Today's Globe: baby diet, abstinence-only education, child-sized surgical devices, Lasik complaints, addiction pills and depression

Snips and snails and puppydog tails . . . and cereal and bananas? That could be what little boys are made of, according to new research suggesting that what a woman eats before pregnancy influences the gender of her baby.

Programs teaching US schoolchildren to abstain from sex have not cut teen pregnancies or sexually transmitted diseases or delayed the age at which sex begins, health groups told Congress yesterday.

With growing support from lawmakers, doctors are prodding the medical device industry to design a new class of kid-friendly equipment.

A decade after it first approved devices for laser vision-correcting Lasik surgery, the Food and Drug Administration is taking a closer look at grievances from patients, including blurred vision and dry eyes.

Two years ago, scientists had high hopes for new pills that would help people quit smoking, lose weight, and maybe kick other tough addictions like alcohol and cocaine. The pills blocked pleasure centers in the brain that provide the feel-good response from smoking or eating. Now it seems the drugs may block pleasure too well, possibly raising the risk of depression and suicide.