Health Sciences

Penn Medicine Performs 1000th Heart Transplant

PHILADELPHIA — Marking the twenty-fifth anniversary of the program, Penn Medicine physicians have completed their 1000th lifesaving heart transplant at the Hospital of the University of Pennsylvania (HUP). The 1000th patient was transplanted on Sunday, December 2, 2012 and is doing well.

Jessica Mikulski

Penn Study: Protected "Power Naps" Are Helpful for Doctors in Training to Fight Fatigue During Overnight Shifts

PHILADELPHIA – New research from the Perelman School of Medicine at the University of Pennsylvania and the Philadelphia VA Medical Center indicates that the implementation of protected sleep periods for residents who are assigned to overnight shifts in a hospital represent a viable tool in preventing fatigue and alleviating the physiological and behavior

Jessica Mikulski

Five Penn Professors Named AAAS Fellows

PHILADELPHIA – Five faculty members at the University of Pennsylvania have been named Fellows of the American Association for the Advancement of Science.  Two are from Penn’s Perelman School of Medicine, two are from its School of Arts and Sciences

Karen Kreeger, Evan Lerner

Penn-Temple Team Discovers What Keeps a Cell's Energy Source Going

PHILADELPHIA — Most healthy cells rely on a complicated process to produce the fuel ATP. Knowing how ATP is produced by the cell’s energy storehouse – the mitochondria -- is important for understanding a cell’s normal state, as well as what happens when things go wrong, for example in cancer, cardiovascular disease, neurodegeneration, and many rare disorders of the mitochondria.

Karen Kreeger



In the News


Fortune

California declares a state of emergency as a new severe bird flu case was discovered. What it means for the rest of the country

Scott Hensley of the Perelman School of Medicine says the latest H5N1 bird flu strain might have a greater potential to adapt and cause severe disease in humans.

FULL STORY →



The New York Times

Is protein powder a scam?

Colleen Tewksbury of the School of Nursing and Perelman School of Medicine says that the vast majority of people in the U.S. already get enough protein from the foods they eat and don’t need to take it in supplement form.

FULL STORY →



Las Vegas Sun

Nation’s health care industry can be improved, if we have the will to try

Michael Anne Kyle of the Perelman School of Medicine says that patient frustration with health care is fueled by spending a lot of money while still facing problems with the service.

FULL STORY →



The Washington Post

Dogs may be able to communicate by pressing buttons, research suggests

Postdoc Amritha Mallikarjun of the School of Veterinary Medicine says that dogs use buttons as a trained behavior to try and get the things they want.

FULL STORY →



NPR

For kids with rare genetic disorders, customized CRISPR treatments offer hope

Scientists at Penn are trying to develop a template for groups of rare conditions that are similar enough to be affected by a single, easily adaptable gene-editing treatment.

FULL STORY →