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Health Sciences
Consuming alcohol leads to epigenetic changes in brain memory centers
Consuming alcohol leads to epigenetic changes in brain memory centers
What drives the biology behind alcohol cravings has remained largely unknown. A new Penn study shows how a byproduct of the alcohol breakdown produced mostly in the liver travels to the brain’s learning system and impacts behavior around environmental cues to drink.
Researchers explore spinal discs’ early response to injury
Researchers explore spinal discs’ early response to injury
Researchers may have found a way to press pause on spinal disc injuries, giving doctors more time to treat them before worse issues develop.
The science of sensations
The science of sensations
To confront the ills of the opioid epidemic, scientists must develop a fundamental understanding of the biology of pain. Biologist Ishmail Abdus-Saboor’s work is setting the stage for screening alternative drugs and uncovering new pathways that an opioid-alternative could target.
Six Penn faculty members elected to National Academy of Medicine
Six Penn faculty members elected to National Academy of Medicine
One of the nation’s highest honors in biomedicine, members are elected by their peers for accomplishments and contributions to the advancement of the medical sciences, health care, and public health.
Providing a ‘LIFT’ to first-generation med students
Providing a ‘LIFT’ to first-generation med students
All new students face challenges in the transition to college, but for first-generation, low-income (FGLI) students, it’s a whole new world. Providing a community for these students helps counter feelings of isolation and the “impostor” syndrome that FGLI students may experience.
Failure of mitochondrial quality control causes heart disease
Failure of mitochondrial quality control causes heart disease
A new Penn Medicine study reveals a well-known protein participates in mitophagy; mutations in the genes of that protein suppress mitophagy and cause disease.
Researchers unravel the early makings of an exhausted T cell
Researchers unravel the early makings of an exhausted T cell
Knowing which T cells will lose the battle against cancer earlier could inform treatments and the development of new immunotherapies.
#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 the News
6ABC.com
Bird flu suspected in deaths of 200 snow geese in Pennsylvania’s Lehigh Valley
Stephen Cole of the School of Veterinary Medicine says that indoor cats are contracting bird flu through raw pet foods of poultry origin or raw milk products.
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Self
The surgeon general calls for new warning labels on alcohol—here’s the truth about how it impacts your health
Henry Kranzler of the Perelman School of Medicine says that alcohol’s effects on the brain are observed more readily because it’s the organ of behavior.
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NPR
Tuberculosis rates plunge when families living in poverty get a monthly cash payout
Aaron Richterman of the Perelman School of Medicine says that there are large and underappreciated benefits of cash-transfer programs, such as potentially ending a tuberculosis epidemic.
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Newsweek
Cancer breakthrough as ‘speckles’ may reveal best treatment
A paper co-authored by PIK Professor Shelley Berger finds that patterns of “speckles” in the heart of tumor cells could help predict how patients with a common form of kidney cancer will respond to treatment options.
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Time
Scientists are racing to develop a new bird flu vaccine
Drew Weissman and Scott Hensley of the Perelman School of Medicine are testing a vaccine to prevent a strain of H5N1 bird flu in chickens and cattle.
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