Most Emailed - Health

A woman's chance of having a child with autism increase substantially as she ages, but the risk may be less for older dads than previously suggested, a new study analyzing more than 5 million births found. Full Story »

WASHINGTON - Gallbladder surgery is usually a very safe operation, but a powerful congressman's death is a reminder of the known risks. Full Story »

WASHINGTON - Don't say "mental retardation" — the new term is "intellectual disability." No more diagnoses of Asperger's syndrome — call it a mild version of autism instead. And while "behavioral addictions" will be new to doctors' dictionaries, "Internet addiction" didn't make the cut. Full Story »

A number of studies over the past two decades have shown that religious people tend to be healthier. But a new study suggests that when it comes to heart disease and clogged arteries, attending religious services or having spiritual experiences may not protect against heart attacks and strokes. Full Story »

High rates of the most effective type of malaria-fighting drugs sold in three African countries are poor quality — including nearly half the pills sampled in Senegal — raising fears of increased drug resistance that could wipe out the last weapon left to battle a disease that kills 1 million people each year, according to a U.S. report released Monday. Full Story »

WASHINGTON - A critical safety net for babies — that heelprick of blood taken from every newborn — is facing an ethics attack. Full Story »

WASHINGTON (AFP) - People who drink at least two sugary sodas a week have an increased risk of developing cancer of the pancreas, and researchers suspect the culprit is sugar, a new study shows. Full Story »

THURSDAY, Feb. 4 (HealthDay News) -- Tests on more than 300 samples of canned tuna from the top three brands in the United States revealed that more than half contained mercury levels above what's considered safe by the Environmental Protection Agency. Full Story »

MONDAY, Feb. 8 (HealthDay News) -- People who down two or more soft drinks a week may have double the risk of developing deadly pancreatic cancer, compared to non-soda drinkers, new research suggests. Full Story »

Children raised by lesbian parents fare as well as they would in heterosexual households, new research suggests. Full Story »

WEDNESDAY, Feb. 3 (HealthDay News) -- Adding more evidence to theories linking DNA to weight, European scientists report that a genetic variation seems to virtually guarantee that a person will become obese. Full Story »

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Old tobacco smoke does more than simply make a room smell stale -- it can leave cancer-causing toxins behind, U.S. researchers reported on Monday. Full Story »

MONDAY, Feb. 8 (HealthDay News) -- The industrial cleaner trichloroethylene (TCE) has been linked to an increased risk of Parkinson's disease, U.S. researchers say. Full Story »

WASHINGTON (AFP) - First Lady Michelle Obama teamed up with athletes, farmers, doctors, the food industry and media to take on the childhood obesity "epidemic" that affects a staggering one in three American youngsters. Full Story »

NEW YORK (Reuters Health) - Our ever-expanding waistlines may have outgrown the doctor's needle, researchers say, in what could be another casualty of the obesity epidemic. Full Story »

MELBOURNE (AFP) - Lap-band surgery for severely overweight teenagers on Wednesday won support from Australian researchers after a study found the procedure helped them lose 80 percent of their excess fat. Full Story »

MONDAY, Feb. 8 (HealthDay News) -- High blood pressure may predict dementia in older adults with impaired executive function (difficulty organizing thoughts and making decisions), but not in those with memory problems, a new study has found. Full Story »

MONDAY, Feb. 8 (HealthDay News) -- Scientists say they've developed a new and easier way to create what's known as pluripotent stem cells -- cells that can develop into one of many cell types for use in regenerative medicine. Full Story »