Are you a night owl? New research shows it may be because of your genetics. FOX's Alex Hein has 'Housecall for Health': This is Housecall for Health. Are you a night owl desperately seeking to become a early bird? Well, unfortunately, it could be a matter of genes. But thanks to researchers, there may be hope on the horizon. In a recent study, researchers looked at 70 people from six families and found that a genetic mutation was common among those who were diagnosed with delayed sleep phase...

A new study has found that certain countries could be affecting a baby's temperament. FOX's Alex Hein has the details in the 'Housecall for Health': This is Housecall for Health. Forget the nursery rhymes, if you've got a fussy baby, maybe you should consider a move to Denmark. Researchers in the U.K. compiled the first universal charts for normal amounts of crying during a baby's first three months. They discovered that newborns tend to cry more in Britain, Canada, Italy and the Netherlands...

Maybe Popeye was onto something after all. FOX's Alex Hein has the details on groundbreaking research involving spinach leaves: This is Housecall for Health. A team of scientists in Massachusetts successfully converted a spinach leaf into a tiny beating human heart muscle, which is a step they hope might one day help doctors repair damaged organs. The team swapped the plants cells for human cells, which transformed the plants veins into a blood vessel network. They said they chose spinach for...

Mom and dad's genetics may not be to blame for the big nose. FOX's Alex Hein with details on a new study with your "Housecall for Health": This is Housecall for Health. It may be time to cut your mom and dad some slack about the ill-fated shape of your nose, as a new study suggests its not your ancestors fault per say, but rather the ancestral climate that's to blame for how you look. The researchers, from Penn State University, believe noses were shaped over time by local climates as...

A new study may take some of the mystery out of death. FOX's Alex Hein has more in this "Housecall for Health": This is Housecall for Health. From Hollywood directors to your death obsessed neighbor, everyone has an opinion on what happens to your body after you die. But a new study published in the Canadian Journal of Neurological Sciences says that the brain can be active for up to 10 minutes after a person has been declared clinically dead. The researchers observed what happened in four...

Internet buyer beware, purchasing medications over the internet could be dangerous. FOX's Alex Hein explains in this "Housecall for Health": This is Housecall for Health. It may seem like a no-brainer, but desperate times can lead to desperate measures, which means some may turn to online vendors to purchase medications to avoid paying a pricey pharmacy fee, but this practice has some experts worried. The care quality commission in the U.K. inspected 11 internet prescription services and...

Could smoking weed mean you are smarter? FOX's Alex Hein reports in this "Housecall for Health": This is Housecall for Health. Not too many associate high achieving students with under-age drinking and smoking marijuana. But according to a study of British adolescents, the group is more likely to pick up those habits than their less academically gifted peers. The study tracked 6,000 teenagers use of tobacco, alcohol and pot from ages 11 to 20. During their early teens, the smarter students...

Did the 2016 take a toll on your mental health? FOX's Alex Hein reports in this "Housecall for Health": This is Housecall for Health. The election season may have ended months ago, but simply thinking about politics still has Americans stressed out. The American Psychological Association's annual 'Stress in America: Coping with Change' reflected a higher level of anxiety over political matters and where the country is heading, among both Democrats and Republicans. The nation's economy as well...

A new study found that doctors across the country may be to blame for their patients opioid addiction. FOX's Alex Hein has "Housecall for Health": This is Housecall for Health. In an emergency situation, you hardly have time to consider who to call, let alone which hospital to go to first. But an alarming new study suggests that choosing the wrong one may leave you with an opioid addiction that is hard to kick. A national comparison of emergency room physicians uncovered a broad range of...

Cases of the flu are still rising across the United States. FOX's Alex Hein reports: This is Housecall for Health. As a country the latest data suggests we are far from being over the flu, with the number of cases spiking sharply throughout the first week of February. Deaths from flu-related complications and hospitalizations among children and the elderly remain high. So far, 20 children have died from the influenza virus. One of the most important take aways from this data is that it's...

A new study says breakfast really is the most important meal when looking at heart health. FOX's Alex Hein weighs-in with your "Housecall for Health": This is Housecall for Health.  Did you skip breakfast this morning? Then don't load up on calories tonight. In fact, eating more calories earlier in the day and consuming less food at night, may not only reduce your odds of a heart attack, but it may also reduce your risk of a stroke or other cardiac or blood vessel disease. According to the...

Breast cancer patients could get more answers from genetic testing and counseling. FOX's Dr. Sapna Parikh explains in this "Housecall for Health": This is Housecall for Health. A diagnosis of breast cancer means a lot of questions and a search for answers: What kind of surgery is best for me? What will the follow-up treatment be like? And what's the long-term prognosis? But according to a new study, some questions are not answered because genetic testing wasn't done. The study published in...

Seemingly harmless sounds like crunching on a snack could be a real bother for suffers of Misophonia. FOX's Alex Hein with details of a new study in your "Housecall for Health": This is Housecall for Health. Hidden between the political posts and Tom Brady devotion on Facebook you may have caught a headline or two about how seemingly harmless sounds to you can actually cause rage or anxiety in others. The noises can be as benign as breathing, popcorn munching or even nose sniffling, but for...

Laundry pods continue to be a major health concern for young kids. FOX's Alex Hein reports in "Housecall For Health": This is Housecall for Health. Parents have been warned about the dangers laundry pods pose to toddlers and young children around the house, but a new study sheds a scary light on the type of injuries parents should look out for.  Between 2012 & 2015, the number of chemical burns to the eye linked to laundry detergent packets rose more than 30 percent among young children....

An old myth is bring used to assist with dropping weight. FOX's Alex Hein explains: This is, Housecall for Health. Remember that myth you heard about as a kid? If you felt your stomach after running around and it was cold, that meant you were burning calories? Welp, a new health trend is a little bit like that, plastic surgeons and dermatologists are turning to fat freezing to eliminate about 20 percent of the fat cells on a particular area of the body in just an hour's time. The...

Doctors in Colorado are using acupuncture to treat children. FOX's Joy Piazza with your "Housecall for Health": This is, Housecall for Health. It's an alternative therapy to help treat a child with severe eczema in Colorado. Emily Cadwell says her daughter Mckenna is being treated with acupuncture, stimulating specific points on the body with thin needles. The 19-month old was: (Cadwell) "Really, she was just miserable. Very itchy, her skin was very red and inflamed." Acupunturist Peyton...

A new blood test could help assess risk of heart attack complications and blood clots. FOX's Alex Hein explains, in this "Housecall for Health": This is Housecall for Health. While chest pain is typically the tell-tale sign of a heart attack, a new blood test may help doctors differentiate between a serious pain or a false alarm. A study published in the European Heart Journal described a test that measures the blood levels of a molecule called TMAO, which is produced when gut bacteria breaks...

Every parent has their own way to cure a crying baby: a pacifier, their favorite toy, but one Denver couple has an odd solution: watching football. FOX's Alex Hein has the story in today's "Housecall for Health": This is, Housecall for Health. Any tired new parent can tell you the tricks and trades they've picked up along the way to help soothe a crying baby, but for longtime Broncos fans Laura and Bryan Catron, getting their baby Lola to stop crying has meant putting aside their Denver...

Ever hear something so clearly you could taste it? Well one women could. FOX's Alex Hein explains in "Housecall for Health": This is Housecall for Health. A curious report found in the British paper, The Sun, features a woman who could only taste words, smell sounds, and was cured after being struck by lightning, only for her curious symptoms to later return. The woman, who wasn't identified, suffers from Synaesthesia, which is the ability to taste words, hear colors and sense auras around...

Whether you are drinking regular or diet sodas, there may be an increase in ditching the sugary pop-cola from your diet. FOX's Alex Hein takes a look: This is, Housecall for Health. It's a smart move to ditch sugary drinks from your diet in order to life a healthier life, but if you're making the move from regular soda to diet soda in an effort to ditch calories, it probably won't help you much. A new study suggests that at the end of the day, while an average can of soda packs in about 150...

Studies have warned about the risk of using daily pain medication damaging your stomach - but can it also harm your hearing? FOX's Alex Hein with details in this "Housecall for Health": This is Housecall for Health. There are plenty of articles on how popping pain relievers daily could damage your stomach or potentially harm your heart, but did you know that regularly popping a dose of Advil or Tylenol could also compromise your hearing? A new study examining the long-term use of...

Should doctors take classes on empathy skills during training? FOX's Alex Hein weighs-in with "Housecall for Health": This is Housecall for Health. Bedside manners often matter a great deal to patients, especially in a time of grave illness or ahead of an impending surgery. One doctor believes that instead of being urged to be more compassionate, physicians should learn specific empathy skills during their training to improve a patients overall level of care. Dr. David Jeffrey, who wrote the...

Could using an electronic device not be as bad as originally thought? FOX's Alex Hein with the details in "Housecall for Health":  This is Housecall for Health. Countless studies and experts tell you to put down the phone or tablet before heading to bed to help optimize your quality of sleep, but a new one says for those already struggling with insomnia issues, turning on the computer may be the only way to help fix it. An automated program called SHUTi is an online version of cognitive...

What keeps you up at night? A new study says if you drink a lot of soda that could be one reason causing you to toss and turn. FOX's Alex Hein has the details in "Housecall For Health": This is Housecall for Health. It may seem like an obvious link, but a new study suggests that adults who sleep five hours or less per night are more likely to be heavy soda drinkers than those who get more rest. With soda as the main source of added sugar in the American diet, it's not surprise that soda, and...

Could your favorite cheese improve your health? FOX's Alex Hein weighs-in with your "Housecall for Health": This is Housecall for Health. Are you a cheesehead? Do you find a helping of fresh grated Parmesan to be irresistable? Well, there's good news for you, a recent study published in the Journal Nature Medicine reported that eating cheese, specifically the aged kind containing the compound spermidine, was linked to a longer life in mammals. The study focused on 800 Italians and found that...