Research Library

The food environment currently dominated by the industrialized food industry is undermining both brain health and our environment.

Brain diseases have profound impacts on our health, our communities and the economy. In this brief, fellow Harris A. Eyre explains why Texas needs to establish a state research institute to tackle a growing brain health crisis.

Anti-vaccine advocates have been deploying a new tactic: pushing for unvaccinated individuals to become a protected group under constitutional and statutory law. Expert Valerie Gutmann Koch explores why this could threaten public health.

Vaccination policies are a cornerstone of public health, but anti-vaccine activists have been adamantly pushing for legislation that would weaken and dismantle the public health infrastructure, the authors write. In this issue brief, they examine vaccine policy challenges leading up to and during the COVID-19 pandemic, as well as the future of vaccine legislation in Texas and the United States.

The authors identify key themes that emerged from anti-vaccine testimonies during the 2021 Texas legislative session and consider the implications of these discussions as the next legislative session draws near.

Stem cells have two unique properties that make them an appealing therapeutic tool for regenerative medicine: they can grow indefinitely and can differentiate into a wide variety of cell types, including those that form blood, bones, lungs, skin, and the brain.

By providing regulated and safe access to medical cannabis to people with demonstrated need, the Texas Legislature can provide justified relief, help reduce the opioid epidemic, and save Texas millions of dollars, write the authors.

By Kirstin R.W. Matthews and Melody T. Tan Vaccines and vaccine exemptions are increasingly contentious issues in Texas. In this issue brief, the authors dispel five common misconceptions about vaccines that were presented during public hearings at the Texas House of Representatives in 2017.