Birth Defects News

November 8, 2025

Top Headlines

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 endanger developing ...

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 condition as adults. The effect could stem from the ...

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 understanding of nerve cell metabolism but also ...

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 for heart failure. Though melatonin is widely ...

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 at night disrupts normal stress responses, leading ...

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 introducing this supercentenarian gene into ...

Your IQ May Determine How Well You Hear in a Crowd

Oct. 29, 2025 — New research reveals that intelligence plays a key role in how well people process speech in noisy environments. The study compared neurotypical and neurodivergent individuals and found that cognitive ability predicted performance across all groups. ...

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 seeking, and nicotine use. Though more research is ...

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 traditional tools limited to one or two mutations, this ...

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 revealed dozens of genes under selective pressure, many ...

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 variants lie. By revealing how these variants affect gene ...

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 less drunk despite consuming the same amount of ...

Latest Headlines

updated 11:09am EST

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 ...

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 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 ...

This Everyday Vitamin Could Be the Closest Thing We Have to an “anti-Aging Pill”

Oct. 22, 2025 — A study found that daily vitamin D supplements helped slow telomere shortening—the cellular process linked to aging and disease. Researchers ...

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 ...

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 ...

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 ...

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 ...

When Men Drink, Women and Children Pay the Price

Oct. 11, 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 ...

Why Gen X Women Can’t Stop Eating Ultra-Processed Foods

Sep. 29, 2025 — Researchers found that middle-aged adults, especially women, are far more likely to be addicted to ultra-processed foods than older generations. Marketing of diet-focused processed foods in the 1980s ...

Scientists Uncover How to Block Pain Without Side Effects

Sep. 26, 2025 — Scientists have discovered a way to block pain while still allowing the body’s natural healing to take place. Current painkillers like ibuprofen and aspirin often come with harmful side effects ...

Scientists Finally Explain the Real Reason Pregnant Women Get Morning Sickness

Sep. 29, 2025 — Morning sickness isn’t just random misery—it’s a biological defense system shaped by evolution to protect the fetus. By linking immune responses to nausea and food aversions, UCLA researchers ...

Miscarriages, Down Syndrome, and Infertility All Linked to This Hidden DNA Process

Sep. 28, 2025 — Human fertility hinges on a delicate molecular ballet that begins even before birth. UC Davis researchers have uncovered how special protein networks safeguard chromosomes as eggs and sperm form, ...

Think Light Drinking Protects Your Brain? Think Again

Oct. 4, 2025 — A massive new study combining observational and genetic data overturns the long-held belief that light drinking protects the brain. Researchers found that dementia risk rises in direct proportion to ...

Doctors Stunned by a Cheap Drug’s Power Against Colon Cancer

Oct. 3, 2025 — A Scandinavian clinical trial has revealed that low-dose aspirin can halve the risk of colon and rectal cancer recurrence in patients with specific genetic mutations. The research, involving over ...

Cocoa Supplements Show Surprising Anti-Aging Potential

Sep. 27, 2025 — Daily cocoa extract supplements reduced key inflammation markers in older adults, pointing to a role in protecting the heart. The findings reinforce the value of flavanol-rich, plant-based foods for ...

Stress Measured in Hair Could Predict Depression and Anxiety in Children

Sep. 16, 2025 — Researchers from the University of Waterloo discovered that measuring long-term stress through children’s hair samples can reveal early signs of mental health risks in those living with chronic ...

Daily Eye Drops Could Make Reading Glasses Obsolete

Sep. 15, 2025 — Eye drops combining pilocarpine and diclofenac helped patients read extra lines on vision charts, with effects lasting up to two years. The treatment could revolutionize presbyopia care as a safe, ...

Half of Adults Suffer from Dry Eyes, but Most Never Get Help

Sep. 15, 2025 — Dry eyes are far more common than previously believed, with over half of adults in the US and Europe experiencing symptoms, yet most remain undiagnosed for years. The large-scale NESTS study reveals ...

Scientists Find Brain Circuit That Traps Alcohol Users in the Vicious Cycle of Addiction

Oct. 6, 2025 — Addiction often isn’t about chasing pleasure—it’s about escaping pain. Researchers at Scripps Research have discovered that a tiny brain region called the paraventricular nucleus of the ...

Why Alcohol Blocks the Liver from Healing, Even After You Quit

Sep. 22, 2025 — Alcohol doesn’t just damage the liver — it locks its cells in a strange “in-between” state that prevents them from healing. Even after someone quits drinking, liver cells often get stuck, ...

Autism May Be the Price of Human Intelligence

Sep. 28, 2025 — Researchers discovered that autism’s prevalence may be linked to human brain evolution. Specific neurons in the outer brain evolved rapidly, and autism-linked genes changed under natural selection. ...

Ozempic’s Hidden Pregnancy Risk Few Women Know About

Sep. 9, 2025 — Thousands of women are using GLP-1 drugs like Ozempic for weight loss without contraception, leading to unintended pregnancies and potential risks for unborn babies. Experts warn clearer medical ...

Common Heart Drug Taken by Millions Found Useless, Possibly Risky

Aug. 31, 2025 — Beta blockers, used for decades after heart attacks, provide no benefit for patients with preserved heart function, according to the REBOOT trial. The massive study also found women faced higher ...

The Midlife Crisis Is Over, but Something Worse Took Its Place

Sep. 2, 2025 — Once a universal feature of human psychology, the “unhappiness hump” in midlife has disappeared, replaced by a new trend: mental health is worst in youth and improves with age. Data from the ...

Alcohol’s Hidden Shortcut Lets Gut Bacteria Wreck the Liver

Sep. 19, 2025 — Alcohol-associated liver disease is becoming a massive health and economic burden, but researchers at UC San Diego may have uncovered a new way forward. They discovered that chronic alcohol use ...

9 in 10 Australian Teachers Are Stressed to Breaking Point

Aug. 26, 2025 — Australian teachers are in crisis, with 9 in 10 experiencing severe stress and nearly 70% saying their workload is unmanageable. A major UNSW Sydney study found teachers suffer depression, anxiety, ...

The Fat You Can’t See May Be Damaging Your Heart, Even If You Exercise

Sep. 6, 2025 — Hidden fat wrapped around organs, known as visceral fat, has now been linked to faster heart aging. Using AI and imaging from more than 21,000 people in the UK Biobank, scientists found that this ...