Solutions require complex, sustained effort to move the mountain of historical racism in medicine and the systemic ways it may exhibit itself today.

The U.S. healthcare industry is poised to grow tremendously over the next decade, but that doesn't mean its workers will reap the benefits. Not even doctors are safe from the crushing weight of debt anymore. Daniel Derksen, MD, a professor of public health at the Mel and Enid Zuckerman College of Public Health, said he's seen doctors in his state flock in greater numbers to places like Phoenix and Tucson, where the pay is greater.

This free service is part of a research project on fatty liver, particularly non-alcoholic, at the Mel and Enid Zuckerman Arizona College of Public Health, which seeks to estimate the presence of scarring and fat in the liver of Hispanic inhabitants of Southern Arizona.

Researchers have been looking to animal venoms for the next generation of antibiotics. Leslie Boyer, MD, associate professor at the College of Medicine – Tucson and medical director of the Arizona Poison Drug Information Center, who was not involved in the work, says the authors present convincing evidence for venom-dwelling microbes. But as a physician, she is skeptical that the microbes described in the paper have immediate clinical relevance.

The former director of the FDA suggests starting to lift pandemic-related restrictions, including mask wearing. Shad Marvasti, MD, associate professor of family and community medicine at the College of Medicine in Phoenix – disagrees. Dr. Marvasti says the lifting of mask requirements is one of the reasons why that approach led to Arizona being the second highest in deaths per capita nationally.

Mask-wearing in childcare programs is linked with fewer COVID-19-related program closures, new data released suggest. Paloma Beamer, PhD, a professor in the Mel and Enid Zuckerman College of Public Health, has a 3-year-old son who wears masks at daycare and works closely with his school to train kids how to wear their masks.

Journalist Mike Masterson writes an op-ed that includes a section on COVID-19 variants and vaccines. Deepta Bhattacharya, PhD, a professor and immunologist at the College of Medicine – Tucson, is quoted.

Mohab Ibrahim, MD, PhD, medical director of the UArizona Comprehensive Pain and Addiction Center, explains how different topical pain medications like lidocaine work.