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Health Sciences
Penn Medicine Study Describes Development of Personalized Cellular Therapy for Brain Cancer
Immune cells engineered to seek out and attack a type of deadly brain cancer were found to be both safe and effective at controlling tumor growth in mice that were treated with these modified cells, according to a study published in Science Translational Medicine by a team from the Perelman School of Medicine at the University of Pennsy
PIK Professor Shelley L. Berger: Revolutionizing Genetic Research
A leader in the rapidly changing field of epigenetics, Shelley L.
Common Biomarkers of Sleep Debt Found in Humans, Rats, Penn Study Finds
Stating that sleep is an essential biological process seems as obvious as saying that the sun rises every morning. Yet, researchers' understanding of the molecular mechanisms underlying the effects of sleep loss is still in its earliest stages.
Smartphone Apps Just as Accurate as Wearable Devices for Tracking Physical Activity, According to Penn Researchers
Although wearable devices have received significant attention for their ability to track an individual’s physical activity, most smartphone applications are just as accurate, according to a new research letter in JAMA.
Penn Medicine Researchers Show Brain Activity Can Predict Increased Fat Intake Following Sleep Deprivation
Experts have warned for years that insufficient sleep can lead to weight gain.
Immune Biomarkers Help Predict Early Death, Complications in HIV Patients with TB, Penn Study Finds
Doctors treating patients battling both HIV and tuberculosis (TB)—many of whom live in Africa—are faced with the decision when to start those patients on antiretroviral therapy (ART) while they are being treated with antibiotics for active TB disease.
Mosquitoes Ramp Up Immune Defenses After Sucking Blood, Penn Vet Researcher Finds
If you were about to enter a crowded subway during flu season, packed with people sneezing and coughing, wouldn’t it be helpful if your immune system recognized the potentially risky situation and bolstered its defenses upon stepping into the train?
Penn Medicine's New Immunotherapy Study Will Pit PD-1 Inhibitor Against Advanced Lung Cancer
Penn Medicine researchers have begun a new immunotherapy trial with the “checkpoint inhibitor” known as pembrolizumab in patients with oligometastatic lung cancer—a state characterized by a few metastases in a confined area—who have completed conventional treatments and are considered free of active disease but remain at a high risk for recurrence.
Sharp, Sustained Increases in Suicides Closely Shadowed Austerity Events in Greece, Penn Study Finds
Sharp and significant increases in suicides followed select financial crisis events and austerity announcements in Greece, from the start of the country’s 2008 recession to steep spending cuts in 2012, Penn Medicine researchers report in a new study published online this week in the British Medical Journal Open, along with colleagues from Greece and the United Kingdom.
Self-affirmation Can Boost Acceptance of Health Advice, Penn-led Study Finds
A new discovery shows how a simple intervention—self-affirmation—can open our brains to accept advice that is hard to hear.
In the News
6ABC.com
Bird flu suspected in deaths of 200 snow geese in Pennsylvania’s Lehigh Valley
Stephen Cole of the School of Veterinary Medicine says that indoor cats are contracting bird flu through raw pet foods of poultry origin or raw milk products.
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Self
The surgeon general calls for new warning labels on alcohol—here’s the truth about how it impacts your health
Henry Kranzler of the Perelman School of Medicine says that alcohol’s effects on the brain are observed more readily because it’s the organ of behavior.
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NPR
Tuberculosis rates plunge when families living in poverty get a monthly cash payout
Aaron Richterman of the Perelman School of Medicine says that there are large and underappreciated benefits of cash-transfer programs, such as potentially ending a tuberculosis epidemic.
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Time
Scientists are racing to develop a new bird flu vaccine
Drew Weissman and Scott Hensley of the Perelman School of Medicine are testing a vaccine to prevent a strain of H5N1 bird flu in chickens and cattle.
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Newsweek
Cancer breakthrough as ‘speckles’ may reveal best treatment
A paper co-authored by PIK Professor Shelley Berger finds that patterns of “speckles” in the heart of tumor cells could help predict how patients with a common form of kidney cancer will respond to treatment options.
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