Health Sciences

The dangers of vaping

Vaping has been marketed as a safer alternative to smoking cigarettes, but recent deaths and acute respiratory illnesses have belied that claim. Pulmonologist and smoking cessation expert Frank Leone of the Perelman School of Medicine explains the e-cigarette phenomenon and why it’s dangerous.

Katherine Unger Baillie

Fruit flies’ microbiomes shape their evolution

In just five generations, an altered microbiome can lead to genome-wide evolution in fruit flies, according to new research led by Paul Schmidt and postdoc Seth Rudman of the School of Arts and Sciences.

Katherine Unger Baillie

Pairing science with ethics to save lives

Penn President Amy Gutmann and Penn Integrates Knowledge Professor Jonathan Moreno discussed their new book “Everybody Wants to Go to Heaven But Nobody Wants to Die” at a Free Library of Philadelphia book talk Monday.

Lauren Hertzler

CAR T cell therapy may be harnessed to treat heart disease

Penn Med researchers used genetically modified T cells to improve heart function in an animal model after cardiac injury, a step forward in expanding the use of the technology to treating, or even reversing, heart failure.

Penn Today Staff



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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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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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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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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