Dr. Brent E. Masel of Galveston, professor of neurology at the University of Texas Medical Branch, and national medical director of the Brain Injury Association of America, believes parents should be aware of CTE and understand its risks. “As a practicing neurologist, I’ll see many sad issues, but not much is worse than one of my favorite patients who is slowly dying from the effects of chronic traumatic encephalopathy,” Masel said.

“If for no other reason, people who are not current with their vaccinations should consider getting vaccinated to decrease their chances of developing post-COVID conditions,” wrote Drs. Megan Berman and Richard Rupp in their Vaccine Smarts column.

In the recent Medical Discovery News column, Drs. Norbert Herzog and David Niesel wrote about the re-discovery of an important medicinal and flavoring plant used in the ancient world called silphion. “Its history and re-discovery is an interesting story and reminds us of the value of natural products as new medicines.”

Your grandmother’s diet could affect your children’s health The Galveston County Daily News, February 7, 2023 In Medical Discovery News, Drs. Norbert Herzog and David Niesel wrote about a study by Shelly Buffington at UTMB that discovered a high-fat diet can alter social behavior and promote neurodysfunction in descendants.

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.