Bonnie Petrie
Bioscience & Medicine Reporterbonnie@TPR.org
BlueSky: @bonniepetrie.bsky.social
Bonnie Petrie covers bioscience and medicine for Texas Public Radio and is the host of the Petrie Dish podcast, which explores the intersection of science, medicine, and life in the 2020s. She also brings you the latest research happening at UT Health San Antonio in a weekly report called Science & Medicine.
Bonnie grew up on the Canadian border in northern New York, but called Texas home for more than 20 years. She has twice been nominated for the Texas Radio Hall of Fame in recognition of her work in Houston, Dallas, and San Antonio, but claims she's still too young for all that. She has also received many Edward R Murrow, Associated Press, and other journalism awards. She and Petrie Dish have been honored with several Gracie Awards from The Alliance for Women in Media, including personal recognition as the best host of a local show in the nation.
Bonnie is mom to a college student, two dogs, two cats and spends her free time solving family mysteries using genetic genealogy.
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Loneliness doesn't just feel bad. It appears to raise the risk of heart disease, dementia, and early death. In part one of a two-part Petrie Dish series on the loneliness crisis, Bonnie Petrie talks to a researcher separating marmoset monkeys from their mates to study the body's stress response, and a psychiatrist mapping what isolation does to the human brain. -
A UT San Antonio researcher warns that dementia cases could triple by 2050 and that no health system on earth is ready for it. But Dr. Claudia Suemoto says the outlook isn't hopeless: everyday choices around exercise, diet, and community can meaningfully lower your risk, especially if you start by around age 35. -
A cutting-edge technology and an exciting recent hire hint at exciting developments in the future of precision medicine in the diagnosis and treatment of Alzheimer's disease.
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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.
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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.
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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.
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Science & Medicine: Relaxing excited neurons may lead to more effective treatments for schizophreniaA 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.
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Texas A&M AgriLife livestock entomologist Sonja Swiger discusses the risks New World screwworm poses to pets, people and livestock, addresses concerns about the food supply and explains why reporting infestations is critical. -
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.
