Katherine Unger Baillie

The world is tantalizingly close to eradicating polio. Yet the disease still maintains a foothold, primarily in developing nations, with recent outbreaks in Asia, Africa, and the Americas, including in Haiti and the Dominican Republic.

Dolphins, lizards and hyenas may not be on Facebook or Twitter, but, as social species, their social networks influence every pivotal aspect of their lives: finding a mate, reproducing, becoming ill or surviving.

By Patrick Ammerman

Adult stem cells represent a sort of blank clay from which a myriad of different cell and tissue types are molded and as such are of critical importance to health, ageing and disease.  In tissues that turn over rapidly, such as the intestines, the self-renewing nature of stem cells and their susceptibility to cancer-causing mutations has led researchers to postulate that

Over the past several years, the Penn community has grown used to sharing the campus with the talented canines of the Penn Vet Working Dog Center (WDC).

A key feature of human societies is our ability to cooperate. Yet in many scenarios, it would seem more rational to act selfishly and freeload off the generosity of others. So what factors support a tendency toward cooperative behavior?

The tragedy of the commons, a concept described by ecologist Garrett Hardin, paints a grim view of human nature. The theory goes that, if a resource is shared, individuals will act in their own self-interest, but against the interest of the group, by depleting that resource. 

Just like people, dogs that are critically ill or hospitalized are at a heightened risk of blood clots. Yet veterinarians have few reliable tools to diagnose animals that are prone to developing a potentially life-threatening clot.

Since the United States and Cuba restored diplomatic relations last year, exchange between the two countries is blooming, with benefits for both sides.

Patients who are critically ill, be they dog, cat or human, have a tendency toward blood clotting disorders. When the formation of a clot takes too long, it puts them at risk of uncontrolled bleeding. But the other extreme is also dangerous; if blood clots too readily and a clot travels to the lungs, brain or heart, it can lead to organ failure or even death.