UTMB News Articles

Dr. Alfredo Torres spoke to Parade about keeping shower curtains free of mold and other microorganisms and when to change the shower curtain out. "When the plastic liner is pink and moldy, it is time to replace it," he says.

“It is very understandable that people want to grasp onto a hopeful remedy,” Dr. Susan McLellan tells NBC News for this story on misinformation about how to prevent and treat measles. “It is unfortunate when trusted providers of advice, such as those in higher levels of our government, are not very clearly stating what is upheld by scientific evidence and what is not.”

UTMB was among 168 health systems and medical centers named to Optum’s Centers of Excellence network. UTMB was chosen as an ‘excellent’ option for kidney transplants.

“While lavender is typically touted for its scent and used in soaps, candles, lotions and diffusers, it actually has some wonderful health benefits as well,” writes Dr. Samuel Mathis in his latest column. From helping reduce stress and anxiety to sleep benefits and even pain reduction, lavender has numerous uses, Mathis writes.

Scientists are close to bioengineering mirror-image bacterium, write Drs. Norbert Herzog and David Niesel in their weekly Medical Discovery News column. These are bacteria that are not seen in nature and raise many questions about how they would act and react to the world around them.

The acidity of lemon juice can stimulate digestive enzymes, which can aid in digestion and nutrient absorption, indirectly supporting liver function, says UTMB’s Dr. Samuel Mathis in this report on liver health.

UTMB’s School of Nursing was listed among the 47 best nursing master’s programs in the U.S. by Money, a personal finance website. Programs were ranked on quality, affordability and value, writes Becker’s.

The UTMB One Health Laboratory is working on an ongoing epidemiological study of respiratory viruses on livestock farms across the United States and Mexico, reports Farms.com. The UTMB One Health team is trusted by ranchers and farms and is able to work with them “to provide real-time surveillance of pathogens circulating among livestock and farm workers,” the article states.

Even with vaccines, “we may not be able to put out this fire,” UTMB’s Dr. Gregory Gray tells Ars Technica for this in-depth article on H5N1. Gray says the virus is likely to “be endemic, or we say ‘enzootic,’ for a long time.”

With declining vaccination rates in some communities, public health experts worry that rubella could resurface, write Drs. Megan Berman and Richard Rupp in their Vaccine Smarts column. While rubella has been eliminated in the U.S., it could easily be reintroduced.

In the U.S. there are close to 3 million infections by bacterial antimicrobial resistance resulting in almost 50,000 annual deaths, write Drs. Norbert Herzog and David Niesel in their weekly Medical Discovery News column. The problem is that microbes are increasingly becoming resistant to current antibiotics and if things don’t change, AR microbial infections will become harder to treat.

Occupational therapy can be a valuable tool when dealing with migraines, says UTMB’s Dr. Sukanya Roy tells bezzy. “If you start noticing fewer migraine [episodes] or reduced severity and improvement in trigger management and daily function, it is a sign that OT is working,” Roy said.

The Galveston County Daily News society reporter was on hand for the UTMB Health President’s Cabinet Award Celebration & Member Appreciation Reception last month. During the rodeo themed event, the six newest programs supported by the President’s Cabinet were introduced.