Adding plants to our homes helps to improve our health in several ways, writes Dr. Samuel Mathis in his latest column. Among other benefits, Mathis writes about how plants can help purify the air, help decrease symptoms associated with dry air and even improve our mood and cognition.

“On average, one infected person may infect about 15 other people,” UTMB’s Dr. Scott Weaver tells the Associated Press. “There’s only a few viruses that even come close to that.” Measles continues to spread across the U.S. with more than 1,000 cases across 30 states, the AP reports. This news was also shared by MedicalXpress, KUSI News, and ABC News.

UTMB is among the top spine and neurosurgery research hospitals in the nation according to a report by Avang-garde Health.

Copper intrauterine devices are associated with an increased risk for several sexually transmitted infections and other vaginal conditions than IUDs containing levonorgestrel, according to a retrospective chart review presented at a recent conference. Medscape quotes UTMB medical student Celese Traub and colleagues saying “Most prior research focuses on bacterial vaginosis and pelvic inflammatory disease risk in IUD users. Limited data exist regarding the broader impact of IUDs on other common reproductive tract infections.”

Women with vs. without PCOS had a significantly increased risk for endometrial cancer, confirming findings from previous research, according to data presented by UTMB researchers at a recent conference, reports Healio. “This study is consistent with current literature. It corroborates that women with PCOS may be at increased risk of endometrial cancer,” said UTMB medical student Amani R. Patterson.

Dr. Gregory Gray also spoke to ZME Science for an in-depth explainer on bird flu. Even with vaccines, though, “we may not be able to put out this fire,” Gray said. “It appears, to many of us, that these viruses are going to be endemic, or we say ‘enzootic,’ for a long time.”

Drs. Norbert Herzog and David Niesel explore the science and scientists who study the bubbles that make champagne fizzy, in their latest column.

The common treatments for pain have not changed in years write Drs. Norbert Herzog and David Niesel but good news may be on the horizon. Scientists have found an entirely new class of pain drugs based on the sodium ion channels related to pain transmission, they write.