Medicine
December 4, 2023
In Galveston, a New First Response to Mental Health Crises
Echoing a statewide trend, the team aims to prevent the tragedies that often result when armed police answer calls involving psychological emergencies.
Health
Reporting and analysis about the innovation, trends, and business of medicine and health care
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Health
November 20, 2023
The UT Professor War-Gaming the Next Pandemic
Mathematical epidemiologist Lauren Ancel Meyers knows you're sick of thinking about infectious disease threats. But that's her job.
Medicine
October 30, 2023
A Taller Border Wall Brings a Surge of Costly Injuries to El Paso
The city's University Medical Center is among the trauma centers dealing with many more migrants severely hurt in falls from the thirty-foot fence.
Politics & Policy
October 20, 2023
The Texas Legislature Keeps Trying to Ban Vaccine Mandates for Private Businesses. This Time It Might Actually Be Successful.
Republicans need a win after a summer of infighting. But party leaders are ignoring several potential consequences in moving hastily on this issue.
Health
October 19, 2023
The Last Independent Reproductive Health Clinics in Texas Struggle to Survive
Over the past five years, eighteen independent clinics in Texas shuttered or stopped abortion services. Today only two are still standing.
Health
October 12, 2023
While We Were Sleeping: The Feds Say a Price-fixing Scheme Costs Texas Patients Tens of Millions
A New York financier’s scheme “rolled up” anesthesiology practices across the state, according to a complaint by the Federal Trade Commission.
Health
October 11, 2023
Is a New Study Linking Autism to Aspartame Overblown?
Researchers in San Antonio found that boys whose mothers drank diet soda were more likely to be on the spectrum, but critics point out the data’s shortcomings.
Health
October 10, 2023
In Far West Texas, One Hospice Nurse Brings Comfort to the Dying
Karen Ramirez traverses vast Brewster County—a territory bigger than Connecticut—so her patients can finish their days at home.
Health
September 19, 2023
Anti-Science Views Are Literally Killing Us, Peter Hotez Warns
In his new book, the Houston infectious disease expert raises the alarm about those who tout debunked claims about vaccines.
Health
September 14, 2023
Racism Persists in Health Care. This Houston Bioethicist Aims to Change That.
At UTHealth’s McGovern Center, Keisha Ray works to combat the biases that lead to worse outcomes for Black patients.
Health
September 11, 2023
When Is It Too Hot for Texas Teens to Play Football?
When my son joined a middle school team, I researched heat safety. What I found was troubling.
Health
September 7, 2023
Healthy Eating May Turn Your Gut Bacteria Into Cancer-Fighting Heroes
Recent research out of Dallas and Houston highlights the “science-fictionlike” power of your body’s microbiome—and a high-fiber diet.
Health
August 14, 2023
Here’s the Story of One of the Millions of Texans Who Have No Medical Insurance
More than one in six Texans lack health insurance, the highest rate in the country. Behind the statistics are countless human beings experiencing unnecessary suffering.
Health
August 8, 2023
The Monkeys Who Died to Fight COVID
Texas Biomedical Research Institute helped subdue the coronavirus and has big plans for combating future disease threats—with controversial help from its thousands of research primates.
Health
July 13, 2023
This Texas Heat Is Killing Us
Extreme temperatures are hazardous to our health, so projects in San Antonio and Dallas are seeking new ways to cool down our cities.
Books
June 29, 2023
As a Heat Dome Envelops Texas, a Bracing Look at Our Hotter Future
In his new book, ‘The Heat Will Kill You First,’ Austin-based journalist Jeff Goodell examines climate change in its most essential form: temperature rise.
By Peter Holley![Peter Holley's Profile Photo]()
Health
June 27, 2023
Texas Has Entered a New Era of Extreme Heat
Texans have never been afraid of summer temperatures. This year’s record-breaking heat wave should make us think twice.
By Peter Holley![Peter Holley's Profile Photo]()
Parks & Recs
June 26, 2023
Hikers Are Dying on Texas Trails in Severe Heat
Recent tragedies in Big Bend and Palo Duro Canyon are a reminder to “respect the desert,” says one ranger.
By Rose Cahalan![Rose Cahalan's Profile Photo]()
Health
June 15, 2023
When Vertigo Melted My Brain
Can medical science truly explain the mystical, mysterious experience triggered by a simple malfunction in my inner ear?
By Katy Vine![Katy Vine's Profile Photo]()
Medicine
June 14, 2023
Plasma Donation Is a Bloody Business at the Border
Thousands of Mexicans routinely cross into Texas to sell their vital bodily fluids for cash. Is that arrangement symbiotic—or exploitative?
Health
June 8, 2023
The Big Penis War
The inventor of the world’s first cosmetic penile implant says a group of Houston doctors is trying to steal his ideas. Inside the multimillion-dollar feud.
Health
May 23, 2023
OB-GYN Residents Are Required to Receive Clinical Abortion Training. They Can’t Do That in Texas.
Abortion restrictions running in conflict with training requirements are pushing lifelong Texans to leave the state—maybe for good.
Health
May 11, 2023
Texas Refuses to Expand Medicaid. Here’s What We’re Missing Out On.
These benefits could be ours, if the Lege would just help insure a million more Texans.
Health
May 9, 2023
Could Coverage for Doula Care Drive Down Texas’s High Maternal Mortality Rate?
Research shows having doulas involved in childbirth could improve health outcomes—and serve to close the racial gaps in care.
Politics & Policy
May 5, 2023
Does a “Family Values” Agenda Include Keeping New Moms Healthy?
Progressive faith leaders and women’s health advocates are adopting the messaging to push for a 12-month Medicaid extension for postpartum care.
Sponsored
May 1, 2023
HSC is Focused on the Big Picture
Learn about UNTHSC's outlook on patient health.
Health
May 1, 2023
“I’m Starting to Become Numb to This”: Texas Restaurant Workers Speak Up About Mental Health in Their Industry
While mental illness affects one in five U.S. adults, service employees have several factors—including late hours and low wages—that can exacerbate issues. Luckily, some nonprofits are ready to step in.
Politics & Policy
April 25, 2023
For Texas’s Antiabortion Movement, the Chilling Effect Is Working
While extremely limited, avenues for abortion access exist in Texas. That’s where fear tactics from antiabortion activists come into play.
By Mimi Swartz![Mimi Swartz's Profile Photo]()
Health
April 3, 2023
These Tiny Beads May Offer Big Hope to Ovarian Cancer Patients
A Rice University bioengineer’s mini “drug factories” could save thousands of lives.
Health
March 30, 2023
A Lifeline for Rural Texas Hospitals Comes With Strings Attached
Federal help could keep facilities open in several small towns, but they'll be forced to cut back to offering only emergency care.
Politics & Policy
March 28, 2023
Texas’s Tampon Tax Has Contributed to Widespread Period Poverty. Is the Lege Finally Ready to Repeal It?
Menstrual products are subject to a sales tax, and Democrat Donna Howard has tried to change that since 2017. With support from powerful Republicans, this could be the year.
Health
March 13, 2023
Where to Try Cordyceps, the Star of ‘The Last of Us,’ in Texas
Cordyceps, a parasitic fungus made popular by the HBO drama, can be added to coffee for a boost of brain energy. A few Texas cafes offer a safe space to try it out.
Health
March 8, 2023
The Fight for Fertility Preservation for Cancer Patients in Texas
Twelve states require that insurers pay for egg and sperm freezing before cancer treatment. Attempts to add Texas to the list have failed twice, but now lawmakers are trying again.
By Rose Cahalan![Rose Cahalan's Profile Photo]()
Politics & Policy
February 28, 2023
A Federal Judge in Amarillo Could Effectively Ban the Abortion Pill. Why Does He Get to Make That Call?
A mysterious group with a Tennessee mailing address has filed a suit in the Panhandle city—guaranteeing it would be heard by Matthew Kacsmaryk, a longtime religious-right activist.
Health
February 24, 2023
Why Doctors Aren’t Taught Much About Nutrition
A UT Southwestern program highlights how physicians can and should be better trained to discuss healthy eating with their patients.
Health
February 7, 2023
To Stem a Rising Tide of Fentanyl Overdoses, These Texas Paramedics Are Going Door-to-door
Many with opioid-use disorders OD again and again. First responders are reaching out to offer a path to recovery.
Politics & Policy
January 18, 2023
Opinion: Texas Should Accept Medicaid Expansion
By not doing so, the state is jeopardizing the health of its most vulnerable populations and leaving billions of savings on the table a year.
Best Thing in Texas
December 20, 2022
A Texan Donated a Kidney to a Stranger 1,600 Miles Away. Now, “We Are Family.”
Heather Schaefer saw a desperate Facebook plea. Six months later, she had two new members of her extended family—and one less kidney.
By Dan Solomon![Dan Solomon's Profile Photo]()
Health
December 15, 2022
Texas’s Doctor Shortage Is Bilingual
There aren’t nearly enough physicians in the state, especially for the more than 7.5 million Texans who primarily speak Spanish.
Health
December 14, 2022
Long-COVID Sufferers Are Flocking to a Texas Clinic to Treat Smell Disorders. But Does the Remedy Work?
Many with parosmia, a condition whereby normal scents smell foul, have searched for relief and found hope in a facility in Bryan.
Best Thing in Texas
December 12, 2022
The Best Things in Texas 2023: The Texans Vaccinating the World
Houstonians Dr. Peter Hotez and Dr. Maria Elena Bottazzi have created a COVID vaccine that’s saving millions of lives in developing nations.
Health
October 11, 2022
This UT Scientist Helped Spare Millions From COVID-19. Now He’s Unmasking Other Killer Viruses.
Jason McLellan’s groundbreaking research is changing the way vaccines are developed—including those for another formidable pathogen, RSV.
Health
September 27, 2022
The Effort to Redefine Abortion Goes Beyond Ted Cruz
An abortion to save the life of a pregnant patient is “not an abortion,” according to Texas’s junior senator.
By Dan Solomon![Dan Solomon's Profile Photo]()
Health
August 16, 2022
When Does the Life of a Pregnant Texan Count Under the State’s New Abortion Ban?
We asked for clarification from 99 Texas legislators who support the law, plus the attorney general who will enforce it, for clarification. Only one granted an interview.
By Peter Holley![Peter Holley's Profile Photo]()
Health
August 9, 2022
West Texas Is a Dangerous Place to Be Pregnant. It’s Getting Worse.
Texas leads the U.S. in maternity ward closures, and nowhere is this more of an issue than in the western part of the state.
Politics & Policy
August 8, 2022
The Houston Doctor Who Foretold America’s Health Care Woes in 1995
When a family doctor spoke out about insurance companies ruining his practice, few expected his appeal would still resonate 27 years later.
By Mimi Swartz![Mimi Swartz's Profile Photo]()
Health
July 28, 2022
Texas Bar and Restaurant Owners Are Finding New Ways to Help Employees Seeking Abortions
After the U.S. Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade, employers and workers in the majority-female food-service industry stepped up their fund-raising and travel assistance.
Health
July 22, 2022
Fentanyl Test Strips Could Save Lives—But They’re Illegal in Texas
Texas nonprofits are defying state law to distribute harm-reduction tools like fentanyl test strips amid an opioid-overdose epidemic.
Sports
July 15, 2022
The State’s Winningest HS Football Coach Might Forget All His Victories
Dementia forced Phil Danaher off the sidelines. Now the legendary coach at Corpus Christi’s Calallen High School faces life after football.
Business
July 8, 2022
How Houston Went From Oil Boomtown to “BoobTown”
Mimi Swartz reflects on her deep dive into Houston’s breast-implant boom and its larger-than-life profiteers.
By Mimi Swartz![Mimi Swartz's Profile Photo]()