Routine face mask ventilation during an operation doesn’t increase the surgical team’s risk of coronavirus infection, according to a new study. Face mask ventilation is typically used for surgical patients under general anesthesia. However, its designation as an “aerosol-generating procedure” by the World Health Organization has altered operating room procedures and efficiency during the COVID-19…  read on >  read on >

WEDNESDAY, Oct. 27 2021Midlife vision problems could increase women’s risk of depression, new research suggests. Rates of eye problems and depression rise during midlife, but knowledge about how vision affects depression at that time has been limited. The new study identified a significant link between impaired vision and development of depression. “Given that the combination…  read on >  read on >

Teenagers have followed the vaping trend into marijuana use, with recent studies chronicling a boom in pot vaping among adolescents in the United States and Canada, researchers report. The percentage of teens who’ve experimented with vaped pot has more than doubled in recent years, and vaping among frequent marijuana users has quadrupled, according to the…  read on >  read on >

Smokers who kick the habit before age 45 can nearly eliminate their excess risk of dying from lung or other cancers, a new study estimates. It’s well-established that after smokers quit, their risk of tobacco-related cancers drops substantially over time. Researchers said the new findings underscore the power of quitting as early as possible. Among…  read on >  read on >

It’s well-known that COVID-19 pandemic restrictions pretty much quashed the 2020-2021 flu season, with influenza cases falling to never-before-seen lows in the United States. So little flu circulated, in fact, that some scientists now suspect that one of the major strains of influenza might have gone extinct, for lack of humans to infect. Influenza B/Yamagata…  read on >  read on >