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The most common screening test for prostate cancer so often returns a false positive result that it’s no longer recommended for men older than 70, and it's offered as a personal choice for younger men.

But researchers think they’ve found a way to make the blood test for prostate-specific antigen (PSA) accurate enough to significantly reduce overdiagnosis and better predict dangerous c...

Genetic mutations caused this latest bird flu season to become more severe, increasing the risk it poses to humans and other mammals, a new study finds.

The H5N1 avian influenza virus gained the ability to severely infect the brains of mammalian test subjects like ferrets, researchers with St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital found.

That’s a notable departure from previous stra...

THURSDAY, May 25, 2023 (HealthDay News) – People with a genetic predisposition to Alzheimer’s disease may have an increased risk of epilepsy, a new study says. And folks with a certain type of epilepsy may have higher odds of developing Alzheimer’s disease.

Having Alzheimer’s was lin...

A unique genetic brew has benefitted a Scottish woman who lives virtually pain-free, heals more rapidly and experiences reduced anxiety and fear, researchers from University College London report.

Pain geneticists have been studying the woman, Jo Cameron, for a decade. She came to their attention when her doctor noticed that she experienced no pain after major surgeries on her hip and han...

When it comes to predicting heart trouble down the road, the arteries may say a lot more than the genes do, according to a new study.

Researchers found that CT scans of the heart arteries were better than genetics at predicting middle-aged adults' risk of heart disease in coming years.

In fact, people's genes gave little useful information over and above low-tech methods, such as me...

Researchers working to unlock the mysteries of autism report they have discovered differences among children when two in a family have the condition versus just one.

Scientists from Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory in New York have been researching the genetic origins of autism for two decades. Their discoveries have included thousands of genes that, when damaged, may cause a child to be bor...

A subset of people may be at high risk for both psychiatric disorders and for using marijuana, based on their genetics, according to a new study.

Researchers from the University of Oslo in Norway have found that some of the genetic variants associated with cannabis use are also linked to psychiatric disorders.

“These findings are important as they show that the complex links betw...

MONDAY, May 15, 2023 -- Researchers have discovered a genetic mutation that should actively protect people from Alzheimer's, thanks to a man belonging to a Colombian family known to be susceptible to the degenerative brain disease.

Based on his family's genetics, this unnamed patient should have started showing signs of Alzheimer's in his 40s.

“They start getting impaired at age 4...

Detailed remnants of human DNA can be found just about everywhere that people have been, a surprising finding that raises a host of ethical issues for researchers, a new study says.

Environmental samples of human DNA were found nearly everywhere, save for isolated islands and remote mountaintops where people have never visited, researchers said. While sequencing this DNA offers researcher...

Last year, gene researchers made news by announcing the completion of the first complete sequence of the human genome.

That effort has now been expanded, with researchers using that success as a springboard to create a comprehensive and sophisticated collection of genome sequences that more accurately captures human diversity.

The new “pangenome” includes the genome sequences of...

While newborns are only screened for about 60 treatable conditions, there are hundreds of genetic disorders that have targeted treatments.

Now, a national survey of experts in rare diseases found the vast majority support DNA sequencing in healthy newborns.

Testing, surveillance and treatment options exist for over 600 genetic conditions. This includes a growing number of devastat...

The influence of Neanderthals is evident right in the center of the faces of modern humans.

New research finds that genetic material inherited from Neanderthals affects nose shape. A particular gene made the nose taller from top to bottom.

This may have been necessary as ancient humans adapted to colder climates.

“In the last 15 years since the Neanderthal genome has been s...

It's well known that being overweight or obese can increase health risks.

But a new study finds that the reasons why a person is obese may have some impact on heart disease risk.

Specifically, being obese because of lifestyle carried higher risks than it did if the extra weight was due to genetic predisposition, researchers found.

“The link between obesity and ca...

A good night's sleep is important for everyone, and it may be especially sage advice for adults with a genetic susceptibility to asthma, a new study says.

Someone with poor sleep quality and a genetic link to asthma may double their chances of being diagnosed with the respiratory condition, researchers said. But they found a healthy sleep pattern was linked to lower risk, according to a r...

Breakthrough research shows genetic markers for substance abuse and could lead to more effective ways to prevent and treat drug and alcohol use disorders.

These findings could help people who face addiction to varied substances, including those who have more than one addiction at a time.

The findings al...

It's a controversial notion, but couples undergoing fertility treatments may soon be able to select the sex of their baby — with an 80% chance of success, doctors say.

Sperm-sorting techniques have been tried and offered before, but the new procedure — which separates sperm cells based on weight — appears much more accurate and safe, according to a new study.

In the study...

Genetic analysis of Ludwig van Beethoven's hair has provided new clues into the cause of the great composer's death in 1827 — as well as evidence of a family scandal.

The analysis revealed that Beethoven suffered from a hepatitis B infection that could have contributed to his death from liver disease.

Researchers found DNA evidence of hepatitis B virus in a lock of hair taken from...

When Yoni Silverman, now 13, was a toddler, his parents fretted as he missed milestone after milestone. The New York City couple took their son to a host of specialists, searching for answers about why he wasn't speaking and had difficulty with balance, among other developmental issues.

Fast forward a few years later, and a Boston couple was going through something similar with their now ...

Some people may have a gene that helps protect them from respiratory diseases like COVID-19 -- and helped their ancestors fight the plague.

It comes at a cost.

This same gene variation may be linked to an increased risk of autoimmune disease, including rheumatoid arthritis and inflammatory bowel disease, according to British researchers.

“This gene essentially chops up prote...

Though BRCA1 or BRCA2 gene mutations are associated with breast and ovarian cancer in younger women, those over 50 continue to have a high risk of breast cancer.

That's true even if they didn't have breast cancer earlier, new research shows.

“What is striking about our results is that ...

Certain gene mutations put women at high risk of breast cancer, and now an early study hints that obesity might make matters worse.

The findings come from a study of breast tissue samples from women who carried particular mutations in genes called BRCA1 and BRCA2 — which convey much higher-than-normal risks of both breast and ovarian cancers.

The researchers found that among women...

A gene variant found almost exclusively among people of African descent appears to substantially raise the risk of Alzheimer's disease, a new study finds.

The variant is in a gene called ApoE3, and it's apparently only harmful when it exists in combination with the ApoE4 gene — a well-known risk factor for Alzheimer's.

That gene duo was present in only 1% of the nearly 32,000 ind...

A new study links obesity with 21 Alzheimer's disease-related genes.

This may help explain why Alzheimer's is often more frequent among adults who experienced obesity in midlife, according to researchers at the University of Texas Health Science Center at San Antonio.

To

Genes may have a strong influence over whether kids develop an eating disorder marked by extremely limited food choices, a new study finds.

The study focused on a condition called avoidant restrictive food intake disorder (ARFID). It's a relatively new diagnosis that describes people who seve...

Researchers have uncovered a serious risk for folks who have an extra X or Y chromosome.

Those with the genetic condition known as supernumerary sex chromosome aneuploidy have a risk for blood clots in a deep vein or lung that's four or five times higher than usual, a new study

Some women with cancer in one breast may have a greater risk of developing cancer in the other breast, new research suggests.

Those who carry a specific genetic change — a germline BRCA1, BRCA2 or CHEK2 mutation — have at least a twofold increased risk of cancer in both breasts, also called contralateral breast cancer, according to researchers at the Mayo Clinic Comprehensive Cancer C...

In the mammalian world, there are the hairy, the less hairy and the hairless. But why that is has remained a mystery.

Until now.

In a new study that compared the DNA of 62 animals, researchers found that while humans appear to have the genes for a full coat of body hair, evolution has disabled that DNA. The same thing has happened in mammals at least nine times, including in the anc...

Humans have continued to evolve after splitting from chimpanzee ancestors nearly 7 million years ago, according to a new study that found 155 new genes unique to humans that suddenly arose from tiny sections of DNA.

Some of the new genes date back to the ancient origin of mammals, according to the researchers. They suspect a few of these “microgenes” have links to hum...

Scientists have pinpointed four genes that seem to play a part in how vulnerable you are to suicidal thoughts or behaviors.

"It's important to note that these genes do not predestine anyone to problems, but it's also important to understand that there could be heightened risks, particularly when combined with life events," said study co-author