Low-frequency ultrasound appears to have rejuvenating effects on animals. As well as restarting cell division in aging human cells, it has reinvigorated old mice, improving their physical performance in tests such as running on a treadmill and making one old mouse with a hunched back move around normally again. “‘Is this too good to be true?’ is the question I often ask,” says Michael Sheetz at the University of Texas Medical Branch.

A multi-year clinical trial at the University of Texas Medical Branch and Medical University of South Carolina will examine the use of a wearable device thought to stimulate nerves near the ear to change signals in the brain as a treatment for chronic pain and opioid tapering. The opioid crisis has spawned untold deaths and chronic disabilities with a major impact on global health care,” said Dr. Kathryn Cunningham, a translational pharmacologist and director of UTMB’s Center for Addiction Research. Many other online news organizations and TV stations shared this news.

House Bill 896 would ban minors from using social media. On this week's episode of Texas Wants to Know, host Baylee Friday asks if it is possible for lawmakers to ban all minors from social media. Dr. Jeff Temple, a professor and licensed psychologist at UTMB, was one of the guests on the podcast.

Two recent reports in the journals Cell and Nature describe research that started with single cells and provided the right conditions to stimulate the cells to grow into embryos. Drs. Norbert Herzog and David Niesel explored the possibilities in their latest Medical Discovery News column.

Research has shown that our muscle mass worsens as we age, wrote Dr. Samuel Mathis in his newspaper column. “This causes us to naturally weaken if we don’t actively work to maintain our muscle tone. By lifting heavy things, we help keep our muscle mass.”

The XBB variants are derived from the recombination of two strains of the BA.2 lineage of omicron (an earlier dominant strain), Dr. Vineet Menachery, assistant professor in the department of microbiology and immunology at the University of Texas Medical Branch, explains. Get ready for some scientific jargon: XBB.1.5 has many of the same spike mutations and immune evasion as other omicron strains, according to Dr. Menachery. However, a mutation at position 486 in XBB.1.5 spike is predicted to improve binding to the human ACE2 receptor and is thought to be driving XBB.1.5 emergence through increased transmission.

Scientists at the University of Texas Medical Branch at Galveston, in partnership with Moderna, were awarded $13.5 million over three years to design, manufacture and test mRNA vaccines for Ebola. UTMB could receive an additional $11.1 million to study alternative ways of administering the vaccines. The contract is part of a broader push by the US to protect military personnel using technology that enabled the quick development of COVID-19 vaccines early in the pandemic. Many international and regional news organizations also reported this story.

Some experts worry XBB.1.5 could drive a surge in cases in the coming weeks. The speed of its increase is reminiscent of other variants that previously caused high numbers of cases, said Vineet Menachery, who studies coronaviruses at the University of Texas Medical Branch. “This seems like the next big wave,” he said. “I don’t know that it’ll be as big as previous waves, but I do think we’re looking at a high rate of infection, and that’s what the experience of the last couple years suggests is going to happen.” Many other online news sites reprinted this article.

Kathryn Cunningham, director of the University of Texas Medical Branch’s Center for Addiction Research, said Galveston County and Texas are in a fentanyl crisis and there’s no clear evidence the problem is improving. “Texas, which is the second most populous state in the country, has seen a 70 percent increase in overdoses between 2020 and 2022,” Cunningham said. “If you look per capita, the overdose deaths here are more than Harris County,” she said, referring to Galveston County and noting the data was two years old.

One of the organizations that is pushing for more testing and information is the Texas Health and Environment Alliance, or THEA. They’ve teamed up with researchers from the University of Texas Medical Branch, UTMB, to test the water and air at 55 properties – both inside and outside the EPA’s official boundaries. Lance Hallberg with UTMB said the goal is to have data for the community. “The purpose of whatever we find whether good or bad is for them to be able to utilize that in requesting any additional services from EPA if necessary,” he said.