Happy New Year! It’s the simple salutation we exchange as a matter of routine during the first weeks of January. This year, however, it seems like we need to add a question mark to the seasonal greeting. Happy New Year? Let’s hope so.

Our newsroom took a bit of a breather over the last week and I spent part of my break catching up on some reading. I finally finished Bob Woodward’s Rage, his second instalment on the Trump presidency. And then there was The Plague Year, an incredible 30,000-word article by Lawrence Wright in The New Yorker. Both Woodward and Wright explore some key missteps that led to the coronavirus pandemic: from China’s initial secrecy about the outbreak in Wuhan to conflicts in the U.S. between politicians and health officials that resulted in a failure of leadership at all levels of government. While we Canadians tend to be smug about how we’ve handled the pandemic, rising rates of infection across the country show we have many lessons to learn still. Yesterday, we sent out our list of the Top 10 most read stories of 2020. One of the things that jumped out as we were compiling the list was that three of the top stories involved conspiracy theories. While the pandemic was obviously the top story of the last year, another tragedy of 2020 was the acceleration of the deliberate denunciation of facts and science by a significant number of people (including some political leaders). We warned about this “infodemic” as far back as April. So, will we have a Happy New Year in 2021? It’s likely that by New Year’s Day in 2022, everyone who wants a COVID-19 vaccine will have received one. But how many will deliberately choose not to get vaccinated?

So far, there’s no cure for the infodemic. Regardless, we will continue to fulfil our mission of helping people make informed decisions by publishing research- and evidence-based articles from academic experts. And part of that mission is to offer hope that the next 12 months will indeed lead to better things. With that in mind, I’ve pulled together some articles from around the global network of The Conversation that offer a chance for a better 2021.

So with some hesitancy, but also a lot of hope, I wish all of you a Happy New Year. We return to our normal publishing schedule tomorrow and will be back in your Inbox with new stories on Monday.

Scott White

CEO | Editor-in-Chief

Stories of hope for a new year

Six ways to ‘reboot your brain’ after a hard year of COVID-19 – according to science

Barbara Jacquelyn Sahakian, University of Cambridge; Christelle Langley, University of Cambridge; Jianfeng Feng, Fudan University

The brain is surprisingly changeable.

9 tips to give yourself the best shot at sticking to new year’s resolutions

Joanne Dickson, Edith Cowan University

When setting a new year's goals, look closely at the reasoning behind it. Is it something you want to do, or think you should? The answer can help predict the outcome.

New Year’s resolution tips for 2021: Focus on getting to the end of COVID-19

Katherine Arbuthnott, University of Regina

New Year's resolutions are usually an opportunity to think about long-term goals. The uncertainty and restrictions of COVID-19 make 2021 a good year to focus on ways to help yourself in the short-term.

How to outsmart your COVID-19 fears and boost your mood in 2021

Laurel Mellin, University of California, San Francisco

One medication-free technique uses your emotions to release stress.

Diet resolutions: 6 things to know about eating less meat and more plant-based foods

Mariana Lamas, Northern Alberta Institute of Technology

Plant-based diets can be healthy but ingredients matter. Heavily processed meat substitutes can be high in saturated fats and sodium.

The hopeful return of polar whales

Lauren McWhinnie, Heriot-Watt University

Whales are rediscovering their old haunts in the Arctic and Southern oceans after centuries of hunting.

Six space missions to look forward to in 2021

Ian Whittaker, Nottingham Trent University; Gareth Dorrian, University of Birmingham

India may land on the Moon this coming year, while Nasa will launch its new, powerful rocket farther into space than any other human rated spacecraft.

7 research-based resolutions that will help strengthen your relationship in the year ahead

Gary W. Lewandowski Jr., Monmouth University

Psychology studies suggest a variety of ways you can strengthen your bond and increase your satisfaction with your partner.