Insomnia May Boost Heart Attack Risk

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People who struggle with insomnia appear to be more prone to heart attacks than those who typically get a good night’s sleep, a large Norwegian study has found.

Obama’s Misguided Crackdown on Medical Marijuana

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(Updated) Why is the U.S. government cracking down on medical marijuana, a $1.7 billion business — and one of the few that seems to be thriving in a moribund economy?

Study: Why People Don’t Read Nutrition Labels

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How often do you look at the Nutrition Facts label on the side of the box? A new study reveals that people say they look at it a lot more than they actually do.

Study Asks Who’s Funnier, Men or Women?

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(Updated) If men are funnier than women, then it’s not by much — and mostly just to other men. Such is the conclusion of a new study by psychologists at the University of California, San Diego, who judged comic wit by asking students to write original captions for New Yorker cartoons.

$10 to $90

Penalty per pay period that Wal-Mart's health insurance plans will require of employees who smoke in 2012. The cost will amount to $260 to $2,340 extra per year for those who want health coverage. According to the benefits consulting firm Mercer, several other large employers also charge higher premiums to workers who smoke; among the [...]

New Guidelines: How to Put Baby Safely to Bed

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Sleeping like a baby is now more regimented than ever, in light of updated guidelines by the American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) about how best to put baby to bed to reduce the risk of SIDS, or sudden infant death syndrome.

BPA Exposure in Pregnant Women May Affect Daughters’ Behavior

Dick Patrick

A new study finds that exposure to bisphenol A before birth may lead to behavior problems in girls by age 3. The findings, published in Pediatrics, promise to heat up the debate over the safety of BPA, the ubiquitous chemical found in water bottles, linings of cans and even on the register receipts we get [...]

Why the Latest Study on Cell Phones and Brain Cancer Won’t Be the Last Word

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Proving a negative in science is really, really hard — and that may well be the task that researchers trying to evaluate the potentially carcinogenic effects of cell phone use may have before them.

U.S. Panel Urges ‘Energy Star’ Nutrition Ratings for Food Labels

Institute of Medicine

Taking a cue from the Energy Star ratings on the front of household appliances, a panel of experts is recommending that a similarly easy-to-read system appear on every packaged food item in American grocery stores so busy consumers can glean nutritional info at a glance.

Teens’ IQ May Rise or Fall Over Time

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The brain undergoes more change in adolescence than at any other time of life, save before birth and during infancy. That may help explain why teenagers’ IQ can fluctuate significantly over time, as a new study finds, registering large enough changes to move a child from “average” to “gifted” or in the other direction, to [...]