2.22
Health Sciences
Eleventh state enacts law to protect victims of child sex abuse
Marci Hamilton, a professor of practice and founder and CEO of the nonprofit think tank CHILD USA, helped draft the original New York legislation more than 15 years ago and has been working ever since to push it through.
Human milk is a ‘life-saving intervention’ for infants with congenital heart disease
With a lower risk of serious complications and improved feeding and growth outcomes, human milk is strongly preferred as the best diet for infants with congenital heart disease, according to a research review in Advances in Neonatal Care.
A shared past for East Africa’s hunter-gatherers
PIK Professor Sarah Tishkoff, Laura Scheinfeldt, and Sameer Soi use data from 50 populations to study African genetic diversity. Their analysis suggests that geographically far-flung hunter-gatherer groups share a common ancestry.
Joey the senior cat triumphs over illness with help from friends
A professor at Pen Vet who specializes in geriatric feline medicine is able to identify what was ailing Joey, a cat d’un certain âge.
Opioids and hepatitis C: How OxyContin fed a new epidemic
A new study from LDI senior fellow Abby Alpert, with David Powell and Rosalie Pacula, links OxyContin reformulation to a national epidemic of hepatitis C, which kills more than 20,000 Americans a year and infects tens of thousands more.
What does a dolphin have in common with a fruit fly?
To determine what goes on during sleep, a trio of Penn experts studied sleep function across phylogeny—that is, the evolutionary development of species—to find the origins of the need for sleep.
To get smokers to quit, tap into their biology
How quickly nicotine clears the bloodstream determines which treatment will work best, a tool scientists at Penn Medicine are using to advance the field of tobacco research.
Community outreach at Penn Medicine
Community outreach is an integral component of Penn Medicine’s three-part mission of research, patient care, and education, and countless members of the Health System family reach out on an individual basis.
Members of Penn Med community elected to honor medical society
On Tuesday, the Perelman School of Medicine inducted 25 medical students, three residents, three faculty, and two alumni into its chapter of the honor medical society Alpha Omega Alpha.
The art of talking about science
Paul Offit of Penn Medicine and CHOP offers five tips for better communicating tough scientific topics to the public—and standing up for science in the process.
In the News
NPR
How has the ‘crack cocaine of gambling’ affected Illinois? The state hasn’t bothered to check
Charles O’Brien of the Perelman School of Medicine discussed gambling addiction, saying that “many clinicians have long believed that problem gamblers closely resemble alcoholics and drug addicts, not only from the external consequences of problem finances and destruction of relationships but increasingly on the inside as well.”
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U.S. News & World Report
Sleep apnea patients who are drowsy during the day at risk for heart woes
The Perelman School of Medicine’s Diego Mazzotti spoke about his research on sleep apnea and cardiovascular risk. “Even without further research, clinicians should recognize that patients with obstructive sleep apnea who complain of feeling tired when they wake up and sleepy during the day are at greater risk for cardiovascular disease,” Mazzotti said.
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Philadelphia Inquirer
Can you teach students to be happy? Colleges are trying.
James Pawelski’s course The Pursuit of Happiness goes beyond introducing students to positive psychology by encouraging them to practice it. Pawelski, of the School of Arts and Sciences, emphasizes the field’s two key concepts: emphasizing individual strengths and creating closer human bonds. “It’s important that wellness not be thought of as something merely important for mentally ill students,” he said.
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Science
Poor sleep could clog your arteries. A mouse study shows how that might happen
The Perelman School of Medicine’s Namni Goel weighed in on a new study that found that poor sleep can clog arteries.
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Men’s Health
Why gene editing may hold the promise of a herpes cure
Sita Awasthi of the Perelman School of Medicine discussed the challenges researchers face in pursuing a cure for herpes. In spite of advances in CRISPR technology, Awasthi emphasizes the continued need for a preventive vaccine.
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