Health Sciences

PHILADELPHIA — Most healthy cells rely on a complicated process to produce the fuel ATP. Knowing how ATP is produced by the cell’s energy storehouse – the mitochondria -- is important for understanding a cell’s normal state, as well as what happens when things go wrong, for example in cancer, cardiovascular disease, neurodegeneration, and many rare disorders of the mitochondria.

PHILADELPHIA — The disease atherosclerosis involves the build up of fatty tissue within arterial walls, creating unstable structures known as plaques. These plaques grow until they burst, rupturing the wall and causing the formation of a blood clot within the artery.

PHILADELPHIA — A new study by researchers at the Perelman School of Medicine at the University of Pennsylvania demonstrates in an animal model that a commonly used inhaled anesthetic drug, isoflurane, works by directly causing sleep-promoting neurons in the brain to activate, thereby hijacking our natural sleep circuitry

PHILADELPHIA — Cutting the expenses associated with “low-value” medical tests and treatments – such as unnecessary imaging tests and antibiotics for viral infections that won’t benefit from them – will require a multi-pronged plan targeting insurance companies, patients, and physicians, according to a JAMA Viewpoint article published this week by researchers from the

PHILADELPHIA — Most people know thatsmoking, a bad diet, and physical inactivity can lead to catastrophic personal health consequences, including cancer. Yet millions continue to smoke, eat poorly, and fail to get enough exercise.

PHILADELPHIA — Changes in the ability to smell and taste can be caused by a simple cold or upper respiratory tract infection, but they may also be among the first signs of neurodegenerative disorders such as Alzheimer's disease and Parkinson's disease.

            PHILADELPHIA -- The University of Pennsylvania Libraries announce the release of the digitized Fairman Rogers Collection, a library of rare and unique books devoted

PHILADELPHIA — The University of Pennsylvania has received an undisclosed gift from father and son philanthropists Joel and William Smilow to support Penn Medicine’s translational research activities, naming the Smilow Center for Translational Research in the Raymond and Ruth Perelman School of Medicine

Health-care reform and cultural competence in health-care delivery are hot topics.  Research has shown that cultural competence is a key strategy for bridging health and health-care disparities.

PHILADELPHIA — Six professors from the University of Pennsylvania, representing four schools, have been elected members of the Institute of Medicine (IOM), one of the nation's highest honors in biomedicine.