4/22
School of Veterinary Medicine
Penn Vet Lends Expertise to Improve Colombian Cattle Producers’ Livelihoods
Cattle in the United States are generally managed to either produce milk or to produce beef. However, in most of the world, cattle are counted on to do both in what are called dual-purpose production systems.
Penn-Michigan State Team Develops Novel Gene Therapy for Achromatopsia
Researchers from the University of Pennsylvania and Michigan State University presented new preclinical data this week that evaluates the efficacy of a gene therapy treatment for achromatopsia, a rare inherited retinal disease that involves cone cells. The disease affects humans as well as dogs.
Penn Study Identifies Molecular Link Between DNA Damage and Premature Aging
Like a beloved pair of jeans, human DNA accumulates damage over time, and older people’s bodies can’t repair it as well. Many scientists believe a build up of damage can cause cells to enter an irreversible dormant state known as senescence.
Penn Vet, Montreal and McGill Researchers Show How Blood-Brain Barrier Is Maintained
The brain is a privileged organ in the body. So vital to life, the brain is protected from alterations elsewhere in the body by a highly regulated gateway known as the blood-brain barrier, which allows only selected molecules to pass through.
Penn Celebrates National Public Health Week
Penn's health schools are celebrating National Public Health Week by featuring stories that highlight public health efforts across the University. Follow along on Twitter at #PennOneHealth. ***
Penn Vet Team Points to New Colon Cancer Culprit
Colon cancer is a heavily studied disease — and for good reason. It is one of the leading causes of cancer-related deaths worldwide, and its numbers are on the rise, from 500,000 deaths in 1990 to 700,000 in 2010.
Penn Scientists Describe the Function of an Enzyme Critical to Male Fertility
Researchers are one step closer to unraveling the extraordinarily complex series of processes that lead to an event crucial to human reproduction: the creation of sperm.
Penn Vet Researchers Identify Effective Treatment for Niemann Pick Type C
Niemann Pick Disease type C, or NPC, is a disease most people have never heard of, affecting just one person in 150,000. Yet the disease is a devastating one. Frequently diagnosed in children in their elementary school years, sufferers usually die by the time they’re 20.
Mosquitoes Ramp Up Immune Defenses After Sucking Blood, Penn Vet Researcher Finds
If you were about to enter a crowded subway during flu season, packed with people sneezing and coughing, wouldn’t it be helpful if your immune system recognized the potentially risky situation and bolstered its defenses upon stepping into the train?
Penn Grad Students Share Expertise Across Disciplines to Address Social Problems
“In today’s world, the stereotype of the nerdy scientist, by himself, looking at a microscope, is no longer accurate and no longer useful,” says Gabriel Innes, a third-year student in the University of Pennsylvania School of Veterinary Medicine.
In the News
How to (responsibly) let your cat outside
James Serpell of the School of Veterinary Medicine says that some cats are perfectly happy within the confines of the home, while others have a greater desire to wander, explore, and investigate.
FULL STORY →
Cats aren’t jerks. They’re just misunderstood
James Serpell of the School of Veterinary Medicine says that the domestic cat suffers from its legacy of being a not-quite-wild animal on the margins of society.
FULL STORY →
Dog respiratory illness map update: Mystery disease spreads to more states
Deborah Silverstein of the School of Veterinary Medicine says that the dogs most at risk for respiratory illness are those with low immunity, such as young puppies, the unvaccinated, or older dogs, and potentially short-nosed breeds.
FULL STORY →
What’s causing severe respiratory illnesses in dogs?
Deborah Silverstein of the School of Veterinary Medicine says that more dogs may be getting severely ill because they have been infected with multiple pathogens at the same time.
FULL STORY →
What you need to know about the ‘mystery’ dog disease
Deborah Silverstein of the School of Veterinary Medicine explains how to protect dogs from the recent respiratory outbreak.
FULL STORY →