Medical Marijuana Linked to Fewer Opioid Deaths

States with legalized medical marijuana have fewer deaths from opioid overdoses, according to a new study published in JAMA Internal Medicine. Researchers from the University of Pennsylvania's Perelman School of Medicine aren’t entirely sure why the correlation exists, but they suspect more people are using marijuana, rather than prescription pills, to manage chronic pain.

The researchers looked at death rates from opioids between 1999 and 2010 and found the 13 states that legalized medical marijuana had a 24.8 percent lower annual rate of deaths from opioid overdoses than states without those laws.

The findings do not prove that medical marijuana prevents opioid abuse, but instead shows a link that could help doctors determine the drug’s potential. “I know many doctors struggle with the issue of who would be best to treat medical marijuana. There are some doctors who say that there is no valid medical use,” study author Marcus Bachhuber​, a primary care physician with the Philadelphia VA Medical Center, told TIME. “I think that leaves a tremendous opportunity for future studies to help guide use to look at the risk and benefits and in clinical practice.”

Battle of the Sexes: Caring for an Aging Parent

If you want to be taken care of as you get older, your best bet is to have a daughter, not a son, according to research presented last week at the American Sociological Association's ​annual meeting. Researchers from Princeton University found that daughters spend more than twice the amount of time as sons taking care of elderly parents, which caregiving experts say underscores the need to make plans for your elderly years long before you reach them.

The researchers analyzed data from the University of Michigan Health and Retirement Study, which surveys more than 26,000 Americans over age 50 every two years about a variety of topics, including health care, and found that while women spend an average of 12.3 hours each month taking care of their elderly parents, men only spend 5.6 hours. “Sons reduce their relative caregiving efforts when they have a sister, while daughters increase theirs when they have a brother,” study author Angelina Grigoryeva​, a doctoral candidate in sociology at Princeton University, said in a statement. “This suggests that sons pass on parent caregiving responsibilities to their sisters.” [Read more: Battle of the Sexes: Caring for an Aging Parent.]

Should You, Or Shouldn't You, Skip Breakfast?

You may have seen The New York Times article last week suggesting that breakfast, referred by many as, “the most important meal of the day,” was overrated when it came to weight management, and if you don’t particularly enjoy it, then science apparently says skipping the meal is no problem, writes U.S. News blogger Yoni Freedhoff.

So should you skip it?