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Health Sciences
How tweets may influence substance abuse in youth
While social media provides youth the opportunity to discuss and display substance use-related beliefs and behaviors, little is known about how posting or viewing drug-related content influences the beliefs and behaviors of youth relative to substance use.
With support from parents, teens forge a path to handle social distancing
Adolescents need and value their friends, relationships challenged by COVID-19 restrictions. By having explicit conversations and facilitating remote access to peers, the adults in their lives can help.
Penn Vet launches COVID-19 canine scent detection study
Canine surveillance could play key role as the United States reopens and anticipates possible second wave amid virus fears.
Why risk behaviors, not orientation, should decide who gives blood
In a Q&A with Assistant Professor of Medicine Katharine Bar, an explanation on how the ban of blood donations on men who have sex with men came to be, why it persists, and what it should be changed to.
Language in tweets offers insight into community-level well-being
In a Q&A, researcher Lyle Ungar discusses why counties that frequently use words like ‘love’ aren’t necessarily happier, plus how techniques from this work led to a real-time COVID-19 wellness map.
Coronavirus models aren’t crystal balls. So what are they good for?
Epidemiologists and data scientists have been gathering data, making calculations, and creating mathematical models to answer critical questions about COVID-19, but math cannot account for the unpredictability of human behavior.
Supporting agriculture and a safe food supply
Essential workers in the School of Veterinary Medicine are caring for livestock, keeping track of disease, ensuring product consistency, and communicating with farmers to ensure that farms can continue providing a reliable food supply for the community.
Health care education in a virtual world
For future health care providers, moving education online has proved especially challenging. With ingenuity and creativity, faculty are helping them continue gaining the skills they’ll need.
As society looks for a ‘new normal,’ is antibody testing a way forward?
Penn experts discuss the limitations of commercial antibody tests, how scientists are assessing the true scale of COVID-19 infections, and what studies are being done to see who might now be immune to the novel coronavirus.
Kathleen Hall Jamieson, Carl June elected to National Academy of Sciences
The researchers, from the Annenberg Public Policy Center and the Perelman School of Medicine, join a class of honored scholars recognized for their unique and ongoing contributions to original research.
In the News
Drinking two beers daily ages the brain by 10 years; study reveals surprising findings
A study by Penn researchers found that one to two units of alcohol per day shrunk overall brain volume and gray matter volumes.
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Seven unusual sleep hacks to help you drift off peacefully—we speak to a sleep expert about how to get a good night’s rest
A study from the Perelman School of Medicine found that participants who practiced paradoxical intention experienced significantly reduced sleep anxiety.
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More yogurt and nuts, less alcohol and snack foods: How GLP-1 medications like Ozempic are influencing people’s food spending habits
Carrie Burns of the Perelman School of Medicine says that weight-loss medications tend to decrease cravings for foods high in sugar and fat.
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Migratory birds mainly responsible for bird flu outbreak, experts tell Pa. lawmakers
Louise Moncla of the School of Veterinary Medicine says that avian flu viruses are being spread far geographically because of wild migratory birds.
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Thirteen subtle changes veterinarians would never ignore in their cats
Kaitlyn Krebs of the School of Veterinary Medicine says that cats can indicate illness through behavioral changes such as hiding or spending time in unusual places.
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