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More than flowers and food, campus garden grows community
By mid-February, winter’s freezing temperatures and drab landscapes can seem like they will last forever. But for at least one staff member at Penn, spring’s verdant bounty is never far from her mind.
Study uncovers therapeutic targets for aggressive triple-negative breast cancers
As part of a breast-cancer diagnosis, doctors analyze the tumor to determine which therapies might best attack the malignancy. But for patients whose cancer is triple-negative — that is, lacking receptors for estrogen, progesterone and Her2 — the options for treatment dwindle. Triple-negative cancers, or TNBC, also tend to be more aggressive than other cancer subtypes.
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.
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.
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.
‘Silent Code’ of Nucleotides, Not Amino Acids, Determines Discrete Functions of Proteins Vital For Life
Humans possess six forms of the protein actin, which perform essential functions in the body. Two in particular, β-actin and γ-actin, are nearly identical, only differing by four amino acids. Yet these near-twin proteins carry out distinct roles. A long standing question for biologists has been, how is this possible?
Commonalities in Late Stages of Different Inherited Blinding Diseases Suggest Targets for Therapy
Gene therapy holds promise for treating a variety of diseases, including some inherited blinding conditions. But for a gene therapy to be effective, one must know the precise gene responsible for a given individual’s disorder and develop a tailored treatment.