7.14
Health Sciences
President Gutmann kicks off 15th World Congress of Bioethics
President Gutmann kicks off 15th World Congress of Bioethics
‘The world has never needed you more than it needs you now,’ she told bioethicists, watching and listening virtually from their respective cities across the globe.
LGBTQ data added to the state’s COVID-19 testing
LGBTQ data added to the state’s COVID-19 testing
Experts weigh in on the state’s decision to add LGBTQ data collection to COVID-19 testing. Pennsylvania Governor Tom Wolf announced on March 13 that the state will include LGBTQ-specific information as part of its COVID-19 data collection.
Responding to challenges of older adults with COVID-19
Responding to challenges of older adults with COVID-19
Researchers draft a model for transitional care for an aging community transitioning from a hospital back to the community post-COVID.
When alcohol and a pandemic mix
When alcohol and a pandemic mix
Edwin Kim, medical director of Penn Medicine’s Charles O’Brien Center for Addiction Treatment, discusses how the COVID-19 pandemic has affected how people use—and misuse—alcohol.
Better care for COVID patients through virtual reality
Better care for COVID patients through virtual reality
An interdisciplinary team from Penn joined efforts with physicians in New York to fast-track virtual reality coronavirus training materials.
Additional challenges in bringing research online
Additional challenges in bringing research online
As research on campus slowly restarts, those whose work requires field surveys, large-scale collaborations, or travel face additional challenges in bringing their research back online.
A link to pregnancy complications with assisted reproduction discovered
A link to pregnancy complications with assisted reproduction discovered
Researchers find that embryo culture is a factor that may lead to more specific placental defects with assisted reproduction processes.
Can contact tracing stop the spread of COVID-19?
Penn experts discuss how contact tracing works, the differences between traditional “analog” and new “digital” approaches, and how these two strategies could shape what everyday life looks like in the next phase of the pandemic.
Parasites and the microbiome
Parasites and the microbiome
In a study of ethnically diverse people from Cameroon, the presence of a parasite infection was closely linked to the make-up of the gastrointestinal microbiome, according to a research team led by Penn scientists.
Researchers analyze ethics of allocating medical resources in COVID-19
Researchers analyze ethics of allocating medical resources in COVID-19
The COVID-19 pandemic has left many health care providers scrambling for resources to treat cases over the last several months, making doctors face difficult decisions: Whom do you save?
In the News
The New York Times
Who gets a vaccine first? U.S. considers race in coronavirus plans
Harald Schmidt of the Perelman School of Medicine said courts would likely strike down any vaccine prioritization model based on race and ethnicity, proposing instead an approach that considers socioeconomic status. “It’s imperative that we pay attention to how COVID has impacted the health of minorities differently; otherwise it compounds the inequalities we’ve seen,” he said.
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Axios
Fighting the coronavirus infodemic
Alison Buttenheim of the School of Nursing spoke about the spread of misinformation online. "In our hyper-polarized and politicized climate, many folks just inherently mistrust advice or evidence that comes from an opposing political party," she said.
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NBC News
How blood type may affect your coronavirus risk
Lewis Kaplan of the Perelman School of Medicine said people with a lower risk of contracting COVID-19 according to their blood type shouldn’t get overly confident. "It might mean they have less risk, but if you engage in risky behavior, we don't know just how much risk you need to incur to overwhelm whatever potential protection you might have," he said. "We have no clue."
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The New York Times
The wilderness of rare genetic diseases and the parents navigating it
Jim Wilson of the Perelman School of Medicine spoke about his research at Penn’s Orphan Disease Center. “When I was practicing clinical genetics, it was limited to diagnosis and prognosis,” he said. “Now, in a limited number of diseases, there are potential treatments, if not cures.”
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BBC News
Coronavirus: Wear masks in crowded public spaces, says science body
Paul Edelstein of the Perelman School of Medicine spoke about the effectiveness of face masks in preventing the spread of COVID-19. "There are people without symptoms going about their daily business who are unknowingly breathing out droplets that are carrying the virus," he said. "If they had their faces covered the majority of those droplets would be caught before they can infect other people. Wearing face coverings can help save lives and prevent disabling illnesses."
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