an early age benefits children, and that microbial deprivation might backfire, preventing the immune system from developing a tolerance to trivial threats.

The best way to clean a pacifier, according to a Swedish study, is to pop it in your own mouth and then give it to your baby. The new research is part of an investigation of the hygiene hypothesis - the notion that increased rates of allergies and asthma are due to overly clean living environments.

Long hours spent in air-conditioned and carpeted rooms and genetic factors are now being increasingly seen as major causes of asthma, which was earlier attributed mainly to vehicular exhaust and other forms of air pollution.

Pittsburgh may be one of America's most livable cities, but air pollution still makes the area a riskier place to live, according to a presentation scheduled Tuesday.

Citing growing evidence of the health risks associated with sunlamps and tanning beds, the Food and Drug Administration on Monday said it would seek tighter regulations and more-detailed labeling of the devices, in part to discourage their use by people under 18.

San Francisco City Attorney Dennis Herrera sued Monster Beverage Corp. in California state court Monday, accusing the company of marketing its caffeinated energy drinks to children despite alleged health risks.