Good news about morning sickness: Women who suffer from nausea and vomiting during pregnancy appear to have a 30% lower risk for breast cancer than their sisters who make it through nine months with nary a twinge. It may be that the nausea is in part caused by higher levels of the hormone human chorionic gonadotropin; this hormone has also been shown to have protective qualities when it comes to cancer cells.

Oldest = Smartest? New research finds that the eldest child in a family has an IQ of an average of 2.3 points higher than younger siblings. This holds true even if the first born dies and the younger sibling assumes the role of oldest child, scuttling the theory that biology specifically is at play. One theory is that oldest children receive more of their parents’ attention; another is that older children tend to teach the younger ones, and the act of instruction raises their IQs.