News Archives

University of Pennsylvania Students Encouraged to Participate in 2008 "Davos Conversation"

PHILADELPHIA -- University of Pennsylvania students are being invited to participate in a direct dialogue with world leaders through the "Davos Conversation," a project of the World Economic Forum's Annual Meeting. The "Davos Conversation" is designed to encourage dialogue with leaders attending the Forum through its Web page at www.davosconversation.org. This bloggregator combines text blogs, video, photo and news feeds from the annual meeting in Davos, Switzerland.

Penn Researchers Shine the Light of Venus to Learn How the Herpes Virus Invades Cells

PHILADELPHIA -– University of Pennsylvania researchers have uncovered an important step in how herpes simplex virus, HSV-1, uses cooperating proteins found on its outer coat to gain entry into healthy cells and infect them. Further,the study’s authors say, they have demonstrated the effectiveness of monitoring these protein interactions using biomolecular complementation. The findings, published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, provide a better understanding of the mechanism that viruses use to conquer healthy cells.

Annenberg Survey Finds Little Support for Mandatory HPV Vaccinations

PHILADELPHIA – A study at the University of Pennsylvania on proposed legislation mandating that school-age girls obtain the Human Papillomavirus vaccine before they can enter school shows that the majority of Americans either oppose the legislation or are neutral.

University of Pennsylvania Researchers Zero In on the Tiniest Members in the War on Cancer

PHILADELPHIA -– Researchers from the University of Pennsylvania and Johns Hopkins University have uncovered another reason why one of the most commonly activated proteins in cancer is so dangerous. As reported in Nature Genetics this week, the Myc protein can stop the production of at least 13 microRNAs, small pieces of nucleic acid that help control which genes are turned on and off.

Penn Law School Group Interviews Liberian Refugees in Ghana for Liberian Truth and Reconciliation Commission

PHILADELPHIA –- A University of Pennsylvania Law School group is assisting in gathering information from Liberian refugees in Ghana for The Liberian Truth and Reconciliation Commission.

University of Pennsylvania Professor Measures 'In Your Face' Television Debates' Effect on Audiences

PHILADELPHIA–- Today’s “in your face” televised political debates evoke emotional reactions in viewers and cause them to think that opposing views are less legitimate, according to a University of Pennsylvania researcher. “Effects of ‘In-Your-Face’ Television Discourse on Perceptions of Legitimate Opposition,” published in the November issue of the American Political Science Review, was written by Diana C. Mutz, a professor of political science and communications at Penn.

Penn Researcher Identifies "Moral Stress" as a Cause for Nurses Wanting to Leave Hospitals

PHILADELPHIA –- A new study from the University of Pennsylvania School of Nursing found that 25% of practicing nurses and social workers experience “moral distress,” causing them to want to leave their positions. Forty-one percent failed to say that they would choose nursing as a profession again.

Researchers Led by Penn Vet Uncover the Delicate Protein Balance Behind the Immune System Response

PHILADELPHIA -– A team of researchers from the University of Pennsylvania School of Veterinary Medicine has identified the protein interactions involved in the immune system process that fights infection yet, in certain inflammatory diseases, runs amok and attacks friendly tissue.

Penn Researcher Points to Nine Themes of Racism On Predominantly White College Campuses

PHILADELPHIA –- A researcher at the University of Pennsylvania has identified nine common themes of racism on large, predominantly white college campuses in the U.S. Shaun Harper, an assistant professor in Penn’s Graduate School of Education, found the themes from focus groups with students and staff:• Institutional negligence -- All students, regardless of race, were frustrated with how their colleges promoted diversity but failed to offer students with ways to engage with racially different peers.

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