The COVID-19 pandemic has offered some lessons on respiratory disease transmission, and now a new review suggests that hospitals could use those insights to create even smarter infection-control policies. The review, published Nov. 9 in the Annals of Internal Medicine, suggests that some longstanding infection-control tactics at hospitals are “outdated.” And certain changes, like greater…  read on >  read on >

Shining a light on the powerful link between the mind and body, a new study suggests that cardiac arrest survivors who learn to focus their thoughts on the here and now during recovery are less likely to become depressed or anxious. The finding centers on a mental health practice known as “mindfulness,” which amounts to…  read on >  read on >

Researchers have identified two previously unrecognized symptoms of pancreatic cancer — a discovery that might help with earlier detection and improve extremely low survival numbers, they say. “When pancreatic cancer is diagnosed earlier, patients have a higher chance of survival. It is possible to diagnose patients when they visit their GP, but both patients and…  read on >  read on >

Is there an ideal time to go to bed every night if you want to dodge heart disease? Apparently there is, claims a new study that found hitting the sack between 10 and 11 p.m. may be the ideal time to cut the risk for cardiovascular trouble. The finding may be worth heeding, since the…  read on >  read on >

Schools could provide solutions for kids who are grappling with depression, a new study suggests. Students who have school-based depression screening are twice as likely to begin treatment as peers who don’t get that service, researchers say. “Our study is publishing at a time when more adolescents are reporting symptoms of depression,” said principal investigator…  read on >  read on >

While the lockdowns of the pandemic may have done the planet’s atmosphere a favor, a new study predicts that discarded masks, gloves and face shields will add more than 25,000 tons of plastic waste to the world’s oceans. Researchers from Nanjing University’s School of Atmospheric Sciences in China and the University of California, San Diego…  read on >  read on >