6.21
Health Sciences
How to quell a cytokine storm
How to quell a cytokine storm
An international team finds new ways to dampen an overactive immune system, and can influence new drug targets for lupus and other autoimmune disorders.
Replicating fetal bone growth process could help heal large bone defects
Replicating fetal bone growth process could help heal large bone defects
A new study finds large bone defects could be regenerated through stem cell implantation and mimic the process of rapid fetal bone growth.
Through a marriage of bioengineering breakthroughs, ‘the best of both worlds’
Through a marriage of bioengineering breakthroughs, ‘the best of both worlds’
Dan Huh, Sunghee Estelle Park, and Andrei Georgescu on the promise of combining two cutting-edge organ engineering techniques to create new breakthroughs in understanding the human body.
How much time should kids really be spending on screens?
How much time should kids really be spending on screens?
Screens, tablets, and mobile devices are everywhere, and parents have to navigate exposure for their children in a digital world, balanced with physical activities and sleep.
Seeing disfigured faces prompts negative brain responses
Seeing disfigured faces prompts negative brain responses
A brain imaging study finds negative implicit biases against individuals with scars, birthmarks, and other facial differences.
Why are so many women still dying from childbirth?
Why are so many women still dying from childbirth?
Experts from Penn discuss the role that social determinants, socioeconomics, and racism play, and how the University is addressing the maternal mortality crisis head on.
Trauma linked to earlier puberty, premature brain development, and mental illness
Trauma linked to earlier puberty, premature brain development, and mental illness
A Penn study details the effects of poverty and trauma on brain and behavior in youths.
New pain management protocol sends 92% of cancer surgery patients home without opioids
New pain management protocol sends 92% of cancer surgery patients home without opioids
A Penn study of robotic urologic surgery patients points to a key step in overcoming opioid crisis—start patients with over the counter medications, and only use opioids if they are really needed.
Finding clues to a genetic link to treatment for BRCA1/2 breast cancer patients
Finding clues to a genetic link to treatment for BRCA1/2 breast cancer patients
New research could shape treatment strategies and clinical trial design for patients with BRCA1 and BRCA2-related breast cancers.
Children who nap midday are happier, excel academically, and have fewer behavioral problems
Children who nap midday are happier, excel academically, and have fewer behavioral problems
A Penn study of nearly 3,000 fourth, fifth, and sixth graders in China revealed strong connections between 30 to 60 minutes of shuteye at least three days a week and positive outcomes in a handful of areas.
In the News
Axios
The flimsy promises of brain wearables
Anna Wexler of the Perelman School of Medicine said the FDA is ill prepared to reign in the companies producing wearable brain devices, which record brain activity or stimulate the brain with electric currents in spite of little oversight.
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Philadelphia Inquirer
College affirmative action bans linked to higher rates of smoking among minority youth
A new study from the Perelman School of Medicine has found that states that ban affirmative action in college admissions experience increased smoking rates among black, Latino, and Indigenous high schoolers. “Educational policies can have these unintended health consequences,” said co-author Atheendar Venkataramani. “Social policies really matter for health, and it’s worth talking about.”
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WHYY (Philadelphia)
In Pennsylvania, ‘deaths of despair’ are 50% higher than the national average
Maria Oquendo of the Perelman School of Medicine is quoted on increased suicide rates in Pennsylvania.
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Time
‘They’re chipping away.’ Inside the grassroots effort to fight mandatory vaccines
In an article about anti-vax organizing, Paul Offit of the Perelman School of Medicine said, “Vaccines are a victim of their own success.” Offit continued, “people have forgotten how sick measles can make you and how dead measles can make you.”
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Nature
Whole-body PET scanner produces 3D images in seconds
Abass Alavi of the Perelman School of Medicine spoke about a new version of a PET scanner that can generate 3D renderings of the entire human body in just seconds, a fraction of the time required by older iterations. “The whole-body machine is another quantum jump in medical imaging,” said Alavi.
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