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Health Sciences
Penn Medicine releases free, ‘self-service’ AI tool for data analytics
Penn Medicine releases free, ‘self-service’ AI tool for data analytics
The Penn Medicine Institute for Biomedical Informatics has launched a free, open-source automated machine learning system for data analysis that is designed for anyone to use.
New spinal muscle atrophy treatment gains approval
Zolgensma is based on a delivery system discovered by a Penn gene therapy pioneer, marking a new milestone in treating the rare disease.
Eczema’s effect on children differs by race
Eczema’s effect on children differs by race
A Penn study finds racial disparities in school attendance due to common skin condition, with Hispanic and black children more likely to miss school due to eczema than white children.
A unique perspective on renewable energy
A unique perspective on renewable energy
In a conversation with Rachel Kyte, the U.N. special representative and CEO of Sustainable Energy for All discusses how this energy sector has changed in the past decade and what happens when political will doesn’t match the science.
Proton therapy side-effects found fewer than conventional radiation
Proton therapy side-effects found fewer than conventional radiation
In the largest study of its kind, Penn researchers compare overall adverse events of proton and photon therapies.
Names prompt distinct brain activity in preschoolers
Names prompt distinct brain activity in preschoolers
A study from Penn and CHOP found that when preschoolers with autism spectrum disorder hear their name, their neural patterns match those of their typically developing peers. The finding held regardless of whether the child’s mom or a stranger called the name.
Compound’s benefits aren’t tied to the body clock
Compound’s benefits aren’t tied to the body clock
New research from Penn Medicine overturns what was previously known about a compound associated with reductions in obesity and diabetes risk.
Cancer screening rates decline when patients see doctors later in day
Cancer screening rates decline when patients see doctors later in day
Compared to patients who see their primary care doctor earlier in the day, cancer screening rates decline significantly as the day goes on, according to a new study from researchers in the Perelman School of Medicine and Wharton School.
A roller coaster emergency for Dobby
A roller coaster emergency for Dobby
By the time Dobby arrived at Ryan Hospital’s Emergency Room, he was in a bad way. The two-year-old Welsh Corgi had been vomiting off and on for a few days and was straining to urinate. “He also wasn’t eating,” says owner Zhi Peng Yang, who lives in Philadelphia and rushed Dobby to Penn Vet.
From the bench to bedside, boardroom, and beyond
From the bench to bedside, boardroom, and beyond
Penn’s Life Sciences & Management program empowers the next generation of biotechnology leaders with an education in both business and the natural sciences.
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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