Professional athletes are among the most superstitious of all people. While we may be tempted to think these rituals have no effect on performance, psychologists say that if an athlete believes it helps, then it actually does. Experts explain how superstitions work in sports and in life.

Healthcare workers in ER’s and ICU’s are in their 11th month of fighting COVID-19 and its exhaustion and depression. Two front line doctors describe how they’re managing to stay optimistic amid so much chaos, and how the vaccine has given them a goal keeping them afloat.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention predicts that a new, more contagious version of COVID-19 will become the predominant strain by March, testing the new vaccine’s effectiveness. At the same time, researchers are trying to find ways to get the vaccine to more people more quickly by lengthening time between doses, with unknown results. Infectious disease experts discuss where we are in the fight.

During the Super Bowl, leftovers from gatherings—even small ones--may threaten to take over the refrigerator. An expert discusses consumer-friendly how-to’s, including how to read labels, that can lengthen food life and help avoid food waste.

A look at the top medical headlines for the week of January 30, 2021 including: The world may cross the point of no return on climate change sooner than we thought. Then, taking glucosamine could be just as beneficial to your health as exercise. And finally... the key to treating intractable depression may be… magic mushrooms.

A look at the top medical headlines for the week of January 24, 2021 including: A study finding that 60 percent of all cases of COVID-19 are spread by people who have no symptoms. Then, children under age two may suffer effects from antibiotics later in childhood. And finally, new recommendations suggesting kids under age two should have no added sugar in their diet.

Surveys show that as many as 80 percent of people omit information, stretch the truth or outright lie to their doctors. Experts discuss why it happens, consequences, and methods that might reduce the amount of less-than-truthful answers to doctors’ questions.

The COVID pandemic has prompted people to clean and disinfect more than ever. However, experts believe that humans need a certain amount of germs for our immune systems to work properly. One expert discusses her concern that we’re living too clean in the pandemic, and how we can benefit from “good bugs” without danger from the bad ones.

Scientists are discovering that our food preferences are much more than a matter of taste, and that taste itself is more complicated than we thought. Psychology also plays a role. An expert discusses what determines preferences, such as why some people like jalapeno peppers & black coffee, and some don’t.

Some Americans say there is no way they’ll get a COVID-19 vaccine, yet some may have no choice if they want to keep their jobs. Law allows workplaces to require safety-related vaccines for workers. Businesses may even begin to require proof of vaccination among customers to maintain safe environments. An expert on health law discusses.