New evidence pot may harm the teen brain - (HealthDay)—Teens who stop smoking pot can think and learn better afterward, even if they are only light users, a new study reports.

Childhood antibiotics and antacids may be linked to heightened obesity risk - Young children prescribed antibiotics and, to a lesser extent, drugs to curb excess stomach acid, may be at heightened risk of obesity, suggests research published online in the journal Gut.

Team identifies new brain region that suppresses fear - A study conducted at Texas A&M University has identified a new area in the brain involved in inhibiting fear, a discovery that holds potential for clinical interventions in patients with psychiatric diseases such as post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD). The article was published in Nature Communications on Oct. 30.

Becoming more sensitive to pain increases the risk of knee pain not going away - Becoming more sensitive to pain, or pain sensitization, is an important risk factor for developing persistent knee pain in osteoarthritis, according to a new study by researchers at Université de Montréal and its affiliated Maisonneuve Rosemont Hospital Research Centre (CRHMR), in collaboration with researchers at Boston University. Their findings were published Oct. 11 in the journal Arthritis & Rheumatology.

Researchers discover a potential flaw in our assumptions about the unknown opinions of others - In our decisions about whether to invest in a certain company, buy tickets to a movie or vote for a political candidate, we are often influenced by what others think. But how exactly do we figure out what others think?

Researchers developing test for early breast lesions - Currently, with a pre-malignant breast cancer diagnosis from a biopsy, there are three options: observation, chemoprevention or surgery, all of which require a patient to make decisions while operating from a place of fear and unknown outcomes. Some patients, for example, with early breast cancer indications, might choose to have mastectomies, rather than live in uncertainty, when the disease state may not have progressed.

Pedestrian fatalities increase on Halloween, particularly among children - Children are more likely to be fatally struck by a vehicle on Halloween than on other nights of the year, according to new research led by the University of British Columbia.

Many mistakenly believe alternative therapies can cure cancer - (HealthDay)—Despite evidence to the contrary, four in 10 Americans believe alternative therapies can cure cancer, a new survey finds.

Behavioral risk factors for depression vary with age, study finds - Behavioral risk factors including smoking, obesity, limited physical activity and a less healthy diet strongly predict the likelihood of depression—and that likelihood increases with each additional risk factor a person possesses. Additionally, the risk factors most strongly linked to depression change with age.

Discovery of Zika virus in monkeys suggests disease may also have wild cycle - Zika virus has been detected in dead monkeys found in Brazil near São José do Rio Preto, São Paulo State, and Belo Horizonte, Minas Gerais. The animals had been shot or beaten to death by locals who thought they had yellow fever. In fact, the monkeys were bearers of Zika virus, which had made them sick and more vulnerable to attack by humans.