9.30
Health Sciences
Cell phone location used to estimate COVID-19 growth rates
Cell phone location used to estimate COVID-19 growth rates
Cell phone location data shows that in counties where activity declined at workplaces and increased at home, coronavirus infection rates were lower.
Penn announces COVID-19 childcare grant
Penn announces COVID-19 childcare grant
The Penn COVID-19 Childcare Grant helps faculty, staff, and postdoctoral trainees at the University who incur childcare expenses for care during the academic year.
Penn Medicine helps power international COVID-19 data consortium
Penn Medicine helps power international COVID-19 data consortium
An international consortium involving Penn researchers pools electronic health record data from around the world to discover clinical insights about COVID-19.
Opioid rates for knee surgery both high and varied
Opioid rates for knee surgery both high and varied
Examining insurance data, Penn researchers found that 36% of patients received an opioid prescription that was stronger than the CDC-recommended dose.
Decision-making and anxiety in the time of COVID-19
Decision-making and anxiety in the time of COVID-19
Penn experts discuss the psychology behind decision-making, how anxiety and stress impacts behavior, and share strategies for deciding how to safely reengage with society.
Existing drugs like statins may be promising COVID-19 treatments
Existing drugs like statins may be promising COVID-19 treatments
Commentary by two Penn researchers outline a systematic framework for repurposing existing drugs to quickly find new therapies, after an observational study suggested statins may be helpful in combating COVID-19.
Penn Engineering and Nursing partner with Hillrom on Internet-of-Things Technology
Penn Engineering and Nursing partner with Hillrom on Internet-of-Things Technology
A collaboration with nursing, engineering, and the medical device provider will develop new technologies to assist clinicians via “safe AI.”
Progress toward a treatment for Krabbe disease
Progress toward a treatment for Krabbe disease
The inherited disease, which typically kills children before their second birthday, has no cure, but a School of Veterinary Medicine study in a canine model offers hope for an effective gene therapy with lasting results.
Opioid overdoses among Medicaid cohort examined
Opioid overdoses among Medicaid cohort examined
A study of opioid risk and overdose among Medicaid enrollees finds subpopulations with varying levels of risk, with repeated overdoses outnumbering overdoses among new prescription opioid users.
MTL deterioration can lead to impulsive decisions
MTL deterioration can lead to impulsive decisions
A study highlighting episodic memory and decision making finds that individual differences in decision making are driven by episodic memory function, and that a deteriorating medial temporal lobe may impact the ability to delay gratification.
In the News
Fast Company
UPenn releases surprising report on 9/11 rescue dogs and their causes of death
Research from the School of Veterinary Medicine tracked the causes of death for 95 search-and-rescue dogs deployed on 9/11 and showed that most of the dogs died of typical age-related conditions and outlived others of their breeds. “Dogs have a really good filtering system,” said Cynthia Otto. “Their lungs are different—they don’t get asthma, for example.”
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NBC News
Secret, powerful panels will pick COVID-19 vaccine winners
Susan Ellenberg of the Perelman School of Medicine said it’s important to keep data and safety monitoring boards anonymous to protect the members from people desperate for treatment. It “would be very hard to tell [a patient], ‘Oh I can’t help you.’ It’s an unreasonable burden,” she said.
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Bloomberg
Stay-at-home orders more effective on virus than closing businesses
Research by the Wharton School’s Kent Smetters, Alexander Arnon, and John Ricco found that shelter-in-place orders did more to combat the coronavirus than business closures and at a lower economic cost.
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The Wall Street Journal
Thousands of American troops to take part in COVID-19 early-detection study
PIK Professor Jonathan Moreno commented on plans to conduct a COVID-19 early-detection study on U.S. troops. “Should we ask for consent if it reveals medical issues that a person in uniform may not want revealed and is not relevant to job performance?” he asked.
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The Washington Post
FDA poised to announce tougher standards for a COVID-19 vaccine that make it unlikely one will be cleared by Election Day
Holly Fernandez Lynch of the Perelman School of Medicine commented on the FDA’s use of emergency authorizations to expedite coronavirus drugs. “Is the president going to put the screws to the FDA so much that they will speed ahead on a vaccine?” she asked.
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