'Carmageddon' can be motivation to get out and move

Trapped in your neighborhood this weekend due to "Carmegeddon," or just afraid to venture out in an automobile? No worries -- consider using this weekend as an excuse to burn calories doing mind-numbing errands.

Genetics: Scientists seek diversity in genome study subjects

Genomics research, in which researchers scan subjects' DNA in search of the genetic basis of many diseases, has focused too narrowly on studying subjects of European descent, write a team of genetics experts in the journal Nature this week.

Men more likely to die from cancer than women

Cancer kills more men than women -- some forms more than others, finds a new study.

PET scans for detecting Alzheimer's disease appear accurate

PET scans to diagnose Alzheimer's disease will be available someday soon, according to accumulating research showing the scans can accurately diagnose the disease.

Michelle Obama splurges on burgers, fries and shake, and that's OK

First Lady Michelle Obama is a champion for healthful eating and exercise, home gardens and salad bars at school lunches. Now she’s been caught in an unflattering lunchtime act.

ACL tears are a worry during the Women's World Cup, but they may not mean the end for an athlete

With the Women's World Cup in full swing in Germany, our thoughts are turning to... ACL tears. Studies have shown that women are more vulnerable than men to injuring their anterior cruciate ligament, which is found in the knee and helps to keep the joint stable. Some sports in which collisions and stop-start, jumping and pivoting movements are common--like soccer--can up the ante.

Fertility researchers can predict which pregnant women are at greatest risk of miscarriage

Fertility scientists gathered in Stockholm last week to present their latest research on in vitro fertilization, high-risk pregnancies and other topics at the European Society of Human Reproduction and Embryology conference.

Smoking during pregnancy increases the risk of a wide range of birth defects, major study finds

Smoking during pregnancy increases the risk of a wide range of birth defects, including skull defects, missing or deformed limbs, clubfoot, cleft palate, protrusion of the gastrointestinal system through the skin and heart problems, according to the first major study to examine the incidence of such risks.

Family history of cancer can be an evolving story

Family history is an incredibly helpful tool for doctors trying to determine a patient's risk of cancer. But one family history intake will not suffice. Rather, family history needs to updated every five or 10 years, according to the authors of a new study.

Japanese crops can be safe to eat despite radiation from nuclear plant, scientists say

Japanese scientists have some good news for farmers (and eaters) near the crippled Fukushima nuclear power plant: The soil can be made safe for planting.

Hypoallergenic dogs might not be as sneeze-proof as was thought

If you're counting on a hypoallergenic dog to keep the household free from sneeze-inducing allergens--don't. Levels of dog allergens don't appear to be very different in houses with hypoallergenic dogs than in those with other dogs, according to new research.

No shopping district nearby? You may be more at risk of dying in a heat wave

As a heat wave sweeps eastward through much of the United States, residents of the affected cities are bracing for the worst. A few words of advice: Protect your young, your elderly and your residents of bad shopping areas.

Texas baby boy: How did he become so large?

The birth in Texas of 16-pound, 1-ounce JaMichael Brown, possibly the largest newborn the Lone Star state has ever seen, raises a few questions. For one, how can babies get so big?

Even infants can exercise, say new guidelines in U.K.

Young children have no excuse not to exercise—even if they can’t walk yet.

Texas baby weighs in at 16 pounds, 1 ounce: There are health risks for big babies

This one’s big, even for Texas. The birth of a 16-pound, 1-ounce baby boy in Longview, Texas, on Friday may be the largest bundle of joy the state has ever seen. The baby boy, JaMichael Brown, measured 2 feet long and had a 17-inch chest, according to reports.

Alcohol and cancer: Is any amount of drinking really safe?

How much alcohol is it really safe to drink?  

Salt plus potassium is an equation to ponder

The salt content of your diet is important -- we've heard that from health experts over and over again. But a new study suggests that it's the relationship between salt and potassium that matters, not just how much salt you consume.

Kate Hudson, Victoria Beckham and the C-section question

Kate Hudson and Victoria Beckham both gave birth this weekend -- Hudson to a second son and Beckham to the first daughter after three boys.

Doctors in Spain perform the first double-leg transplant

Spanish surgeons said Monday that they had performed the world's first double-leg transplant, giving an accident victim two new legs. Experts said it will be a month at least before the team will know if the procedure was a success. If the legs should be rejected, however, that will probably happen almost immediately, they said.

New 'superbug' strain of gonorrhea resistant to all available antibiotics; researchers fear global outbreak

Japanese and European researchers have identified a new strain of Neisseria gonorroeae that is exceptionally resistant to cephalosporins, the last remaining family of antibiotics available to treat the sexually transmitted disease. Although physicians have identified only a handful of infections by the new strain of gonorrhea, called H041, they fear that its ability to grow even in the presence of the cephalosporins may allow it to spread rapidly throughout the world. "This is a large public health problem and the era of untreatable gonorrhea may now have been initiated," the team wrote in their abstract for the report presented Sunday at a Quebec City meeting of the International Society for Sexually Transmitted Disease Research. The report comes only days after the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reported a growing incidence of gonorrhea infections that require unusually high doses of cephalosporins to cure them.