The University of Texas Medical Branch conducted a study recently that found brain development in grandchildren could be affected by what their grandmother eats. It builds on findings from a previous study done by Shelly A. Buffington, assistant professor in the Department of Neurobiology and faculty in the Sealy Center for Microbiome Research at UTMB, demonstrating the effects of maternal high-fat diet on offspring brain plasticity and social behavior. “Our study focused on the impact of high-fat diet exposure in the maternal lineage on behavioral outcomes associated with neurodevelopmental disorders in descendant generations,” Buffington said. “Remarkably, we found that a high fat grandmaternal diet has the potential to impact neurodevelopment and long-term behavioral outcomes across multiple descendant generations.” The Galveston County Daily News also shared this news.

Dr. Jeff Temple, director of the Center for Violence Prevention at UTMB, joined Town Square to discuss the consumption of true crime as entertainment.

​To make a main-floor bedroom as comfortable and safe as possible, Elena Volpi, M.D., director of the Sealy Center on Aging at the University of Texas Medical Branch at Galveston, suggests removing area rugs to prevent tripping and adding night-lights for middle-of-the-night bathroom trips. Make sure furniture including side tables, footstools, benches and storage items are removed from the path to the bathroom, for example.​

Medical students who like to fish—Blake Northrop, Vishaal Sakthivelnathan and Dylan Weaver—wrote an op-ed about avoiding flesh-eating bacteria while enjoying their favorite saltwater sport.

Drs. Victor Sierpina and Michelle Sierpina wrote about UTMB’s Willed Body program. “At UTMB, students and faculty begin each dissection session with a moment of silence to honor the donor. Students learn the sacred trust of donors and the beginnings of respect, ethics, and patient-centered care.”

A new blood test developed by the biomedical technology company SomaLogic in Boulder, Colorado, focuses on proteins in the blood that could provide an early warning for heart disease and stroke patients. Drs. Norbert Herzog and David Niesel discuss the research in Medical Discovery News.