Medical experts continue to emphasize the importance of getting the COVID vaccine and now the flu shot as the United States approaches an unpredictable flu season and potential “twindemic.” Saman Nematollahi, MD, assistant professor of medicine in the division of infectious diseases at the College of Medicine – Tucson, is interviewed.

If you've got blue nails and it's not from nail polish, you likely have what's called cyanosis. This is when all the fingernails or toes are tinged blue. Cyanosis of the nail bed is caused by low oxygen levels in the blood. If the blue color isn't just from frigid temperatures, "your physician will probably want to do a simple rapid-blood gas analysis to measure the oxygen in your blood and perhaps some tests to check your heart and lungs," said Andrew Weil, MD, director of the UArizona Andrew Weil Center for Integrative Medicine.

An impassioned and vocal member of the Endocrine Society, Ricardo Correa, MD, EdD, talks about his research, outreach to potential Latinx endocrine scientists, the importance of addressing health disparities, and how a trip to the endocrinologist when he was a teenager changed his entire life.

Infectious disease experts weigh in on how they are personally dealing with the pandemic. Elizabeth Connick, MD, chief of the division of infectious diseases and professor of medicine and immunobiology at the College of Medicine – Tucson, discusses dining indoors with The Washington Post.

“Celebrating Life & Science” is a special one-hour broadcast event highlighting inspiring stories of Arizonans working together and using science to make life better for people everywhere. Arizona Bioscience Researcher of the Year Janko Nikolich-Žugich, MD, PhD, department head and professor of immunobiology at the College of Medicine – Tucson, is featured.

Public health experts say the rate of teenage vaccination can be a signpost on whether parents will get younger children vaccinated. “If we had a robust response to vaccinations in the 12 to 17 age group, I would hold a lot of hope for this new vaccination expansion,” said doctor and advocate Ruth Franks Snedecor, MD, clinical assistant professor at the College of Medicine – Phoenix.

Michael Badowski, PhD, an associate research scientist at the University of Arizona Health Sciences Biorepository, writes that the response to the COVID-19 outbreak has better prepared global infrastructure for a more deadly pandemic.

University of Arizona Cancer Center researchers recently found a promising method to battle cancer, slow its growth and overcome drug resistance. Noel Warfel, PhD, an associate professor of Cellular and Molecular Medicine at the College of Medicine – Tucson, is leading the study.

The grant will help address COVID-19 disparities among racial and ethnic minority populations and rural communities in Arizona.