In this edition: This week we explore why pharmaceutical executives are hunting for deals and superbugs threaten agricultural production. All of that, plus marijuana use before surgery and why last-minute hangouts feel good. Take a look:

Biotech Industry Takes a Bruising. After years of easy money and heady growth, funding is slim and stocks are down. A number of companies have shut down or announced layoffs in the first month of the year. Read more.

• Hundreds of Sandwiches, Salads, Yogurts Recalled Over Listeria Concerns (Read)

Superbugs Will Require Changes to How People Grow Food and Treat diseases. The U.N. warns that disease-causing bacteria, fungi and other microorganisms are developing resistance to drugs in ways that threaten agricultural production and animal health, as well as people. Deaths from drug-resistant infections could rise from one million to 10 million annually by 2050 if antimicrobial resistance continues unchecked. Read more.

• 🎧 Why Is the U.K.'s Free Healthcare Service Falling Apart? (Listen)

Black, Hispanic Dialysis Patients Get More Staph Infections Than White Patients. A new analysis from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention found that Hispanic patients on dialysis had a 40% higher risk of staph bloodstream infections than white patients. Black patients didn't fare better, with higher rates of staph bloodstream infections than white patients. Read more.

People Who Use Cannabis May Need More Anesthesia During Procedures. As more states allow people to smoke pot and eat edibles legally, more doctors say they are asking about marijuana use before surgeries or procedures because habitual users may need more anesthesia and painkillers. Read more. 

Why the Last-Minute Hangout Feels So Good Right Now. Impromptu meetups that come together spur-of-the-moment can strengthen relationships and give us more control over when we want to socialize. Read more.

When Even a Brain-Eating Amoeba Can’t Hide. A technology that can screen for a wide range of disease-causing microbes in a single test could be a game-changer in diagnosing all kinds of infections. Read more.

Pfizer, Novartis, Merck Executives Say They Are Hunting for Deals Again. The acquisitions could help the companies add new sales to aging lineups and suggest this year could be a busy one for industry dealmaking. Read more.

AbbVie Looks For Next Hit to Boost Sales as Competitors Target Humira. Now that its blockbuster immune-disease therapy Humira is facing lower priced competition, AbbVie is turning to a pair of next-generation successors to replenish the billions of dollars in sales that will be lost. Read more.

CVS Reaches $10.6 Billion Deal to Buy Clinic Owner Oak Street Health. The acquisition would widen CVS’s healthcare offerings, adding hundreds of physicians and nurse practitioners and Oak Street’s network of senior-focused clinics to medical services that CVS provides through its pharmacies. Read more.

This newsletter was compiled by the WSJ’s Health & Science team. Follow us on Twitter @WSJHealth and @WSJScience. Email us by replying to this newsletter.