One of nanotechnology’s greatest promises is interacting with the biological world the way our own cells do, but current biosensors must be tailor-made to detect the presence of one type of protein, the identity of which must be known in advance.      

Evan Lerner ・January 13, 2015

Transcatheter aortic valve replacement, or TAVR, has been called one of the biggest advances in cardiac surgery in recent years. The procedure delivers a new, collapsible aortic valve through a catheter to the valve site within the heart - a repair that otherwise requires open heart surgery. 

Lee-Ann Donegan ・January 12, 2015

Nearly 70 percent of smokers who try to quit relapse within one week – daunting odds for people trying to kick the habit. Researchers have long theorized that some individuals may be genetically programmed to have an easier time than others, but with few clues about why, experts have been unable to guide smokers looking to quit toward a strategy – the nicotine patch versus prescription pills, for instance – with the best chance of success.

Steve Graff ・January 12, 2015

“In today’s world, the stereotype of the nerdy scientist, by himself, looking at a microscope, is no longer accurate and no longer useful,” says Gabriel Innes, a third-year student in the University of Pennsylvania School of Veterinary Medicine.

Katherine Unger Baillie ・January 7, 2015

Adding radiation treatment to hormone therapy saves more lives among older men with locally advanced prostate therapy than hormone therapy alone, according to a new study in the Journal of Clinical Oncology this week from Penn Medicine researchers.

Steve Graff ・January 6, 2015

Many patients with type 2 diabetes in the United States may be discouraged from taking metformin—a proven, oral diabetes medicine—because the U.S. Food and Drug Administration inappropriately labels the drug unsafe for some patients also suffering from kidney problems, researchers from Penn Medicine and Weill Cornel Medical College report this week in a research letter published in JAMA Internal Medicine.

Steve Graff ・January 5, 2015

When the human genome was first sequenced, experts predicted they would find about 100,000 genes. The actual number has turned out to be closer to 20,000, just a few thousand more than fruit flies have. The question logically arose: how can a relatively small number of genes lay the blueprint for the complexities of the human body?

Katherine Unger Baillie ・December 31, 2014

Interdisciplinary research at the University of Pennsylvania is showing how cells interact over long distances within fibrous tissue, like that associated with many diseases of the liver, lungs and other organs.

Evan Lerner ・December 19, 2014