All human research is reviewed by an IRB — researchers submit proposals detailing the purpose of the investigation, the procedures, the risks and benefits, consent forms, and more. The committee decides whether or not the proposal is acceptable and may ask for revisions, which can take weeks or months depending on how often a given IRB convenes. “If I’m doing a project on something related to reproductive technology in Texas, versus Massachusetts, they might be really different considerations,” said Emma Tumilty, a bioethicist at the University of Texas Medical Branch.

We generally think of good health in terms of diet, exercise, sleep and mental attitude. We also need to consider as fundamental the amount of water that we drink. Dr. Victor S. Sierpina writes about importance of drinking enough water and why it might be better to have a glass of water before your morning coffee.

A neuroscientist and transplant surgeon at UTMB stumbled upon the realization that transplant patients exhibited a low frequency of dementia, write Drs. Norbert Herzog and David Niesel in their latest Medical Discovery News column. The discovery could have huge implications for the treatment of Alzheimer’s and dementia, they write.

Research has shown that acupuncture may be beneficial for a number of pain conditions, writes Dr. Hasan Yasin in a column for the GCDN. Yasin suggested patients speak to their doctor about alternative or complementary treatments.

UTMB’s Dr. Janak Patel spoke to CBS News about the CDC’s potential elimination of isolation requirements after testing positive for COVID-19. "We have to be very cautious that perhaps another variant that escapes our immunity completely may emerge and may require different precautions," Patel says. "Once we make policy in this forward manner, if we had to have a situation where we would need more caution, it will be very hard to go back to more prolonged isolation."