Bacterial community in pregnant women linked to preterm birth, study finds A specific pattern of high bacterial diversity in the vagina during pregnancy increases a woman’s risk of giving birth prematurely, a new study finds.

Unique genes in Khoe-San people may lower risk of some pregnancy hazards An unusual mutation in an immune system gene switches a receptor from one target molecule to another. It’s the first known example of such a change, say Stanford researchers, and likely leads to safer pregnancies.

Brain scans better forecast math learning in kids than do skill tests, study finds Gray matter volume and connections between several brain regions better forecast 8-year-olds’ acquisition of math skills than their performance on standard math tests.

Researchers design cheaper, faster, more accurate test to identify gene defects in heart patients A new technique could eventually enable doctors to diagnose genetic heart diseases by rapidly scanning more than 85 genes known to cause cardiac anomalies.

Researchers find mutations that contribute to rare blood cancer Mutations in immune cells prevented their natural death in roughly half of the cell samples from patients with the incurable cancer, and suggest drug targets for the disease.

X-ray laser experiment could help in designing drugs for brain disorders Scientists found that when two protein structures in the brain join up, they act as an amplifier for a slight increase in calcium concentration, triggering a gunshot-like release of neurotransmitters from one neuron to another.

Scientists say e-cigarettes could have health impacts in developing world Two researchers are urging greater regulatory oversight of e-cigarettes in poorer countries, where sales of the devices are growing.