The FDA approval of the monoclonal antibody aducanumab for Alzheimer's disease has elicited a decidedly mixed response from neurologists who treat dementia. “The FDA had to do a lot of analyses and make a very complicated judgement. I can't join the skeptics who say ‘just say no.’ There are a lot of unanswered questions. It is a tough call," said Pierre Tariot, MD, director of the Banner Alzheimer's Institute and a research professor at the College of Medicine – Phoenix.

As the more contagious Delta variant spreads rapidly, health experts are worried vaccines won't be as effective in preventing the spread of COVID-19. "It's quite reasonable, especially in indoor crowded spaces, even for vaccinated people to wear a mask because the risk of getting sick is higher now than it ever has been before for people who are fully vaccinated," said Shad Marvasti, MD, director of public health, prevention and health promotion at the College of Medicine – Phoenix.

A UArizona College of Medicine – Tucson study aims to reduce relapse rates of recently quit smokers by training them to help others quit smoking.

Basic scientists and clinical researchers working together leads to center’s many achievements.

Health experts are concerned that Arizona’s recently approved budget, which bans public schools and universities from enforcing mask mandates and COVID-19 testing for unvaccinated students, is endangering public health across the state. “Banning schools from adopting a simple, cost-effective and scientifically proven safety measure like mask wearing while we are still in the midst of a pandemic makes absolutely no scientific or public health sense," said Elizabeth Jacobs, PhD, a professor and epidemiologist at the Mel and Enid Zuckerman College of Public Health.

Shad Marvasti, MD, director of public health, prevention and health promotion at the College of Medicine – Phoenix, says it would be a good idea to bring back mask mandates. "We don’t want to wait until after the fact and get caught with this thing already ahead of us when we know that masks work," Marvasti said.

Some nursing students and faculty are back to in-person training at ASTEC.

Dr. Scott Salomone is spreading awareness about scams to equip people with the information they need to recognize fraud and protect themselves.

Lisa Shubitz, DVM, a research scientist at the University of Arizona Valley Fever Center for Excellence, and her research team found a mutated gene of valley fever in a pathogen of corn. That became the first component of a potential canine vaccine for valley fever.