WEDNESDAY, Dec. 19, 2018 (HealthDay News) — New research shows that marijuana causes genetic changes in sperm, though it’s not clear what effect those changes have, or if they’re passed on to a man’s children. But the scientists said their findings suggest that men trying to have children should considerContinue Reading

THURSDAY, Dec. 6, 2018 (HealthDay News) — Medical science has made tremendous advances in “personalized medicine” — drugs that fight cancer and other diseases by boosting the immune system or targeting specific genetic traits. Former U.S. President Jimmy Carter benefited from one of these drugs, Keytruda (pembrolizumab), which successfully beatContinue Reading

THURSDAY, Nov. 15, 2018 (HealthDay News) — Coffee’s bitter taste shouldn’t be a selling point. But a genetic variant explains why so many people love the brew, a new study suggests. Bitterness evolved as a natural warning system to protect people from harmful substances. That means they should want toContinue Reading

WEDNESDAY, Nov. 7, 2018 (HealthDay News) — Home pregnancy tests are commonplace, but that doesn’t mean that every type of self-test for health issues is reliable. And even if results are accurate, you shouldn’t forgo getting advice from your health-care provider, especially if the condition is life-changing and requires veryContinue Reading

TUESDAY, Nov. 6, 2018 (HealthDay News) — Kids with summer birthdays, especially those who spend long hours playing on smartphones and tablets, might be at greater risk for vision problems, a new study suggests. Nearsightedness, also called myopia, is on the rise worldwide. It’s what eye doctors call a refractiveContinue Reading

WEDNESDAY, Oct. 24, 2018 (HealthDay News) — Has stroke hit your family particularly hard? A healthy lifestyle may be your best defense, new research shows. The study of more than 306,000 white British people found that exercising, eating right and not smoking lowered stroke risk — even for those whoseContinue Reading

WEDNESDAY, Oct. 17, 2018 (HealthDay News) — The number of genes known to be associated with autism now stands at 102, researchers report. They also said that they’ve made significant progress in distinguishing between genes associated with autism and those associated with intellectual disability and developmental delay, conditions that oftenContinue Reading