People's alcohol expectations are known to influence their likelihood of developing alcohol problems. New research has found that a person's genetic makeup may influence their motivation to drink, ...

Alcohol and other drugs can overpower the reward pathways of the brain. Simona Dumitru/Moment via Getty Images Many people are wired to seek and respond to rewards. Your brain interprets food as ...

The researchers focused on Fanconi anemia, a rare inherited disorder characterized by a failure to repair specific types of DNA damage. In this condition, the two strands of DNA literally become stuck ...

“Our investigation confirms the harmful effect of alcohol consumption on cancer risk, but suggests that alcohol only increases cancer risk in body parts with direct exposure to alcohol,” said ...

Using rats carefully bred to drink either large amounts of alcohol or to spurn it, scientists at Indiana and Purdue universities have identified hundreds of genes that appear to play a role in ...

Take a look back at the genetics stories that resonated most with readers this year. M uch of what shapes people’s lives ...

Eighty-five thousand Americans suffer from alcohol-related deaths each year. The annual economic toll is $185 billion. Researchers are looking for behind excessive drinking, especially among young ...

Is there a link between blue eyes and the risk of alcoholism? — -- There's a new potential clue in the ongoing effort to understand the genetic links to alcoholism: eye color. People with lighter ...

Do you feel nauseous, experience facial flushing, or have a racing heart after just a sip of your favorite cocktail? These could be signs of an inherited alcohol intolerance caused by a gene mutation.

Alcohol-craving rats have provided researchers with a detailed look into the complicated genetic underpinnings of alcoholism. By comparing the genomes of rats that drank compulsively with those that ...

Nov. 21 -- THURSDAY, Nov. 20 (HealthDay News) -- Variations in the genetic makeup of alcoholics may affect how much they drink, a new study suggests. And the key might be the brain's control of ...