12/6
Katherine Unger Baillie
Senior Science News Officer
kbaillie@upenn.edu
Biology
People and places at Penn: Research
People and places at Penn: Research
From Charles Addams Fine Arts Hall to the Schuylkill River, four researchers share their science and their spaces.
Minimally invasive method tracks how the brain spends energy
Penn researchers have developed a new technique for monitoring the brain’s metabolic rate of oxygen consumption, a measure of the brain’s consumption of energy.
Recreating the adrenal gland in a petri dish
Recreating the adrenal gland in a petri dish
A School of Veterinary Medicine–led team coaxed stem cells to take on the characteristics and functions of a human adrenal gland, progress that could lead to new therapies for adrenal insufficiencies and a deeper understanding of the genetics of such disorders.
Making ‘true’ equine IVF a reproducible success
Making ‘true’ equine IVF a reproducible success
A new method developed by Katrin Hinrichs and colleagues in the School of Veterinary Medicine resulted in the birth of three healthy foals, opening the door to new insights in the basic biology of horse reproduction.
Microbes that cause cavities can form superorganisms able to ‘crawl’ and spread on teeth
Microbes that cause cavities can form superorganisms able to ‘crawl’ and spread on teeth
These multicellular, cross-kingdom assemblages were more resistant to antimicrobials and removal and caused more extensive tooth decay than their single-species equivalents, according to research led by School of Dental Medicine scientists.
Environment influences coral’s resilience to acidification
Environment influences coral’s resilience to acidification
Ocean acidification is an effect of climate change that threatens the health of coral. A new study examines how coral samples from the Great Barrier Reef fare in acidic conditions.
Landscape and climate factors can predict prevalence of Lyme disease bacteria
Landscape and climate factors can predict prevalence of Lyme disease bacteria
Environmental models, developed by biologist Dustin Brisson of the School of Arts & Sciences, former graduate student Tam Tran, and colleagues, could help forecast disease hotspots.
T cells that ‘nibble’ tumors unwittingly help cancer evade the immune response
T cells that ‘nibble’ tumors unwittingly help cancer evade the immune response
Blocking this process, known as trogocytosis, improved the ability of a CAR T cell therapy to treat cancer in mice, according to research led by School of Veterinary Medicine scientists.
Undergraduates help songbird research project take flight
Undergraduates help songbird research project take flight
Through the PURM internship program, Julia Youngman and Eric Tao had the opportunity to work in neuroethologist Marc Schmidt’s lab studying the neural basis of courtship behaviors in songbirds.
Cancer cells selectively load ‘drones’ to keep T cells from infiltrating tumors
Cancer cells selectively load ‘drones’ to keep T cells from infiltrating tumors
Biologist Wei Guo and colleagues elucidate the process of sorting and loading cargo for these biological drones with implications for a more targeted and effective use of checkpoint inhibitor drugs in cancer treatment.
Media Contact
In the News
The Scientist
Recently discovered virus family infects a human oral amoeba
A study by Frederic Bushman of the Perelman School of Medicine and colleagues points to a human oral amoeba as the host for a recently discovered family of DNA viruses.
FULL STORY →
New Scientist
Antibiotics encoded in Neanderthal DNA could help us fight infections
César de la Fuente of the Perelman School of Medicine and colleagues have identified extinct antibiotic molecules in ancient mitochondrial DNA that could be revived to help fight infections.
FULL STORY →
New Scientist
Lab-grown adrenal glands could help treat hormone-related conditions
Kotaro Sasaki of the School of Veterinary Medicine and colleagues have grown adrenal glands from stem cells in the lab for the first time.
FULL STORY →
Philadelphia Inquirer
These Philly award-winners tackle problems from inside the brain to outer space
Nancy Bonini of the School of Arts & Sciences is lauded for her work studying Parkinson’s and other brain diseases by probing fruit fly genes.
FULL STORY →
Nature
CRISPR cancer trial success paves the way for personalized treatments
Joseph Fraietta of the Perelman School of Medicine explains the complicated manufacturing process behind T-cell cancer therapies.
FULL STORY →
Popular Science
Even dinosaurs couldn’t escape the sniffles
Ali Nabavizadeh of the School of Veterinary Medicine commented on research that found evidence of respiratory infections in dinosaurs. “This paper provides yet another piece of evidence to show just how modern dinosaurs—the birds—are biologically so similar to their extinct non-avian dinosaurian relatives, even to the point of showing similar diseases,” he said.
FULL STORY →