Katherine Unger Baillie

Last September, Ralph Brinster, a researcher in the School of Veterinary Medicine, became the first veterinarian to receive the National Medal of Science, one of the most prestigious awards bestowed upon scientists in the United States.

PHILADELPHIA — Human diversity in Africa is greater than any place else on Earth. Differing food sources, geographies, diseases and climates offered many targets for natural selection to exert powerful forces on Africans to change and adapt to their local environments.

PHILADELPHIA — Establishing protection over a swath of land seems like a good way to conserve its species and its ecosystems.

Patrick Reilly had been happily shoeing horses for more than a dozen years in New Hampshire when he got some momentous news. “I had promised my wife 20 years ago that we would never relocate,” he says, “unless I got a call from Penn.”

Cellular Reprogramming. Cord-blood banking. Preserving the fertility of young people undergoing cancer treatment. Scenarios such as these are no longer the stuff of science fiction; they are real-life examples of how stem cell science can influence the lives of ordinary people.

There’s no doubt, puppies can bring joy to people’s lives with their antics and unconditional love. But what if providing a home for one of these cute and furry critters could reap benefits for society at large, even save human lives?

Most visitors to the Caribbean hope that their stay won’t coincide with a major tropical storm. Hyejung Lee hoped for exactly the opposite.

Though the 11th anniversary of the Sept. 11, 2001 terrorist attacks will be a time for somber reflection, the Penn Vet Working Dog Center is using the day to celebrate the opening of a new physical space—located in the South Bank, 3401 Grays Ferry Ave.—for training detection dogs.

Gently placing the stethoscope against the golden retriever’s furry rib cage, a woman listens intently through the earpiece. “Lungs auscult clear,” she declares — veterinarian-speak for a healthy-sounding respiratory system.

PHILADELPHIA — The journal Science is today publishing a paper revealing that highly pathogenic H5N1 influenza, also known as bird flu, can pass from one ferret to another through the air.