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Women have long been far more vulnerable to autoimmune diseases than men, accounting for about 80% of the more than 24 million Americans afflicted with lupus, rheumatoid arthritis and other debilitating disorders. A new Stanford study, published Thursday in the journal Cell, offers one potential explanation: a gene on the second X chromosome, which only women have, can “leak” out of its rightful place in the cell and get spotted by the body’s antibodies, which see it as a threat and attack it. This type of interaction in the body — when your antibodies attack your own tissue — is a symptom of autoimmune diseases. (Ho, 2/1)

Where there’s smoke, there’s … asthma? That’s the concern among some experts, as a recent study from the City University of New York (CUNY) identified a link between cannabis legalization and asthma among kids and teens. The research, published in the journal Preventive Medicine in its Feb. 2024 issue, found that in states where marijuana is legal, the share of teens with asthma is slightly higher than in states where it remains illegal. The recreational use of cannabis is now legalized in 24 states. (Rudy, 2/1)

Winter Garden resident Jacquee Wahler is a lung cancer survivor. That fact alone stands out. However, what's atypical is that Wahler didn't fit any of the typical signs associated with the disease when diagnosed, nor did she fit the American Cancer Society's updated guidelines for who should receive yearly screenings. Wahler was 49 years old at the time her lung cancer was first flagged, and a nonsmoker. (Pedersen, 2/1)

There’s nothing like a nostalgic song to transport you back to a special time and place — and now a new study has shown that music could help protect those memories for a lifetime. Researchers at the University of Exeter discovered that people who "engage in music" over the course of their lives tend to have improved memory and better overall brain health as they age, according to a press release. The findings were published in the International Journal of Geriatric Psychiatry. (Rudy, 2/2)

Millions of Americans are born genetically predisposed to extremely high levels of a type of cholesterol that cause deadly heart attacks and strokes by middle age, yet they are almost always unaware of their risk. The cholesterol is called lipoprotein(a), or Lp(a). Like low-density lipoprotein — LDL, or the "bad" cholesterol — it leads to plaque buildup in arteries. But Lp(a) has a second nasty trick that makes it even more dangerous: it causes blood clots. And unlike LDL, it's entirely genetic, which means diet and exercise have no effect on Lp(a) levels. (Edwards, 2/1)

Myopia, or near-sightedness, is on the rise: Nearly half of the world’s population will be nearsighted by 2050, according to the World Health Organization. The condition is increasingly common among children in particular, which ophthalmologists attribute to a combination of less time spent outdoors and more time spent with iPads and iPhones. (Merelli, 2/2)

A lawsuit accusing a former GlaxoSmithKline unit and Pfizer of misleading consumers by marketing some ChapStick products as “all natural” and "naturally sourced" even though they allegedly contain synthetic or highly processed ingredients can move ahead as a class action, a California federal judge has ruled. (Mindock, 2/1)

More than 100 passengers and crew aboard a Queen Victoria cruise ship have fallen sick with a gastrointestinal illness, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) reported. The Cunard Cruise Line ship departed on Jan. 22 and is set to return on Feb. 12, the CDC’s Vessel Sanitation Program (VSP) said. According to ABC News, the cruise departed Fort Lauderdale, Fla., and is scheduled to go to San Francisco before ending in Honolulu. (Irwin, 2/1)