Thyroid problems in pregnant women can cause serious consequences in both mothers and children, says an expert familiar with ongoing research into treatments.

An update on clinical trials was to be presented Friday at the annual meeting of the American Thyroid Association, in Palm Beach, Fla.

The bad news is that youngsters who are spanked might lose IQ points.

The good news is that it appears that children's IQs are on the rise -- and at least one expert believes that part of the reason why is that corporal punishment is falling out of favor in the United States and elsewhere.

Inhibiting the action of an enzyme called TAK-1 reverses pancreatic cancer resistance to chemotherapy, a finding that could lead to the development of a new way to treat the disease, researchers say.

Pancreatic cancer is resistant to every currently available anti-cancer treatment.

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration violated procedures last year when it approved a knee repair device even though its own scientists recommended against approval, agency officials said Thursday.

The device, called Menaflex, is made by New Jersey-based ReGen Biologics and is used to help surgically repair knee damage -- specifically, damage to the meniscus. But, a report released by the agency Thursday found that some FDA scientists had recommended against approval.

Women who take certain antidepressants during the first three months of pregnancy may have a slightly increased risk of giving birth to babies with heart defects.

Septal heart defects -- malformations in the wall separating the right side of the heart from the left -- were more common among women taking antidepressants in the first trimester, Danish researchers found. Some of these heart defects resolve on their own, while others require surgery.