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Genetics

More than 260,000 Penn Medicine patients have agreed to share their DNA for research, and the discoveries are just getting started

More than 260,000 Penn Medicine patients have agreed to share their DNA for research, and the discoveries are just getting started

More than 260,000 people have signed up to participate in Penn Medicine BioBank, co-directed by Marilyn Ritchie and Dan Rader, which cross-references DNA with electronic health records to discover genetic variants of medical conditions.

Jim Wilson has two new promising gene therapy studies, but says investment in the cutting-edge field has ‘gotten worse’

Jim Wilson has two new promising gene therapy studies, but says investment in the cutting-edge field has ‘gotten worse’

Jim Wilson of the Perelman School of Medicine has published two new studies supporting the promise of cutting-edge gene therapy, finding evidence that the genetic treatments can be beneficial for years without raising the risk of cancer.

Neanderthals carried genes acquired from ancient interactions with ‘cousins’ of modern humans
Researchers collecting ethnographic and medical information from participants in Ethiopia.

Members of Tishkoff's research team collecting ethnograpgic information from participants in Ethiopia.

(Image: Courtesy of Sarah Tishkoff)

Neanderthals carried genes acquired from ancient interactions with ‘cousins’ of modern humans

A new collaborative study led by Sarah Tishkoff shows that Neanderthals inherited at least 6% of their genome from a now-extinct lineage of early modern humans.
An unsolved mystery: Why are we sleepy when sick?
Researcher peering through microscope.

David Raizen, left, and PURM student Hina Sako working in the Raizen Lab.

nocred

An unsolved mystery: Why are we sleepy when sick?

David Raizen, a professor of neurology, alongside PURM student Hina Sako, spent the summer moving forward research examining how sickness affects sleep.
Genetic switch turns tumor suppressor into oncogene in colorectal cancer
Fluorescent microscopy of colon cancer cells..

(Image: Yuhua Tian)

Genetic switch turns tumor suppressor into oncogene in colorectal cancer

Researchers from the School of Veterinary Medicine have shown that an enzyme that suppresses early-stage colorectal cancer switches to become an oncogene as the cancer progresses.

Liana F. Wait

These eight diseases are so rare that drug firms haven’t tried treating them with gene therapy. A $97 million program aims to help

These eight diseases are so rare that drug firms haven’t tried treating them with gene therapy. A $97 million program aims to help

Gene therapy for a rare form of blindness will be tested at Penn Medicine while gene therapy for a condition that causes skeletal deformities and seizures will be tested at the Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia.

‘In vivo’ RNA-based gene editing model for blood disorders developed
Microscopic rendering of mRNA gene editing.

Image: iStock/Ozgu Arslan

‘In vivo’ RNA-based gene editing model for blood disorders developed

Researchers from Penn Medicine and The Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia show that gene editing tools can be delivered via lipid nanoparticles, which would reduce cost and increase access to cutting-edge gene therapies.

Alex Gardner