Sleep is essential to perform simple to complex tasks and even to carry out our routine activities of daily living, Dr. Prashant Rai writes. His column offers some suggestions.

“Among the known Omicron sub-lineages (i.e. BA.1, BA.2, BA.2.12.1, BA3, BA.4, and BA.5), BA.4 and BA.5 are least susceptible to vaccine-elicited neutralizing antibodies,” said Dr. Pei-Yong Shi, professor, UTMB Chair in Innovations in Molecular Biology. Both variants have their own specific mutations including ones affecting the spike protein of the virus—the part responsible for attaching to human cells and infecting them. “Vaccine boosters will continue to prevent severe diseases and deaths,” Shi said. “Wearing masks in events with a lot of people helps to reduce the risk of Omicron infections.”

“These findings add to the growing knowledge that we are in a youth mental health crisis that is likely to get worse before it gets better,” said Jeff Temple, vice dean for research in the School of Nursing at the medical branch and lead author of the study. “On an individual level, we need to check in with our kids often, have open conversations about mental health, relationships and substance use.”

The British newspaper reported that scientists at the University of Texas Medical Branch experimented with high school kids who played video games and their resident surgeons. They had both groups perform virtual surgery to see who outperformed the other, and to their surprise, the high school students did better than the actual surgeons. While the surgeons would do better on a real body, the experiment was telling regarding the high school kids’ precision and coordination, and this was all because they were regular gamers while the medical residents had no time to play games.

Laura Yuhas will graduate in August with a doctorate in Occupational Therapy from UTMB. She was an international business student until she broke her leg. “I feel like I am able to relate to more people because of my past experiences,” said Yuhas. “The pay was good in my first career, but this career is already bringing other types of rewards. When I go home at night, I feel like I’ve done something that makes a difference in people’s lives.”

The poliovirus in London does not mean that polio is making a comeback, Drs. Megan Berman and Richard Rupp write in the Vaccine Smarts column. It does demonstrate that the COVID-19 pandemic has led to an unsafe drop in vaccination rates. Likewise, major measles outbreaks have occurred in 26 countries due to pandemic disruption of vaccination programs.

Dr. Sally Robinson explains that hygiene theory suggests that children who have more exposure to germs and certain infections at a very early age develop immune systems that are better suited to differentiating harmless substances from harmful substances. Always talk to your physician, she advises.

One of the most common complaints at the end of life is pain, writes Dr. Samuel Mathis. While medication can help, acupuncture or acupressure can be very helpful without affecting an individual’s mentation. It can be difficult to find traveling acupuncturists, but acupressure is something that families can learn and perform themselves.