Women who develop diabetes during pregnancy have a higher risk of complications for themselves and their babies if they’re night owls instead of early birds, a new study finds. Gestational diabetes increases the mother’s risk of premature delivery and preeclampsia (pregnancy-induced high blood pressure). It also raises the baby’s risk of growing too large in…  read on >  read on >

COVID-19 transmission is rare in schools that follow precautions such as mandatory masks, social distancing and frequent hand-washing, a new study finds. And that’s true even among close school contacts of people who test positive for the new coronavirus, according to researchers at Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis. “Schools can operate safely…  read on >  read on >

The United States could save thousands of lives each year by addressing its lack of enough primary care doctors, a new study projects. There has been a shortfall of U.S. primary care doctors for a long time, with much of the problem concentrated in rural areas and poverty-stricken urban centers. And the future looks bleak:…  read on >  read on >

U.S. health officials called the results of AstraZeneca’s coronavirus vaccine trial into question early Tuesday, saying the company may have used outdated data that could have changed its conclusion about the efficacy of the vaccine. On Monday morning, AstraZeneca had announced that its vaccine was 79 percent effective in protecting against COVID-19 infection in the…  read on >  read on >

The smoke from forest fires is sending children to emergency rooms with respiratory problems at higher rates than ever before, a new study finds. “Kids are particularly vulnerable to pollution from wildfires, so they can have asthma exacerbation and other respiratory problems,” said senior researcher Tarik Benmarhnia, an associate professor of family medicine and public…  read on >  read on >