During Monsoon Season, Arizonans can expect to see more scorpions this summer. "Typically, scorpion season is going to range from about May all the way through October, with the peak being in June," said Laura Morehouse, MPH, CHES, a health education specialist at the UArizona Poison and Drug Information Center. The Center has already received over 300 sting reports as of mid-June, Morehouse added.

A recent study by researchers at the University of Arizona College of Medicine – Phoenix defines a mechanistic role for an understudied bacteria family in gynecologic disease.

Two Health Sciences insiders share takeaways for better future events from a year of online conferences, meetings and more.

Why are many health officials saying we don’t need a COVID-19 booster shot, at least not yet? Deepta Bhattacharya, PhD, an immunobiologist at the College of Medicine – Tucson, said the efficacy of the Pfizer vaccine isn’t waning several months after being vaccinated. Bhattacharya explained what’s happening in our bodies that allows the vaccine to be so effective, even with the variants.

Bacterial vaginosis is the most common and recurrent gynecological condition affecting nearly 30% of women between the ages of 15 and 44, according to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. A University of Arizona Health Sciences-led study recently identified a specific bacteria family and uncovered how it contributes to bacterial vaginosis, paving the way for new insights into disease prevention and treatment. "Using this study and our 3D model as a foundation, we hope to determine if and how other species are altering the environment to contribute to bacterial vaginosis," said Melissa Herbst-Kralovetz, PhD, a member of the BIO5 Institute and associate professor of basic medical sciences at the College of Medicine – Phoenix.

Dr. Roberta Diaz Brinton discusses her passion for Alzheimer's disease research and what's next for the Center for Innovation in Brain Science.

Two fully vaccinated people have died from COVID-19 in Pima County, according to the county health department. This is an extremely small number compared to the number of fully vaccinated people countywide. The percentage of fully vaccinated people who have died from COVID-19 is about 0.00037%. "At the individual level it's a tragedy because someone took the effort to protect themselves and it failed," said Joe Gerald, MD, PhD, an associate professor of public health policy and management at the Mel and Enid Zuckerman College of Public Health. "But at the population level it doesn't represent a threat because these numbers are so small."

Rubin Naiman, PhD, a psychologist, clinical assistant professor of medicine, and sleep and dream specialist at the Andrew Weil Center for Integrative Medicine at the University of Arizona, discusses how we can better understand who we are through our dreams and our unconscious.