Could your genes be to blame for your hot flashes? New research suggests that’s so, with genetics playing a role in both the severity and frequency of those hallmarks of menopause. While hot flashes are common, they don’t affect all women to the same degree and the reasons for those differences are unclear. Genetics have…  read on >  read on >

Most young people do want to protect others from COVID-19, according to polls of 14- to 24-year-olds that suggest focusing on this message may be effective. “Public health campaigns should leverage youths’ desire to protect others and not be the cause of spread,” said Dr. Kao-Ping Chua, an assistant professor of pediatrics at the University…  read on >  read on >

Bullied and mistreated teens are much more likely to fantasize about hurting or killing others, a new study warns. “One way to think about fantasies is as our brain rehearsing future scenarios,” said lead author Manuel Eisner, director of the University of Cambridge Violence Research Center in the U.K. His research included more than 1,400…  read on >  read on >

That college degree may be useful in many ways, but new research suggests it probably won’t keep your brain from shrinking with age. Over the years, a number of studies have suggested that education might buffer people against age-related declines in memory and thinking. But those findings did not prove a cause-and-effect relationship. In the…  read on >  read on >

In rare cases, people hospitalized for COVID-19 can develop heart failure, even if their hearts were previously healthy, new research shows. The researchers found that of over 6,400 COVID-19 patients at their hospital, 0.6% newly developed heart failure. That included eight patients — mostly relatively young men — with no history of heart disease or…  read on >  read on >

Having preeclampsia during pregnancy significantly increases a woman’s future risk of stroke, researchers say. Preeclampsia happens when a woman with previously normal blood pressure suddenly develops high blood pressure, protein in her urine or other problems after 20 weeks into pregnancy. The condition occurs in about one in 25 pregnancies in the United States, according…  read on >  read on >

An experimental COVID-19 vaccine could potentially provide universal protection against future COVID variants as well as other coronaviruses — maybe even the ones responsible for the common cold. And it’s dirt cheap — less than $1 a dose, researchers say. The vaccine targets a part of the COVID virus’ spike protein that appears to be…  read on >  read on >

Women who use marijuana heavily during pregnancy are more likely to give birth prematurely or have an underweight newborn, a new study suggests. Researchers found that babies born to moms with problem marijuana use — what doctors call cannabis use disorder — faced some higher risks than other newborns. They were 6% more likely to…  read on >  read on >