Through
4/26
A round-up of Penn mentions in local, national, and international media.
Penn In the News
Eman Anis of the School of Veterinary Medicine, Frederic Bushman of the Perelman School of Medicine, and Suresh Kuchipudi of Penn State spoke about the spread of COVID-19 in animals. Because there is less surveillance of the virus in non-human populations, “It could be evolving in hosts we are not aware of,” Anis said.
Penn In the News
Roderick Gagne and Eman Anis of the School of Veterinary Medicine co-authored a study about the spread of COVID-19 variants in deer populations.
Penn In the News
Ali Nabavizadeh of the School of Veterinary Medicine commented on research that found evidence of respiratory infections in dinosaurs. “This paper provides yet another piece of evidence to show just how modern dinosaurs—the birds—are biologically so similar to their extinct non-avian dinosaurian relatives, even to the point of showing similar diseases,” he said.
Penn In the News
James Serpell of the School of Veterinary Medicine was interviewed about the relationships between humans and animals. “At least with dogs, the evidence suggests that when they’re with people, they experience exactly the same kind of neurochemical changes in the brain that we experience when we’re with them,” he said.
Penn In the News
Carlo Siracusa of the School of Veterinary Medicine said cats are capable of bonding with people, contrary to claims that they’re merely using their owners for food and shelter. “Humans hug and kiss. Dogs become very excited and jump around. Cats don’t do anything like that. They are much more elegant,” he said. “They approach us. They bump their heads. Then they have some contact with us and walk away.”
Penn In the News
Researchers from the Perelman School of Medicine, School of Dental Medicine, and School of Veterinary Medicine, along with the Wistar Institute and Fraunhofer USA, are developing a chewing gum laced with a plant-grown protein that could neutralize the COVID-19 virus in saliva.
Penn In the News
Elizabeth Lennon of the School of Veterinary Medicine spoke about the need for COVID-19 vaccines for animals. Lennon said that, fortunately, “to date, there hasn’t been any documented cases of dogs or cats spreading the virus to people.”
Penn In the News
James Serpell of the School of Veterinary Medicine said he errs on the side of caution when it comes to treating dogs’ mental health issues with pharmaceuticals. "Don't use these drugs on animals unless it's really necessary in order to calm the animal down and prevent the worst symptoms of anxiety,” he said, “and try to think of it as a short-term thing, something that you would do for a while until you find a more satisfactory way of coping with the problem through behavior modification and things like that."
Penn In the News
Cynthia Otto of the School of Veterinary Medicine is quoted on the experiences the rescue dogs at ground zero faced during their search.
Penn In the News
Carlo Siracusa of the School of Veterinary Medicine said, that while dogs certainly experience mental health issues like anxiety, their experiences differ from humans’ because they can’t plan for the future. “They’re not worrying if their buddies at the dog park are making fun of them,” he said. “Dogs aren’t obsessed in their thoughts like humans—as far as we know. They’re unlikely to be depressed in human terms.”