3.30
Health Sciences
Penn is fighting pancreatic cancer
Penn is fighting pancreatic cancer
Researchers within the Penn Pancreatic Research Center and beyond continue to seek innovative ways to treat and detect this deadly disease—and are making promising progress.
Drug found to trigger the ‘energy balance’ system for appetite suppression
Drug found to trigger the ‘energy balance’ system for appetite suppression
Penn researchers show how the FDA-approved drug liraglutide interacts with a distinct set of neurons in the brain’s “energy balance” system to suppress appetite.
For improved profit margins, the dairy doctor is in
For improved profit margins, the dairy doctor is in
Penn Vet’s Joe Bender integrated approach to dairy cow herd health can pay off in productivity, focusing on the health of the entire farm rather than individual cows.
Schizophrenic no more: Two subcategories in the brain redefine a blanket diagnosis
Schizophrenic no more: Two subcategories in the brain redefine a blanket diagnosis
In a study of more than 300 patients from three continents, a second type of schizophrenia was discovered by observing brain matter that looks healthy, but with increased volumes of gray matter in the basal ganglia.
A new way to predict lung cancer treatment response: The blood test
A new way to predict lung cancer treatment response: The blood test
A Penn study shows a better clinical response to immunotherapy correlates with higher ratio of tumor mutations detected by a liquid biopsy.
Working on ‘the human side’ of heritable cancers
Working on ‘the human side’ of heritable cancers
How do you talk about cancer risk? How do you make major life decisions knowing you are likely to develop cancer? Allison Werner-Lin looks at these questions, studying the intersection of genetics and family life.
Machine learning identifies personalized brain networks in children
Machine learning identifies personalized brain networks in children
A Penn study shows variability among children’s neural anatomy which may inform personalized treatments for psychiatric disorders.
The politics of health inequality
The politics of health inequality
The eight major Democratic candidates for president agree that Americans need expanded and more affordable health care. According to Julia Lynch, none of their proposed plans will solve the problem of heath inequality in the U.S.
For babies with congenital heart disease, skin-to-skin contact proves safe and beneficial
For babies with congenital heart disease, skin-to-skin contact proves safe and beneficial
Research from Penn Nursing and CHOP argues that for this population, “kangaroo care” can and should become routine.
DNA misfolding in white blood cells increases risk for Type 1 diabetes
DNA misfolding in white blood cells increases risk for Type 1 diabetes
A new Penn Medicine study shows that changes in a DNA sequence may cause chromosomes to misfold in a way that elevates the risk for autoimmune diseases.
In the News
ABC News
Nurses group turns to crowd-sourcing for unused protective gear
Marion Leary of the School of Nursing spoke about efforts to crowd-source safety masks and other personal protective gear. “Anyone that has a stock of these supplies that they could donate to their local hospitals and healthcare providers,” she said, would be doing a great service.
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WHYY (Philadelphia)
Lessons from 1918
Pat D’Antonio of the School of Nursing spoke about the 1918 influenza pandemic and how we can apply its lessons to the present.
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The New York Times
7 medical leaders to politicians: Save lives, not Wall Street
In collaboration with the leaders of six other large academic medicine institutions, Dean J. Larry Jameson of the Perelman School of Medicine wrote an op-ed urging “national leadership to resist pressure to lift tough social restrictions intended to subdue this outbreak and save thousands of lives.”
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NPR
Her incredible sense of smell is helping scientists find new ways to diagnose disease
Richard Doty of the Perelman School of Medicine spoke about the use of scent signaling in diagnosing disease. “It used to be that physicians did use breath odor and other odors, to signify certain disorders. But that’s not really invoked presently, because we have so much better ways of [diagnosing] things,” he said.
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The Washington Post
Trump’s not a doctor. He’s only playing one on TV
PIK Professor Ezekiel Emanuel wrote an op-ed about the hazards of implementing untested treatments for the novel coronavirus. “When it comes to fearsome, fatal conditions, it is human nature to try something because it should help, because it might help, because it must help, or because it couldn’t hurt,” he writes. “But often it does harm people and our quest for a real cure.”
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