Petrie Dish

From announcing then backtracking on a cause for autism to slashing federal public health funding to changing childhood vaccine recommendations, the appointment of Robert F. Kennedy Jr. as the Secretary of the Department of Health and Human Services triggered an earthquake of change in U.S. public health policy. Infectious diseases doctor Peter Hotez, MD, PhD, assesses the still rattling landscape with TPR's Bonnie Petrie.

In a Petrie Dish collaboration with Public Health Watch, we explore what happens if you have a chronic illness like epilepsy in a state that has rejected the Medicaid expansion.

Many people dismiss alternative therapies like auricular — which means ear — acupressure as unscientific, but a UT Health San Antonio researcher thinks it may be an effective way to reduce chronic pain for people with dementia that doesn't carry the risks associated with opioid medication.

UT Health San Antonio researchers have teased out why some lipids spike in the brains of people with Alzheimer's disease and what that may mean for cognitive function, revealing a new target for potential treatments.

People who live near the Houston Ship Channel live shorter, unhealthier lives than those who don't. One scientist has dedicated his career to understanding and exposing the threat, under great pressure to stay silent. We'll meet The Scientist Who Refused To Be Intimidated.

Up to 20% of all new mothers experience some degree of postpartum depression. That number spikes to up to 40% of Latina or Hispanic and Black mothers.

A San Antonio doctor who uses endoscopy to treat people who are too sick to survive surgery has become the first Texan to be named a Master Endoscopist by the American Society for Gastrointestinal Endoscopy.

Empathy is getting a bad rap these days. Some critics call it a weakness that can be weaponized; others call it a sin. What is this ancient trait that drives humans not only to care about each other, but to act on those feelings? And why do some powerful people insist that you should ignore yours?

A team of San Antonio researchers is training artificial intelligence models to help improve the materials used to make things like cavity fillings and dental sealants, which currently tend to be either unattractive or not as durable as they could be. This could dramatically decrease the time it takes to get better products into dentists' offices and clients' mouths.

One department at the University of Texas at San Antonio School of Public Health is focused on understanding the health challenges associated with a changing climate and developing solutions to mitigate or even prevent them.