A new study says smoking while pregnant increases the risk for high-functioning autism. Although the chance was only slightly higher, (11 percent of moms of kids with autism spectrum disorder smoked while pregnant), but researchers said it was still considered a 25 percent increased risk … just another reason to stub out the cigarette.  [Health.com]

There may be a second life for once-promising drugs that were cast aside by the pharmaceutical industry. The government is urging pharmaceutical companies to find new ways to use these castaways, perhaps to diagnose conditions they were not originally intended for, and The National Institute of Health is looking to match large drug companies with new researchers to work toward this goal.  [WSJ]

It’s no news flash that technology is capable of negative side effects. But a recent study shows that email alone is a large stress factor and that people who take email “vacations” are in better shape. Those who don’t check their email on a regular basis at work are not only less stressed but more productive, too. Researchers believe the whole practice of in-office email needs to change. “We suggest doing what we call batching e-mails, where organizations send e-mails once or twice a day, rather than continually, so employees know not to check their e-mail every 10 minutes.”  [NYT]

Boston cardiologist James Muller has made it his mission to be able to predict heart attacks in patients. He has “developed a tool that analyzes deposits of cholesterol called plaques that accumulate in the coronary arteries and are the telltale signature of the disease that causes heart attacks.” But Muller says he is still in the process of testing the tool to see if it will be effective on a large population. If Muller can take some of the guesswork out of the world’s leading killer, it could revolutionize the treatment of heart disease.  [WSJ]

There’s no shortage of colleges and universities in Boston, but UMass has been overlooked in terms of medical advancements, it seems. Craig Ceol, a cancer researcher from the medical school, has been working with his team to study skin cancer using zebra fish. UMass’s medical school is the area’s “best kept secret,” overshadowed by MIT and Harvard’s medical schools known for their medical research. Luckily, “research funding has exploded from a scant $2.5 million in 1980 to more than $300 million last year” for UMass’s programs, allowing a new range of talent and the credit they deserve.  [Globe]

Cellulaze, a new FDA approved procedure, just came out that claims to get rid of cellulite from underneath the skin. It cuts skin fibers that pull down the skin and melts fat cells that cause bulges, says Jay Kulkin, a doctor at the Women’s Insitute for Health in Atlanta. However, it is all based on a study of just 10 women funded by the company providing the procedure, and the company admits they don’t know how long the effects last. Is it legitimate? Well, it might be a while before we put money into zapping our thighs.  [CNN | NYT]

And we’re all going to start living on the moon.  [ABC]