Biology | Penn Today

A fluorescent microscopic image of a cell labeled in orange with virus particles emerging from it labeled green.

Blocking viruses’ exit strategy

Tests of a new antiviral that aims to prevent the deadly Marburg virus from spreading in the body show promise, according to a study led by School of Veterinary Medicine researchers.

First-year research is hands-on from the start

With the Penn Freshmen Exposure to Research in Biological Science program, students from communities that are underrepresented in STEM can jump-start their scientific careers with mentoring and opportunities to pursue original research.

Four images labeled embryonic day showing the development of the precursors to sexual organs

The origin of reproductive organs

A new study led by the School of Veterinary Medicine’s Kotaro Sasaki elucidates the early biological processes involved in the development of ovaries and testes.

head shots of Marisa Bartolomei, M. Celeste Simon, Michael Kearns, and Diana Mutz

Four Penn faculty elected to the National Academy of Sciences

The new members of the Academy, honored scholars recognized for their unique and ongoing contributions to original research, include researchers from the Perelman School of Medicine, School of Engineering and Applied Science, and Annenberg School for Communication.

Person wiping sweat from their brow with a towel under the sun.

How humans evolved a super-high cooling capacity

The higher density of sweat glands in humans is due, to a great extent, to accumulated changes in a regulatory region of DNA that drives the expression of a sweat gland-building gene, explaining why humans are the sweatiest of the Great Apes.

rendering of a cell nucleus amidst multicolored cellular matter

Mysterious ‘nuclear speckle’ cell structures may help block cancers

A new study out of Penn Medicine shows that the tumor-suppressor protein p53 brings speckles and DNA together to boost gene expression.

A microscopic image of a neuron labeled in fluorescent colorful markers

The immune link between a leaky blood-brain barrier and schizophrenia

Research from the School of Veterinary Medicine, Perelman School of Medicine, and Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia points to the involvement of the immune system the brain as a contributor to mental disorders such as schizophrenia.

Gloved hand putting substance into a test tube with a pipette in a lab setting.

Penn Medicine awarded nearly $7 million to study influenza viruses

Penn Medicine is one of five institutions in the U.S. chosen by the National Institutes of Health as a Center of Excellence for Influenza Research and Response to improve pandemic preparedness.

Scientific American

What monkeys can teach humans about resilience after disaster

PIK Professor Michael Platt and Camille Testard, a Ph.D. student in the Perelman School of Medicine, spoke about their research on how rhesus macaques in Puerto Rico adapted in the wake of Hurricane Maria. “We see this massive surge in the time they spend in proximity to other partners, and their social tolerance increasing toward many different partners,” said Testard. “We saw active building of relationships with individuals that they didn’t really interact with before.”

Communicating change in a ‘land of extremes’

In Aurora MacRae-Crerar’s Penn Global Seminar, students are grappling with the impacts of a shifting and unpredictable climate in Mongolia.

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