10.21
Health Sciences
#OldBoysClub: Twitter and gender disparities in health services research
#OldBoysClub: Twitter and gender disparities in health services research
A JAMA Internal Medicine study of Twitter users find that female health services and policy researchers had considerably less reach and influence on the social media platform than their male counterparts.
Algorithm personalizes which cancer mutations are best targets for immunotherapy
Algorithm personalizes which cancer mutations are best targets for immunotherapy
A new model developed by researchers in the Abramson Cancer Center hand-picks cancer cells to target for more effective, customized cancer vaccines.
The price of noise
The price of noise
Silence is a rare commodity these days, because society has only gotten louder. “And we're all paying a price for it in terms of our health,” says Mathias Basner, an associate professor of sleep and chronobiology in psychiatry at Penn.
In pursuit of a cure, when ideas and options have run out
In pursuit of a cure, when ideas and options have run out
A new book from Penn Medicine’s David Fajgenbaum chronicles his journey to beat Castleman disease, a rare disorder that he’s lived with for almost a decade.
Mounting brain organoid research reignites ethical debate
Mounting brain organoid research reignites ethical debate
Penn neuroscientists call for an ethical framework grounded in scientific principles for transplanting human “mini-brains” into animals as the field evolves.
A Q&A with Penn Medicine’s Jason Freedman for National Coming Out Day
A Q&A with Penn Medicine’s Jason Freedman for National Coming Out Day
The assistant professor of clinical pediatrics discusses being out at Penn and shares some of his own experiences as a gay man.
How safe and effective are new pulmonary embolism devices?
How safe and effective are new pulmonary embolism devices?
A scientific statement from the American Heart Association, led by Penn Medicine, identifies the risks and benefits of new interventional devices compared to the use of blood thinners alone.
Gene therapy for Duchenne muscular dystrophy safely preserves muscle function
Gene therapy for Duchenne muscular dystrophy safely preserves muscle function
A Penn study shows delivering a “distant cousin” of a key protein prevented muscle damage without triggering an immune response in large animal models.
Penn alumnus Gregg L. Semenza awarded Nobel in Physiology or Medicine 2019
Penn alumnus Gregg L. Semenza awarded Nobel in Physiology or Medicine 2019
He is one of a trio of researchers sharing the award for their studies of how cells sense and adapt to varying oxygen levels.
Can the additive tree expand machine learning in medicine?
Can the additive tree expand machine learning in medicine?
By combining elements of two widely used prediction models, the “additive tree” is a highly predictive model that is also easy to interpret.
In the News
Forbes
Eye drops proven to reverse vision loss in clinical trial
Eve Higginbotham of the Perelman School of Medicine spoke about some of the shortcomings of eye drops that treat age-related farsightedness. “There’s a question of whether or not people will actually use these drops twice a day in order to see a little better up close,” she said. “I am sure there may be a small segment of the population that may choose to put drops in twice a day, but for the vast majority of individuals, using drops twice a day may be a challenge.”
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Time
‘I burned all the time.’ Selma Blair discusses her MS diagnosis and hope for effective treatments for chronic diseases
Carl June of the Perelman School of Medicine was noted for his contributions to the development of CAR T cell therapy. “The approaches we’ve learned in cancer may well apply to dementia,” he said. “I think that will be the next wave of research.”
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Forbes
FDA: Deliveries of scarce childhood cancer drug due to resume later in October, but shortages may continue for months
Peter Adamson of the Perelman School of Medicine authored a letter proposing a “call to action” to make sure childhood-cancer drug shortages don’t reoccur.
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KYW Newsradio (Philadelphia)
Using a patient portal could help you work harder for your health
Health System CEO Kevin Mahoney spoke about the health benefits of online patient portals. “An engaged patient is more likely to follow guidelines of when you're supposed to get your preventative health care screenings,” he said.
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Philadelphia Inquirer
Penn’s genital herpes vaccine is a winner in animals. Next up: Testing on humans
Harvey Friedman of the Perelman School of Medicine spoke about his efforts to develop an “urgently needed” genital herpes vaccine. “What we have is close to perfect in animals. No one else has done that,” he said. “The big unknown is whether it will work in humans.”
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