Petrie Dish

In the nearly half of Texas counties considered maternity care deserts, few health care workers are trained to handle a pregnancy emergency like maternal cardiac arrest. A simulation-based training program from an expert at UT San Antonio's Kate Marmion School of Public Health aims to change that, and reduce preventable deaths in the process.

A month after flu shots became voluntary, influenza began to burn through boot camp at Lackland Air Force Base. Hundreds have been sickened, and infectious diseases experts are not surprised.

Around 20% of teens who have experienced emotional trauma don't respond to talk therapy. UT Health San Antonio is using neuroimaging to track brain changes in traumatized teens during a course of therapy to see if they can figure out why, which could lead to the development of more personalized treatments that will help more teens heal.

Alcohol use disorder affects millions of Americans, but treatment options remain limited, and relapse is common. A UT Health San Antonio researcher is studying two unconventional approaches that he hopes could one day be combined into a single, more effective treatment.

A new medication to treat schizophrenia has been developed by scientists who discovered that a neuron that inhibits the activity of other cells may be in short supply in those with the disorder.

Around 17% of service members who deploy to combat zones come home with PTSD — and for many, the road to recovery is long, difficult, and often out of reach. A new study hopes to change that by pairing a single dose of MDMA — known colloquially as ecstasy — with intensive therapy, potentially compressing recovery into just two weeks.

Rapamycin may be able to help older adults live longer, healthier lives. Studies of mice suggest the drug may even reverse hardening of the arteries. Researchers at UT Health San Antonio have launched a clinical trial to see if the drug can restore the biological activity of older adults to levels more typical of younger people, and, if so, how much does it take to do it?

Anibal Diogenes, D.D.S., Ph. D., is an endodontist, the branch of dentistry that deals with the innermost part of the tooth called pulp, a connective tissue that has immunological, reparative functions.

Imagine one day your child bites down on something and the enamel on one of their teeth starts to crumble. That can happen in a condition called molar incisor hypomineralization — otherwise known as chalky teeth.

The southwest has lived with hantavirus for decades, but always the kind you catch from a rodent, never from another person. Now, a human-transmissible strain has potentially reached U.S. soil. Bonnie Petrie and infectious diseases expert Dr. Maximo Brito break down what that means.

Hundreds of thousands of veterans live with traumatic brain injuries that can trigger chronic headaches, often made worse by PTSD. A researcher at UT Health San Antonio is using AI to help predict and prevent the pain before it starts.

For 26 years, April Burrell was lost to a psychosis that defeated every treatment. Then a doctor asked a different question: what if her immune system was the problem? Dr. Anthony Zoghbi worked on the team that discovered Burrell's immune system was attacking her brain. Now he's searching for a blood test that could identify millions of others who may have been misdiagnosed and could be treated.

Remote technology can bring health interventions to patients who may struggle to get themselves to care because of where they live or how much money they have. Tae Joon Moon, Ph. D., has found that transdermal alcohol monitors are a remote tech that might help treat people with alcohol use disorder.

Obesity rates in South Texas exceed the national average, but many patients hesitate to pursue bariatric surgery due to the risks involved. UT Health San Antonio now offers endoscopic alternatives that achieve comparable weight loss results with no incisions, shorter recovery times, and lower risk.

UT Health San Antonio neuroscientist Yu Shin Kim, PhD, has discovered how stress causes migraines, which could lead to treatments that prevent them.

You don’t have to be a football player or a bull rider to have a traumatic brain injury. You don’t even have to hit your head. More than half go undetected. New national guidelines aim to help primary care doctors catch them sooner.

A UT Health San Antonio researcher is working to map the nerves involved in jaw pain as part of a federally funded consortium aimed at developing the first targeted, non-opioid treatment for chronic pain, research he hopes will give millions of suffering Americans their lives back and ultimately reverse or even prevent pain in the first place.

Around 30% of boys diagnosed with Duchenne muscular dystrophy also experience cognitive dysfunction and neurodevelopmental disorders like autism and ADHD. A UT Health San Antonio neuroscientist is doing research he hopes will uncover what is causing these deficits and how they might be treated.

When hospital patients have trouble breathing, respiratory therapists often reach for Albuterol, but a San Antonio researcher thinks it may be overused. He and his students are measuring patient response to the drug, hoping to bring more evidence-based medicine to respiratory care.

Whole milk is back in school lunches, but millions of American kids can’t easily digest it. Pediatric dietitian Marina Chaparro breaks down the science and offers ideas to help families make sure their kids get the nutrition they need, no matter what’s in the carton.

Exercise can improve function and slow disease progression in people with Parkinson's disease, but why? A UT Health San Antonio researcher is studying patients who exercise and play virtual reality games to see if she can figure out the answer.

Chronic kidney disease with no clear cause is killing young people who do physical labor in Central America at an alarming rate. A UT Health San Antonio researcher has spent a decade looking for answers, and this summer, he'll study similar workers in San Antonio to see if clues he uncovers here can save lives there.

One of the handiest tools in our immune system is an enzyme called apolipoprotein B mRNA-editing enzyme, catalytic polypeptide — better known as APOBECs.

The same mRNA technology President Trump called a medical miracle is now under attack by his own administration, and the stakes go far beyond vaccines. TPR's Bonnie Petrie talks with two San Antonio scientists about the technology's history, its current uncertainty, and its future potential.

A new center for the study of chronic infectious diseases aims to develop treatments for illnesses like Valley fever, tuberculosis, HIV, and Long COVID that disproportionately affect South Texas communities. Led by Dr. Barbara Taylor, the center seeks to attract top researchers and serve as a hub for clinical trials and community-focused care.