Birth Defects News

December 18, 2025

Top Headlines

Young Adults Are Using Cannabis to Sleep at Alarming Rates

Dec. 18, 2025 More than 20% of young adults say they use cannabis or alcohol to fall asleep, with cannabis leading by a wide margin. Researchers warn this strategy can backfire, disrupting sleep quality and increasing the risk of long-term sleep and substance-use ...

Scientists Rewired Down Syndrome Brain Circuits by Restoring a Missing Molecule

Dec. 17, 2025 A missing brain molecule may be disrupting neural wiring in Down syndrome, according to new research. Replacing it in adult mice rewired brain circuits and improved brain flexibility, challenging the ...

Scientists Reveal Why Some Brains Stop Growing Too Soon

Dec. 17, 2025 Researchers used miniature human brains grown in the lab to uncover why certain genetic mutations lead to abnormally small brains. Changes in actin disrupted the orientation of early brain cell divisions, causing crucial progenitor cells to ...

Colon Cancer Is Surging in Younger Adults and Doctors Are Alarmed

Dec. 16, 2025 Cases of colorectal cancer in younger adults are climbing worldwide, driven by lifestyle changes and inherited genetic risks. Diet, obesity, and lack of early screening are playing a major role in this shift. New genetic tests offer hope for earlier ...

Kids’ Anxiety and Depression Dropped Fast After COVID School Reopenings

Dec. 13, 2025 Researchers discovered that children who went back to school during COVID experienced far fewer mental health diagnoses than those who stayed remote. Anxiety, depression, and ADHD all declined as in-person learning resumed. Healthcare spending tied ...

Single Enzyme Mutation Reveals a Hidden Trigger in Dementia

Dec. 9, 2025 Researchers discovered that a tiny structural feature of the enzyme GPX4 helps keep neurons safe. A rare mutation removes this protection, allowing harmful molecules to damage cell membranes and trigger early dementia. Mouse and cell studies showed ...

A Long-overlooked Weak Point in Your DNA Has Just Been Revealed

Dec. 3, 2025 Scientists discovered that the first 100 base pairs of human genes are unusually prone to mutations, especially during the earliest stages of embryonic development. These mosaic mutations often go undetected yet can still be passed on and cause ...

Nov. 28, 2025 A major review across 73 countries finds that access to antiseizure medications is rising, but safe prescribing isn’t keeping pace. Valproate—linked to serious birth defects—remains widely used in many regions despite WHO warnings. Limited ...

Half of Heart Attacks Strike People Told They’re Low Risk

Nov. 27, 2025 The study reveals that widely used heart-attack risk calculators fail to flag nearly half of those who will soon experience a cardiac event. Even the newer PREVENT model misclassifies many patients as low-risk. Since most people develop symptoms ...

Scientists Find a Hidden Weak Spot That May Trigger Alzheimer’s

Nov. 25, 2025 Scientists have found that a mutation tied to Alzheimer’s disrupts the production and quality of exosomes—tiny cell-made communication packets. Cells with the defective SORLA protein generate fewer exosomes and ones far less able to support ...

Inflammation Turns Bone Marrow Into a Breeding Ground for Disease

Nov. 19, 2025 Researchers discovered that chronic inflammation fundamentally remodels the bone marrow, allowing mutated stem cell clones to quietly gain dominance with age. Reprogrammed stromal cells and interferon-responsive T cells create a self-sustaining ...

Blocking One Enzyme May Break the Link Between Alcohol and Liver Disease

Nov. 18, 2025 Scientists discovered that alcohol activates a sugar-producing pathway in the body, creating fructose that may reinforce addictive drinking. The enzyme responsible, KHK, appears to drive both alcohol cravings and liver injury. When this enzyme was ...

Latest Headlines

updated 10:49am EST

Even Moderate Drinking Carries a Bigger Cancer Risk Than You Think

Dec. 11, 2025 Researchers found that both how often and how much someone drinks significantly shape their cancer risk, even at moderate levels. Vulnerability varies across groups, with genetics, socioeconomic ...

Simple Nutrient Mix Delivers Surprising Autism Breakthrough in Mice

Dec. 4, 2025 A low-dose mix of zinc, serine, and branched-chain amino acids boosted neural function and social behavior in autism mouse models. The combination restored more typical synaptic protein patterns and ...

Simple Thyroid Check in Pregnancy May Lower Autism Risk

Nov. 29, 2025 Researchers have found that ongoing thyroid hormone imbalance in pregnancy may be linked to higher autism risk in children. Treated thyroid disorders did not show the same effect. The longer the ...

Tiny Microneedle Patch Dramatically Improves Heart Attack Recovery

Nov. 21, 2025 Researchers created a dissolvable microneedle patch that delivers IL-4 directly to damaged heart tissue, jump-starting repair after a heart attack. The targeted approach shifts immune cells into a ...

New Study Finds Ozempic and Mounjaro Protect the Heart Too

Nov. 12, 2025 New research from the Technical University of Munich and Harvard Medical School reveals that popular GLP-1-based drugs, semaglutide (Ozempic) and tirzepatide (Mounjaro), not only promote weight loss ...

New Research Finds No Clear Link Between Acetaminophen (Tylenol) and Autism

Nov. 10, 2025 A sweeping review of existing studies finds no solid evidence that using acetaminophen (Tylenol) during pregnancy increases the risk of autism or ADHD in children. Researchers found that previous ...

Surprising Heart Study Finds Daily Coffee May Cut AFib Risk by 39%

Nov. 10, 2025 New research finds that daily coffee drinking may cut AFib risk by nearly 40%, defying decades of medical caution. Scientists discovered that caffeine’s effects on activity, blood pressure, and ...

A Hidden Breathing Problem May Be Behind Chronic Fatigue’s Crushing Exhaustion

Nov. 10, 2025 Scientists have discovered that most chronic fatigue patients experience dysfunctional breathing, which may worsen their symptoms. The likely culprit ...

Common Antidepressant Found to Work in Just Two Weeks

Nov. 8, 2025 Sertraline (Zoloft) may relieve emotional symptoms of depression and anxiety within two weeks, while physical side effects stabilize later. The research highlights how antidepressants can act on ...

Scientists Find Hidden Brain Damage from a Common Pesticide

Nov. 7, 2025 Prenatal exposure to the insecticide chlorpyrifos causes widespread brain abnormalities and poorer motor skills in children. Even after a residential ban, ongoing agricultural use continues to ...

Common Acne Drug May Protect Against Schizophrenia

Nov. 6, 2025 Scientists have discovered a surprising benefit of the acne drug doxycycline: it may lower the risk of schizophrenia. Teens prescribed the antibiotic were about one-third less likely to develop the ...

Think Melatonin Is Safe? New Research Reveals a Hidden Heart Risk

Nov. 4, 2025 Long-term melatonin use for sleep problems may come with unexpected heart dangers. Researchers found that chronic users were almost twice as likely to die and 3.5 times more likely to be hospitalized ...

Your Bedroom Glow Might Be Quietly Damaging Your Heart

Nov. 3, 2025 Boston researchers linked nighttime light exposure to greater stress-related brain activity and inflamed arteries, signaling a higher risk of heart disease. The study suggests that artificial light ...

Most Americans Don’t Know Alcohol Can Cause Cancer

Nov. 5, 2025 Most U.S. adults don’t realize alcohol raises cancer risk, and drinkers themselves are the least aware. Scientists say targeting these misbeliefs could significantly reduce alcohol-related cancer ...

Scientists Just Found a Hidden Genetic Flaw That Slowly Steals Strength

Nov. 6, 2025 A newly identified disorder, MINA syndrome, results from a mutation in the NAMPT protein that deprives motor neurons of energy, leading to severe movement problems. The discovery not only deepens ...

A 25-Year Crohn’s Disease Mystery Finally Cracked by AI

Nov. 3, 2025 UC San Diego researchers combined artificial intelligence with molecular biology to unravel how immune cells in the gut decide between inflammation and healing, a process gone awry in Crohn’s ...

Scientists Just Made Gene Editing Far More Powerful

Oct. 25, 2025 Scientists at The University of Texas at Austin have developed a revolutionary gene-editing method using bacterial retrons that can correct multiple disease-causing mutations at once. Unlike ...

A Gene from 100-Year-Olds Could Help Kids Who Age Too Fast

Nov. 3, 2025 Scientists have discovered that a “longevity gene” found in people who live beyond 100 can reverse heart aging in models of Progeria, a devastating disease that causes children to age rapidly. By ...

Can Ozempic Help You Cut Back on Alcohol? Researchers Think So

Oct. 18, 2025 Semaglutide, tirzepatide, and other GLP-1 drugs appear to slow alcohol absorption and blunt its intoxicating effects, according to new research. The study found participants on these medications felt ...

From Poison to Power: How Lead Exposure Helped Shape Human Intelligence

Oct. 16, 2025 Long before humans built cities or wrote words, our ancestors may have faced a hidden threat that shaped who we became. Scientists studying ancient teeth found that early humans, great apes, and even ...

Scientists Discover a Hidden Gene Mutation That Causes Deafness—and a Way to Fix It

Oct. 25, 2025 Scientists have identified mutations in the CPD gene as a key cause of a rare congenital hearing loss, revealing how disruptions in arginine and nitric oxide signaling damage sensory cells in the ...

Your Skin Could Warn of Hidden Mental Health Trouble

Oct. 13, 2025 People experiencing their first psychotic episode who also have skin conditions such as rashes or itching are at greater risk of depression and suicidal thoughts, according to new research presented ...

Keto Diet Shields Young Minds from Early-Life Trauma

Oct. 12, 2025 Young rats given a ketogenic diet were largely protected from the mental and behavioral issues caused by prenatal stress. The high-fat, low-carb diet appeared to safeguard brain development and ...

Stanford Scientists Grow Thousands of Mini Human Brains Using Common Food Additive

Oct. 18, 2025 Stanford scientists have solved a long-standing challenge in growing brain organoids by using a simple food additive to keep them from sticking together. The breakthrough enables the production of ...

Scientists Finally Read the Hidden DNA Code That Shapes Disease

Oct. 18, 2025 EMBL researchers created SDR-seq, a next-generation tool that decodes both DNA and RNA from the same cell. It finally opens access to non-coding regions, where most disease-associated genetic ...

Weight-Loss Drugs Like Ozempic May Also Curb Drug and Alcohol Addiction

Oct. 26, 2025 GLP-1 drugs, originally developed for diabetes and obesity, may also curb addictive behaviors by acting on reward circuits in the brain. Early trials show reductions in alcohol intake, opioid ...

The Hidden Evolution Making Men’s Sperm More Dangerous With Age

Oct. 19, 2025 Groundbreaking research shows that as men age, harmful genetic mutations in sperm become more common—not just from random chance, but because some are naturally favored. Advanced sequencing ...

Exercise Might Be the Key to a Younger, Sharper Immune System

Oct. 14, 2025 Endurance exercise may train the immune system as much as the muscles. Older adults with decades of running or cycling had immune cells that functioned better and aged more slowly. Their inflammation ...

When Men Drink, Women and Children Pay the Price

Oct. 10, 2025 Men’s heavy drinking is fueling a hidden crisis affecting millions of women and children worldwide. The harms, from violence to financial instability, are especially severe where gender inequality ...

Brain Cancer That Eats the Skull Stuns Scientists

Oct. 5, 2025 A new study shows glioblastoma isn’t confined to the brain—it erodes the skull and hijacks the immune system within skull marrow. The cancer opens channels that let inflammatory cells enter the ...