There are significant health benefits in providing and receiving hugs, writes Dr. Samuel Mathis in his latest column. Studies have found that receiving hugs helps to lower our cortisol levels and decrease the stress response, he writes.

UTMB’s Dr. Todd Masel was a guest speaker at the Gulf Coast Epilepsy Alliance third annual Butterfly Release in La Marque. The event helped raise awareness, unity and solidarity for epilepsy.

Health care leaders shouldn’t be afraid to make big changes when necessary UTMB President Dr. Jochen Reiser tells Chief Healthcare Executive. When an informed leader is willing to take bold steps, he says, “Great things can happen.” Reiser’s comments were also published in Express Healthcare Management.

Dr. Xavier Rice and colleagues evaluated the effectiveness of an educational intervention as a pilot for allyship between barbers and dermatologists to address gaps in pseudofolliculitis barbae care.

“Computers and texting encourage a forward head position and make it harder to maintain good posture,” UTMB’s Dr. Lynne Hughes tells The Washington Post. Hughes provided some tips, such as taking breaks and building up back and ab muscles, to help maintain a more upright posture.

The flu is primarily spread through respiratory droplets made when someone infected coughs, sneezes or talks, Dr. Megan Berman tells the Las Vegas Review-Journal. Berman says that it is possible to get the flu even if you’ve been vaccinated, but your symptoms will be much milder than if you didn’t get vaccinated.

The New York Times took a deep dive into what space does to the human body and what that means for future space tourists. UTMB’s Dr. Natacha Cough and Dr. Ronak Shah were quoted in the story. “If we go to Mars, you can’t pull a U-turn,” Cough said speaking to the Times about the need for flight health care providers to be ready to handle whatever may come up on a trip to space.

The NIH has granted $4 million to an area initiative to create a research and commercialization hub.