Katherine Unger Baillie

A new hope for treating triple-negative breast cancer

Breast cancer mortality rates have steadily declined over the past few decades, thanks to a combination of early detection and improved treatments. But for patients diagnosed with triple-negative breast cancer (TNBC), a subtype in which tumor cells lack receptors for estrogen, progesterone, and Her2, no targeted treatments are available.

Katherine Unger Baillie

Widely distributed and numerous, birds of prey populate Penn’s campus

While crisscrossing campus this winter, careful observers may have noticed wildlife beyond the typical trash-picking squirrels and waddling pigeons. Sitting in a low tree branch or soaring between buildings, red-tailed hawks have become a common sight, surprising some unfamiliar with these adaptable birds.

Katherine Unger Baillie

Penn-led Team Uncovers the Physiology Behind the Hour-long Mating Call of Midshipman Fish

According to the Guinness World Records, the longest any person has held a continuous vocal note is just shy of two minutes. That’s quite an achievement.Compared to the Pacific midshipman fish, however, the endurance of the human vocal cord is no match. Midshipman fish can generate a mating call that emits continuously from their bodies for a full hour.

Katherine Unger Baillie

By altering bone marrow, ‘training’ can prepare innate immune system for future challenges

George Hajishengallis of the School of Dental Medicine and an international team of colleagues have found that “training” the immune system causes changes in the precursors of immune cells in the bone marrow. These changes could facilitate a more robust response to future infections or even enable the immune system to regenerate faster after chemotherapy.

Katherine Unger Baillie

What riverbeds have in common with mixed nuts

 The surface of a riverbed is typically lined by relatively large rocks, which protect the layers of finer sand and gravel beneath from erosion. Geologists have long thought that fluid mechanics control this pattern; the idea being that the flow of the river washes away the finer particles from the bed’s surface, leaving the larger particles behind.

Katherine Unger Baillie