A creative rendition of SARS-CoV-2 virus particles, not to scale. As of mid-July, the virus has sickened more than 186 million people worldwide and more than 4 million people have died from it, according to the World Health Organization. Globally, more than 3.3 billion vaccine doses have been administered. (Homepage image: NIAID)
The long view on COVID-19 vaccine safety and efficacy
Penn researchers weigh in on the regulatory and scientific efforts to track COVID-19 vaccines.
People are more likely to cooperate if they think others are cooperating, too. New research by biologists in the School of Arts & Sciences shows that overstating the true level of cooperation in a society can increase cooperative behavior overall.
A School of Veterinary Medicine-led study shows how, despite having nearly identical amino acid sequences, two forms of the protein actin differ in function due their distinct nucleotide sequences.
A naturally occurring canine disease called granulomatous meningoencephalomyelitis replicates many features of multiple sclerosis, including the involvement of B cells (in red) and T cells (green) in the tissues that line the central nervous system. (Image: Penn Vet)
With remarkable similarities to MS, a disease in dogs opens new avenues for study
Researchers at the School of Veterinary Medicine led by Jorge Iván Alvarez and Molly Church found that the canine disease granulomatous meningoencephalomyelitis shares many of the same pathological and immunological features as MS.
Designing public institutions that foster cooperation
People are more likely to cooperate with those they see as “good.” Using a mathematical model, School of Arts & Sciences researchers found it’s possible to design systems that assess and broadcast participants’ reputations, leading to high levels of cooperation and adherence.
In a Q&A, PIK Professor Sarah Tishkoff, the Perelman School of Medicine’s Giorgio Sirugo, and Case Western Reserve University’s Scott Williams shed light on the “quagmire” of race, ethnicity, genetic ancestry, and environmental factors and their contribution to health disparities.
Aja Carter and colleagues found that amphibian vertebrae acquired modifications as their habitat shifted from water to land and back. (Pre-pandemic photo)
For early amphibians, a new lifestyle meant a new spine
Moving from water to land and back again corresponded with distinct changes in animals’ spinal morphology, according to a new study led by paleontologist Aja Carter.
How HIV infection shrinks the brain’s white matter
Researchers from Penn and CHOP detail the mechanism by which HIV infection blocks the maturation process of brain cells that produce myelin, a fatty substance that insulates neurons.
Penn biologist Katie Barott and colleagues found that corals maintain their ability to resist bleaching even when transplanted to a new reef. (Image: S. Matsuda)
Climate change-resistant corals could provide lifeline to battered reefs
Corals that withstood a severe bleaching event and were transplanted to a different reef maintained their resilient qualities, according to a new study led by Katie Barott of the School of Arts & Sciences.
