BALTIMORE, MD, February 6, 2025 – As local newsrooms continue to shrink and news deserts grow, citizen journalists are stepping in to sustain coverage, but a new study in the INFORMS journal Management Science reveals just how critical their role is – and the consequences of their absence.

Groundbreaking study from researchers at The University of Texas Health Science Center at San Antonio uncovers genetic factor that may contribute to the risk of late-onset Alzheimer’s disease, a neurodegenerative condition that currently affects approximately 7 million Americans, a number expected to nearly double by 2050 according to the Alzheimer’s Association. While there is no cure, early detection and treatment can significantly preserve brain function and slow disease progression.

Exposure therapy, in which patients gradually face the things and situations they fear, is among the most effective treatments for anxiety disorders, yet it remains underutilized (Pittig, Kotter, & Hoyer, 2019). Some patients may find it too intimidating while clinicians may struggle with the lack of control and the challenge of repeatedly creating experiences such as flying in a plane or talking in front of a large crowd. 

A new paper in Clinical Psychological Science highlights virtual reality exposure therapy (VRET) as an effective option and explores how it may work. The research suggests that patients may be more willing to try virtual reality as they can be assured it is not actually real, and clinicians can manipulate the simulated experiences. 

In the early stages of the COVID-19 pandemic, statistics emerged showing significant discrepancies in mortality by county.

Shinsuke Tanaka, assistant professor and director of graduate studies in the Department of Agricultural and Resource Economics, wanted to use his expertise in environmental and health economics to help understand what was at the root of this puzzle. Tanaka published a paper in the Journal of Environmental Economics and Management showing that counties with more days of downwind pollution from power plants had higher COVID-19 mortality rates. This impact was more pronounced in under-resourced communities.

Dr. Arum Han, the Texas Instruments Professor in the Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering, and his lab, created a technology named NOVAsort (Next-generation Opto-Volume-based Accurate droplet sorter), a system that allows high throughput screening of molecules and cells at significantly reduced error rates. Whereas previous research has focused on increasing the speed of assays (a type of laboratory test), the team’s findings, which were published in Nature Communications, are among the first to significantly improve accuracy without compromising the speed of assays.