FRIDAY, June 11 (HealthDay News) -- It is just a small, basic piece of safety gear, but a mouth guard is essential for anyone participating in organized sports or recreational activities, the American Dental Association advises.

(HealthDay News) -- Jaundice in newborn babies occurs when a yellow pigment called bilirubin builds up in the blood. The pigment is a normal byproduct of the body's destruction of old red blood cells. Removal of bilirubin is the liver's job.

(HealthDay News) -- Who isn't stressed these days? Whether it's your job, family, finances, social life, or illness, no one is immune.

FRIDAY, June 11 (HealthDay News) -- Highly confident teachers and emotional support in the classroom play important roles in helping preschoolers learn language and literacy skills, a new study has found.

FRIDAY, June 11 (HealthDay News) -- A new survey shows that the recent deluge of scientific discoveries of links between specific genes and many chronic diseases might be providing the least healthy people with something they don't need: an excuse for their medical woes.

FRIDAY, June 11 (HealthDay News) -- Training performers to use biofeedback techniques to control their stage fright can dramatically reduce anxiety while improving overall performance, new research indicates.

FRIDAY, June 11 (HealthDay News) -- Marketing and snobbery aside, what drives some drinkers to reach for top-shelf vodka brands over more lowly (and lower-priced) "well" varieties?

FRIDAY, June 11 (HealthDay News) -- A single semen test three months after a man's vasectomy may be enough for him to get the all-clear, a new study finds.

FRIDAY, June 11 (HealthDay News) -- A cardiac embolism may have caused the death of the naturally preserved Santa Rosa mummy in the 13th century, according to Italian researchers who examined her heart.

THURSDAY, June 10 (HealthDay News) -- People who are taking care of a family member with lung cancer need support for the entire time that their loved one is terminally ill because they encounter tremendous stress during the dying process, a new study has found.

FRIDAY, June 11 (HealthDay News) -- New research provides more evidence of a link between depression and extra pounds around the waist, although it's not exactly clear how they're connected.

THURSDAY, June 10 (HealthDay News) -- An expert advisory panel of the U.S. Food and Drug Administration on Thursday recommended that the agency approve an oral drug, Gilenia, as a first-line treatment for multiple sclerosis (MS).

FRIDAY, June 11 (HealthDay News) -- Experts at the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services are midway through two days of hearings on whether a decades-old ban on gay men donating blood should stand or be lifted.

FRIDAY, June 11 (HealthDay News) -- A new study has uncovered a strong link between smoking and the development of precancerous polyps called flat adenomas in the large intestine, a finding that researchers say may explain the earlier onset of colorectal cancer among smokers.

FRIDAY, June 11 (HealthDay News) -- At least for young girls, being open and honest is the key to better relationships and a happier life, a new study suggests.

FRIDAY, June 11 (HealthDay News) -- Young men are often portrayed as insensitive players with a "love 'em and leave 'em" attitude toward the opposite sex, but a new study suggests that they are actually more vulnerable to the emotional ups and downs of romantic relationships than young women.

Here are some of the latest health and medical news developments, compiled by the editors of HealthDay:

(HealthDay News) -- Here are the latest clinical trials, courtesy of ClinicalConnection.com: