A London conference applauds the UK government’s rekindled interest in longitudinal research and sparks argument about whether interventions in adolescence will come too late to repair the deep-seated damage that underlies some violent behavior.

“They looked after us like den mothers, though were not above turning into strict teachers when we needed a bit of discipline. Their vast experience of turning out this kind of report enabled them to reassure us, when we began to panic…” E Jane Costello looks back on her time among the Washington “bears”.

“If we’re to see a change in our culture, we also need to engage the media in a public campaign to raise standards of care and education…" the UK response to the US National Academies’ report rallies behind calls for a public health perspective on prevention.

“This has got to be near the top of the list, if not at the top of the list. We need action at the White House cabinet level…” National Academies committee vice chair Thomas Boat puts the argument for the prevention becoming a US national priority.

The National Academies report just published will help to set the agenda for US prevention science in the coming decade. What does the future hold for integrated, cross-disciplinary, cost-analyzed children's services?

The global economic crisis, a new US administration and compelling evidence about the cost of ignoring developmental disorders in young people - has prevention's moment arrived?

US research is showing how the study of low birth weight provides insight into a range of social problems and highlights the value of strategies for alleviating the predicament of vulnerable young mothers anywhere in the world.

Might it follow that in a neighborhood without sidewalks, where walking to the shops is out of the question and families are more likely to be isolated from one another, children are more likely to be obese? Texas research suggests so.

Analysis of 110 studies and the accumulated experience of 40,000 children and young people suggests that, as much as the victims, the witnesses of neighborhood violence would benefit from services designed to deal with post traumatic stress disorder.

A first national survey of residential education in the US highlights the difficulty of producing compelling evidence about its effectiveness as a foster placement for young people at risk until clearer distinctions are made between the various formulations of group care to which it superficially belongs.

A key player in the cross-party alliance that is championing the cause of early intervention in UK government circles lays out for parliamentary scrutiny proposals for a Blueprints for Violence Prevention-style national program evaluation center.

The US administration is being urged to set national standards for data collection as a basis for developing, targeting and monitoring consistent national policies and programs for children and young people.

Going to scale with an effective treatment for antisocial behavior takes much more than it does to make a good thing bigger. Community level problems need community-wide solutions, say researchers at Duke University.

Findings from a long-term study of child development in Canada reinforce evidence about the persistent impact of poor parenting on very young boys.

Ideas about metacognition belonging to Aristotle – that with a good education comes awareness of the factors influencing a student’s thought and behavior – have found their way into a successful middle-school mathematics rescue program.

Prevention science knows a lot about theories of change. Signs are that if proven programs are to be successfully implemented, prevention scientists may be the ones who need to coaxed into seeing the world differently.

Long-term studies of child development in the UK and the US have come to different conclusions about the pros and cons of preschool nursery education and informal care provided by relatives or friends.

Suspicions that the child health policy making process is often shaped less by carefully weighed research than by the persuasiveness of seductive “killer facts” are borne out in Australia.