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School of Veterinary Medicine
Opioid Epidemic
Opioid drug misuse and addiction are epidemic in the United States. Every day, 90 people lose their lives to opioid overdose and the economic burden of the crisis has climbed to an estimated $80 billion a year. Researchers at the University of Pennsylvania are spearheading multi-faceted solutions to address the problem.
Taking Blood Using ‘Push-Pull’ Method Gets Accurate Results With Fewer Pokes, Penn Study Shows
A new study by University of Pennsylvania veterinary researchers has found that blood samples collected from an intravenous catheter using a special “mixing” technique are as accurate as those collected via venipuncture, in which a needle is used to access the vein directly.
Penn Senior Barbara Biney Is Unlocking the Genetic Secrets of Heartworm-resistant Mosquitoes
By Erica AndersenCertain mosquitoes don’t get heartworm, and Barbara Biney was keen to find out why.
Slowing the spread of an insidious cancer
Cancer of the pancreas is rare, but deadly. Research from Penn Vet may slow its spread.
Targeting enzyme in ‘normal’ cells may impede pancreatic cancer’s spread, Penn Vet team shows
Cancer of the pancreas is a deadly disease, with a median survival time of less than six months. Only one in 20 people with pancreatic cancer survives five years past the diagnosis. The reason is the cancer’s insidiousness; tumor cells hide deep inside the body, betraying no symptoms until late in the disease, when the cancer has almost invariably spread to other organs.
Penn Study Shows How Female Immune Cells Keep Their Second X Chromosome Shut Off
Autoimmune diseases tend to strike women more than men and having multiple X chromosomes could be the main reason why. While a process called X chromosome inactivation serves to balance out gene dosage between males and females, some genes on the “inactive X” chromosome in immune cells can sometimes escape this process, giving women an extra dose of immunity-related gene expression.
Penn Team Shows How Seemingly Acute Viral Infections Can Persist
Infections caused by viruses, such as respiratory syncytial virus, or RSV, measles, parainfluenza and Ebola, are typically considered acute. These viruses cause disease quickly and live within a host for a limited time. But in some cases the effects of the infection, and presence of the virus itself, can persist.
Confronted With Bacteria, Infected Cells Die So Others Can Live, Penn Study Finds
The immune system is constantly performing surveillance to detect foreign organisms that might do harm. But pathogens, for their part, have evolved a number of strategies to evade this detection, such as secreting proteins that hinder a host’s ability to mount an immune response.
Celebrating five years of working dogs at Penn
Celebrating five years of working dogs at Penn
The Working Dog Center began with just a few puppies, and now, five years later, has trained some of the best noses in the business. Canine graduates have gone on to police work, search and rescue, and explosives, narcotics, and diabetes detection.
Successful Guide Dogs Have ‘Tough Love’ Moms, Penn Study Finds
Much has been written of the pitfalls of being a helicopter parent, one who insulates children from adversity rather than encouraging their independence.
In the News
Nature
Bird flu virus has been spreading in U.S. cows for months, RNA reveals
Louise Moncla of the Veterinary School of Medicine says that the bird flu virus is clearly being transmitted to cows in some way.
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San Francisco Chronicle
Fentanyl overdoses hit a surprising group of San Franciscans: the city’s dogs
Cynthia Otto of the School of Veterinary Medicine says that fentanyl can be absorbed across the mucous membranes in canine noses, causing dogs to face a life-threatening overdose.
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The Washington Post
How to (responsibly) let your cat outside
James Serpell of the School of Veterinary Medicine says that some cats are perfectly happy within the confines of the home, while others have a greater desire to wander, explore, and investigate.
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The Washington Post
Cats aren’t jerks. They’re just misunderstood
James Serpell of the School of Veterinary Medicine says that the domestic cat suffers from its legacy of being a not-quite-wild animal on the margins of society.
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Newsweek
Dog respiratory illness map update: Mystery disease spreads to more states
Deborah Silverstein of the School of Veterinary Medicine says that the dogs most at risk for respiratory illness are those with low immunity, such as young puppies, the unvaccinated, or older dogs, and potentially short-nosed breeds.
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