Early in the quarantine, cherry trees, such as these Prunus sargentii, opened their spectacular blooms, with no one around to see but the Arboretum’s essential staff. “It was an especially good year for flowering cherries,” says Anthony Aiello, the Gayle E. Maloney Director of Horticulture and Curator of the Morris Arboretum, “a collection that we have worked on developing for the last 10 years, so it was disappointing that there was no one there to enjoy them.” (Image: Anthony Aiello)
Cultivating beauty
Essential horticultural staff at the Morris Arboretum have been tending to the land to ensure that the sweeping property and its plants are ready for visitors when the time is right.
Studying the molecular players that foster cancer’s spread, a team of basic science researchers from Penn have identified a way to halt it. By inhibiting an enzyme, they successfully reduced the spread of lung metastases in a mouse model of melanoma, also significantly prolonging survival. (Image: Courtesy of Serge Fuchs)
Blocking tumor signals can hinder cancer’s spread
A cross-campus team led by Serge Fuchs of the School of Veterinary Medicine used an inhibitor of an enzyme called p38α kinase to suppress the spread of melanoma to the lungs in a mouse model.
Compounds that mimicked the process known as efferocytosis alleviated signs of leukocyte adhesion deficiency type-1 in an animal model, according to work led by the School of Dental Medicine’s George Hajishengallis
Whether making masks, writing letters, raising funds, or shopping for neighbors, members of the Penn community have stepped up during the pandemic to support those in need.
Experts from the School of Dental Medicine share tips on how to maintain healthy teeth and gums even when a trip to the dentist isn’t in the cards for the time being and what to expect as restrictions are lifted.
Cavity-causing bacteria assemble an army of protective microbes on human teeth
Examining bacteria growing on toddlers’ teeth, a team from the School of Dental Medicine and Georgia Tech found that the microbes’ spatial organization is crucial to how they cause tooth decay.
Colorized scanning electron micrograph of an apoptotic cell (green) heavily infected with SARS-COV-2 virus particles (purple), isolated from a patient sample. Image captured and color-enhanced at the NIAID Integrated Research Facility (IRF) in Fort Detrick, Maryland. (Image: National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, NIH)
Coming together to solve the many scientific mysteries of COVID-19
Putting some of their regular research projects on the back burner, researchers around Penn are digging into unknowns about the novel coronavirus from their deep and varied perspectives.
Work by Amy Balkin, artist-in-residence for the PPEH this year, is a part of the Making Sense gallery. (Image: Amy Balkin)
Engaging with the climate crisis, online
Across a quartet of digital platforms, including one for this week’s Climate Sensing and Data Storytelling convening, the Penn Program in Environmental Humanities is encouraging public engagement and the pairing of environmental art and science on climate issues.
In pre-Covid-19 times, the Marshak Dairy at Penn Vet’s New Bolton Center was a place for teaching as well as research. Now an essential crew of workers remain to care for the cows, as other veterinarians in the School continue to care for livestock around the region. (Credit: Penn Vet)
Supporting agriculture and a safe food supply
Essential workers in the School of Veterinary Medicine are caring for livestock, keeping track of disease, ensuring product consistency, and communicating with farmers to ensure that farms can continue providing a reliable food supply for the community.
For future health care providers, moving education online has proved especially challenging. With ingenuity and creativity, faculty are helping them continue gaining the skills they’ll need.
