5/19
Katherine Unger Baillie
Senior Science News Officer
kbaillie@upenn.edu
Veterinary Medicine
Symposium highlights range and reach of Penn Global research
Symposium highlights range and reach of Penn Global research
The Penn Global Research and Engagement Grant is supporting 21 faculty-led projects that span research, capacity-building, and development efforts across Africa, Latin America and the Caribbean, India, China, and beyond.
In the Galápagos, training community scientists to monitor water quality
In the Galápagos, training community scientists to monitor water quality
Both dense human populations and a plethora of wildlife can pose a challenge to marine and public health in the Galápagos Islands. With portable, user-friendly PCR technology, Penn faculty and students are training local scientists and school children to perform water quality research.
Correcting night blindness in dogs
Correcting night blindness in dogs
Researchers in the School of Veterinary Medicine and colleagues have developed a gene therapy that restores dim-light vision in dogs with a congenital form of night blindness, offering hope for treating a similar condition in people.
Newly identified softshell turtle lived alongside T. rex and Triceratops
Newly identified softshell turtle lived alongside T. rex and Triceratops
Peter Dodson of the School of Veterinary Medicine and Steven Jasinski, who recently earned his doctorate from the School of Arts & Sciences, describe the find of a new softshell turtle from the end of the Cretaceous Period.
COVID in a cat
COVID in a cat
A new report led by Elizabeth Lennon of the School of Veterinary Medicine and colleagues has confirmed what is believed to be the first published account of the delta variant of SARS-CoV-2 in a house cat.
SARS-CoV-2 is moving between humans and wildlife around the U.S.
SARS-CoV-2 is moving between humans and wildlife around the U.S.
In humans the pandemic is showing signs of ebbing. In white-tailed deer and other wildlife, however, infections appear widespread.
A veterinarian’s take on vaccine hesitancy
A veterinarian’s take on vaccine hesitancy
In a conversation with Penn Today, School of Veterinary Medicine Dean Andrew Hoffman shares his perspective on the important role veterinarians can play in supporting underserved communities.
Revealing the mysterious biology of a fundamental process: reproduction
Revealing the mysterious biology of a fundamental process: reproduction
New findings from the lab of P. Jeremy Wang in the School of Veterinary Medicine shed light on the cell division process that creates eggs and sperm, recurrent pregnancy loss, and the mechanism by which sperm move.
Laminitis insights show promise for the future
Laminitis insights show promise for the future
Researchers from the School of Veterinary Medicine and University Florida partnered on the work, which may lead to new blood tests or even treatments for the disease, which often leads to euthanasia in horses.
A hub for zoonotic disease research
A hub for zoonotic disease research
The new Institute for Infectious and Zoonotic Diseases, launched by the School of Veterinary Medicine, leans on Penn’s strengths in immunology and infectious disease to prepare for emerging threats to animal and human health.
Media Contact
In the News
New Scientist
Rat testicle cells make sperm after being frozen for 23 years
Postdoctoral fellow Eoin Whelan of the School of Veterinary Medicine comments on testicle tissue frozen before cancer treatment that may allow young male cancer victims to later father biological children through in vitro fertilization.
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The New York Times
They’re all good dogs, and it has nothing to do with their breed
Cynthia Otto of the School of Veterinary Medicine comments that there are some big picture behavioral traits more common in some dog breeds than others, but the individual variation is high within a breed.
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WHYY (Philadelphia)
Unusual pets
James Serpell of the School of Veterinary Medicine was interviewed about the relationships between humans and animals. “At least with dogs, the evidence suggests that when they’re with people, they experience exactly the same kind of neurochemical changes in the brain that we experience when we’re with them,” he said.
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The Guardian
The inner lives of cats: what our feline friends really think about hugs, happiness and humans
Carlo Siracusa of the School of Veterinary Medicine said cats are capable of bonding with people, contrary to claims that they’re merely using their owners for food and shelter. “Humans hug and kiss. Dogs become very excited and jump around. Cats don’t do anything like that. They are much more elegant,” he said. “They approach us. They bump their heads. Then they have some contact with us and walk away.”
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The New York Times
Why don’t we have a COVID vaccine for pets?
Elizabeth Lennon of the School of Veterinary Medicine spoke about the need for COVID-19 vaccines for animals. Lennon said that, fortunately, “to date, there hasn’t been any documented cases of dogs or cats spreading the virus to people.”
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Salon.com
Some dogs exhibit signs of ADHD, just like humans
James Serpell of the School of Veterinary Medicine said he errs on the side of caution when it comes to treating dogs’ mental health issues with pharmaceuticals. "Don't use these drugs on animals unless it's really necessary in order to calm the animal down and prevent the worst symptoms of anxiety,” he said, “and try to think of it as a short-term thing, something that you would do for a while until you find a more satisfactory way of coping with the problem through behavior modification and things like that."
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