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Health Sciences
Novartis-Penn Center for Advanced Cellular Therapeutics Unveiled at Penn Medicine
Physicians, scientists and leaders from the University of Pennsylvania’s Perelman School of Medicine and the global pharmaceutical company Novartis will gather Tuesday evening to unveil the Novartis-Penn Center for Advanced Cellular Therapeutics (CACT).
To Encourage Physical Activity, Potential to Lose a Financial Reward is More Effective than Gaining One, Penn Study Shows
Financial incentives aimed at increasing physical activity were most effective when the rewards were put at risk of being lost, according to new research from the Perelman School of Medicine at the University of Pennsylvania.
Penn Study: Visualizing a Parasite Crossing the Blood Brain Barrier
An estimated 30 percent of the world’s population is chronically infected with the parasite Toxoplasma gondii. Most people live with the infection without noticeable effect, but it can be life-threatening for people with suppressed immune systems, such as people on cancer therapies or who have HIV/AIDS.
Penn Engineers Use Network Science to Predict How Ligaments Fail
When doctors diagnose a torn ligament, it’s usually because they can see ruptures in the ligament’s collagen fibers, visible on a variety of different scans. However, they also often treat patients with many of the symptoms of a tear, but whose ligaments don’t show this kind of damage.
Improving Radiology’s Utility and Safety at Penn Dental Medicine
The oral cavity is a complex landscape, cavernous and full of irregular structures. Using a two-dimensional X-ray to map its variations can only reveal so much. That’s why a technological revolution that has made three-dimensional imaging of the teeth and jaws easier and safer has ushered in a transformation of practice in the dental clinic.
Two Penn Professors Call Attention to the Use of Race in Human Genetic Research
Two University of Pennsylvania professors are coauthors, along with two other scholars, on a perspective piece published this week in the journal Science that calls for an end to the use of genetic concepts of race in biological research.
Penn Study Prompts Reevaluation of Assumptions on Role of Internal Clock in Human Disease
Abolishing the 24-hour clock by knocking out a key gene during development accelerates aging and shortens lifespan by two thirds in mice, but this effect is absent if the gene deletion is delayed until after birth, according to a new study published this week in Science Translational Medicine by scientists from the Perelman School of Medicine at the University of Pennsylvania.
"Gene Fusion" Mutation Uses Three-Way Mechanism To Drive Childhood Brain Cancers
A powerful, three-way mechanism by which a mutation drives the growth of childhood brain cancers, was discovered by scientists from the Perelman School of Medicine at the University of Pennsylvania and The Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia (CHOP).
Penn Researchers Offer New Approach to Treating Cocaine Addiction
In the ongoing fight against drug addiction, researchers from the University of Pennsylvania’s School of Nursing and Perelman School of Medicine have discovered a unique application for an FDA-approved drug curr
Penn Study Identifies Enzyme Key to Link Between Age-Related Inflammation and Cancer
For the first time, researchers have shown that an enzyme key to regulating gene expression -- and also an oncogene when mutated -- is critical for the expression of numerous inflammatory compounds that have been implicated in age-related increases in cancer and tissue degeneration, according to new research from the Perelman School of Medicine at the University of Pennsylvania. Inhibitors of the enzyme are being developed as a new anti-cancer target.
In the News
UPenn hosts free online panel for LGBTQ+ workplace inclusion
The Eidos LGBTQ+ Health Initiative, led by José Bauermeister and Jessica Halem of the School of Nursing, will host a free online panel in April on the integration of LGBTQ+ people in the workforce.
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How to die in good health
PIK Professor Ezekiel Emanuel says that incessantly preparing for old age mistakes a long life for a worthwhile one.
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Mayor Parker’s plan to ‘remove the presence of drug users’ from Kensington raises new questions
Shoshana Aronowitz of the School of Nursing and Ashish Thakrar of the Perelman School of Medicine comment on the lack of specificity in Philadelphia’s plan to remove drug users from Kensington and on the current state of drug treatment in the city.
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How many patients would recommend their Philly-area hospital to family and friends? Check your local hospital
The Hospital of the University of Pennsylvania has been named one of the most recommended acute-care facilities by patients in the Philadelphia area.
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Homeward bound: When a Penn Medicine nurse was diagnosed with uterine cancer, she turned to the service dogs she helped to train
A profile highlights Maria Wright of Penn Medicine Lancaster General Health, from her volunteer work connecting people with service dogs to her cancer diagnosis and her own journey applying for a service dog.
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