A look at the top medical headlines for the week of November 1, 2020 including: The official death toll in the United States from COVID-19 is around 230,000. But a new study shows that the real number could actually be much higher. Then, marijuana use in pregnancy is on the rise… but a new study finds that children born of pot-smoking moms are more likely to have mental health issues.

Some nursing homes with a large number of patients with dementia have found that farm animals on-site and even in rooms can be helpful in raising spirits and reducing the need for medications. A therapist and program director at one such nursing home discusses how llamas, chickens, goats and mini horses have found a home, to the benefit of residents.

Black lung disease among coal miners is often thought of as a relic of the past, thanks to environmental laws. The disease is completely preventable, but a distinguished reporter and author has still found plenty of it among today’s miners. He discusses his findings and why it’s still going on.

Grief can come from the loss of anything important to us—a loved one, a job, a home, a status in the community. Today many people are suffering from unresolved grief, since there are no rituals to ease these forms of grief and prohibitions against large gatherings such as funerals. An expert discusses the many forms of grief and how we can get through them.

The new scientific field of planetary health seeks to analyze how humans are influencing the planet, which in turn rebounds to affect humans. The field encompasses more than environmental science and ecology, and helps to explain pandemics and other illnesses, mass migration, food consumption, and other public health factors. Two experts explain.

A look at the top medical headlines for the week of October 25, 2020 including: A new study shows our diets are suffering as a result of stress from Coronavirus. Then, a study finds that when teachers are having a bad day, students pick up on it and are more likely to behave badly. And finally… eye doctors say they’re getting an influx of patients asking about eye irritation called, “Mask eye.”

A look at the top medical headlines for the week of October 18, 2020 including: The leaders of two of the nation’s leading science advisory groups are warning about what they call “Alarming political interference” in the government’s response to COVID-19. Then, one reason people oppose action on climate change is that it’s more expensive than doing nothing, at least in the short term. And finally… if you plan on having any trick or treaters this year… a word of warning about black licorice...

The ability to "know" the musical pitch of any sound has traditionally been thought to be learnable only at a very early age through musical training. But new research shows perfect pitch is teachable to adults as well. Experts discuss the implications on all forms of learning.

In the race to perform the first human-to-human heart transplant, ethical corners were sometimes cut. An investigative journalist explains how a black man’s heart was harvested without his family’s consent for the first human heart transplant in the South, and how incidents such as this help to explain ongoing African-American distrust of medicine.

A look at the top medical headlines for the week of October 11, 2020 including: A group of black physicians has created a task force to vet government decisions about COVID-19 including treatments and a possible vaccine. Then, a study showing that many youths don’t understand just how strict social distancing has to be in order to work. And finally, migraine headaches are the third most prevalent illness in the world… but exposure to the right kind of green light can make sufferers feel much better.