5/18
Public Health
Opioid prescriptions filled after eye surgery doubled over a decade
Opioid prescriptions filled after eye surgery doubled over a decade
A Penn study suggests efforts in the past decade to reduce the invasiveness and recovery time for these procedures have not reduced opioid use.
The dangers of vaping
The dangers of vaping
Vaping has been marketed as a safer alternative to smoking cigarettes, but recent deaths and acute respiratory illnesses have belied that claim. Pulmonologist and smoking cessation expert Frank Leone of the Perelman School of Medicine explains the e-cigarette phenomenon and why it’s dangerous.
Inferno in the rainforest
Inferno in the rainforest
Satellite images have detected more than 100,000 points of fire in the Amazon this year. Scientists Reto Gieré and Alain Plante illuminate some less obvious impacts of the fires, including health threats and climate impacts.
The U.S. and Canada are seven times more likely to prescribe opioids than Sweden
The U.S. and Canada are seven times more likely to prescribe opioids than Sweden
Within 30 days of discharge, nearly half of all surgical patients in the United States received opioids in excess of 200 morphine milligram equivalents, compared to just 11 percent of the patients in Sweden.
Five insights into how the brain works
Five insights into how the brain works
As the Center for Neuroscience & Society celebrates 10 years, founding director Martha Farah reflects on the array of research from its faculty, on subjects from brain games to aggression.
What is a ‘mass shooting’ and how do we talk about gun violence?
What is a ‘mass shooting’ and how do we talk about gun violence?
In a Q&A, criminologist Richard Berk discusses why definitions matter and what role social media and mental illness play in this context.
When a fix for one vision problem causes another
When a fix for one vision problem causes another
Aging diminishes the ability of the eyes to focus up close. New Penn research reports that monovision, a common prescription lens correction to mitigate this issue, can cause dramatic misperceptions of depth and 3D direction for objects in motion.
Why are U.S. hospitals closing?
Why are U.S. hospitals closing?
Wharton’s Lawton Burns discusses the closure of Philadelphia’s Hahnemann University Hospital and the trend of medical facilities shuttering nationwide.
Further testing on sunscreen is needed. That’s no reason to avoid it
Further testing on sunscreen is needed. That’s no reason to avoid it
Following a study on active ingredients in sunscreen, the takeaway is: Wear it. Avobenzone, which was found to be absorbed into the bloodstream, is not ‘not safe,’ says dermatology’s Bruce Bod.
Relieving water scarcity, one home at a time
Relieving water scarcity, one home at a time
Due to a rapidly depleting underground aquifer, many residents of Mexico City are left with little-to-no easily accessible clean water for hours or days at a time. This summer, members of the Penn chapter of Isla Urbana helped install rainwater harvesting and filtration systems to provide residents of the Mexican capital with clean water year-round.
In the News
Philadelphia Gay News
UPenn hosts free online panel for LGBTQ+ workplace inclusion
The Eidos LGBTQ+ Health Initiative, led by José Bauermeister and Jessica Halem of the School of Nursing, will host a free online panel in April on the integration of LGBTQ+ people in the workforce.
FULL STORY →
Philadelphia Inquirer
Mayor Parker’s plan to ‘remove the presence of drug users’ from Kensington raises new questions
Shoshana Aronowitz of the School of Nursing and Ashish Thakrar of the Perelman School of Medicine comment on the lack of specificity in Philadelphia’s plan to remove drug users from Kensington and on the current state of drug treatment in the city.
FULL STORY →
FactCheck.org
Posts mislead about COVID-19 vaccine safety with out-of-context clip of FDA official
Jeffrey S. Morris of the Perelman School of Medicine says that many adverse medical events, even those clearly unrelated to vaccines, have been reported an order of magnitude more for COVID vaccines during the pandemic than any time before.
FULL STORY →
WHYY (Philadelphia)
Philadelphians hope a cleaner city will reduce gun violence. Will Oh or Parker make it a reality?
A $3 million blight reduction project in Philadelphia is informed by Penn research showing that cleaning up trash and revitalizing vacant lots can reduce gun violence rates by as much as 29%.
FULL STORY →
Business Insider
Universal basic income is working—even in red states
Researchers at Penn concluded that a basic income program in Stockton, California, could have profound positive impacts on local public health.
FULL STORY →
CBS Philadelphia
NJ’s Camden County deploying virtual reality to teach students about naloxone
Penn partnered with New Jersey’s Camden County to create a virtual reality training video for administering the opioid-reversing drug Narcan.
FULL STORY →