Smoking in the weeks before and after conception has a potentially unhealthy effect on an embryo, Dutch research shows. “Smoking not only impacts an embryo’s growth during pregnancy and birth weight, but also embryo development right from the very early stages of pregnancy,” said study leader Dr. Melek Rousian, a gynecologist at Erasmus University Medical…  read on >  read on >

If they quit early on, there’s a good chance that teenage drug abusers can still succeed in life, researchers say. The findings show the importance of stopping drug use by early adulthood in order to protect future health and well-being, according to Jake Najman, a professor at the University of Queensland in Australia, and co-author…  read on >  read on >

Hot flashes. Night sweats. Waking up at all hours throughout the night. Millions of women battle these stereotypical menopause symptoms for years. Now, a small study suggests that a drug used for both men and women who have sleep disorders might offer relief. Researchers compared women who took suvorexant (Belsomra) with those who took a…  read on >  read on >

Screen your young child early and often for developmental delays. That’s the message behind updated checklists from the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and the American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP). The checklists, revised for the first time since their release in 2004, outline developmental milestones for infants and young children, to help identify…  read on >  read on >

If you’re wondering whether your child may have asthma, there are some tell-tale signs to look for, an expert says. Asthma is the most common chronic respiratory disease in children and affects more than 6 million U.S. children. Despite being common, diagnosing asthma in children can be difficult because “there is no one-size-fits-all set of…  read on >  read on >

Queen Elizabeth II has mild, cold-like symptoms after testing positive for COVID-19, according to Buckingham Palace. It added that despite the diagnosis on Sunday, the 95-year-old queen will continue with “light” duties at Windsor Castle over the coming week, the Associated Press reported. “She will continue to receive medical attention and will follow all the…  read on >  read on >

New research suggests that doctors should be cautious about giving newborns antibiotics because they can upset a baby’s gut microbiome — the balance of bacteria in their digestive systems. “We were surprised with the magnitude and duration of the effects of broad spectrum antibiotics on the infants’ microbiome when compared to effects of those same…  read on >  read on >

Researchers have discovered differences between the brains of girls and boys with autism that they say may improve diagnosis of the developmental disorder in girls. “We detected significant differences between the brains of boys and girls with autism, and obtained individualized predictions of clinical symptoms in girls,” said study senior author Vinod Menon, a professor…  read on >  read on >