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Health Sciences
New data reveals cell size sparks genome awakening in embryos
New data reveals cell size sparks genome awakening in embryos
An innovative study provides a new perspective on how a zygote transitions from maternal to zygotic control, uncovering how an embryo “recognizes” when to undergo this transition.
Managing asthma amid the summer heat and dips in air quality
Managing asthma amid the summer heat and dips in air quality
For people with asthma, effective treatment plans can help patients better manage their condition and prevent complications. However, a variety of factors, like increased exposure to poor air quality, can make life more challenging.
The state of Alzheimer’s research at Penn
The state of Alzheimer’s research at Penn
The Penn Memory Center’s Sanjeev Vaishnavi discusses the progress and setbacks made in Alzheimer’s research in the past five years.
A conversation about second-generation immigrants and mortality
A conversation about second-generation immigrants and mortality
In a Q&A, Penn demographer Michel Guillot discusses recent work showing that male children of immigrants from Algeria, Morocco, and Tunisia have a mortality rate nearly double that of the native population in France.
Why do Achilles ruptures take so long to heal?
Why do Achilles ruptures take so long to heal?
Kathryn O’Connor, an assistant professor of clinical orthopaedic surgery at the Perelman School of Medicine, gives the ins and outs of Achilles tears.
Collegiate affirmative action bans linked to smoking among minority students
Collegiate affirmative action bans linked to smoking among minority students
A Penn Medicine study shows unanticipated adverse effects of affirmative action bans on health behaviors in minority high school students.
Facebook posts better at predicting diabetes, mental health than demographic info
Facebook posts better at predicting diabetes, mental health than demographic info
Analyzing language shows that identifying certain groups of words significantly improves upon predicting some medical conditions in patients.
What influences how parents and their gay adolescent sons talk about sexual health at home?
What influences how parents and their gay adolescent sons talk about sexual health at home?
Research from Penn found that even when parent-child conversations avoid heteronormative stereotypes, outside factors like mass media and religion—those beyond the parents’ control—can reinforce them.
Elderly patients with metastatic renal cell carcinoma benefit from targeted therapies
Elderly patients with metastatic renal cell carcinoma benefit from targeted therapies
A Penn study of Medicare patients who are often underrepresented in medical trials finds overall survival benefits from treatment with targeted therapies.
Chemo is a go for treating equine lymphoma
Chemo is a go for treating equine lymphoma
New Bolton Center’s Daniela Luethy’s research on 15 horses with lymphoma concluded that chemotherapy had encouraging results. Her study poses opportunities for further research with more case control.
In the News
ABC News
Experts offer new recommendations for screening more women for breast cancer
Susan Domcheck of the Basser Center for BRCA at the Abramson Cancer Center said that while new recommendations for the screening for BRCA1 and 2 gene mutations are “very valuable,” they don’t address many persistent problems. She stressed the need for additional research regarding BRCA mutations and risk factors, including the effect of race, ethnicity and socioeconomic status.
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Philadelphia Inquirer
Treating gun violence in Philadelphia trauma bay
Jeremy Cannon, Jose Pascual, and Franklin Caldera of the Perelman School of Medicine and Rhonda Browning, Michael Atweh, and John Ehman of Penn Medicine were quoted in an article about the impact of gunshot wounds on hospital employees.
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PBS NewsHour
Does the placenta carry germs? What parents should know before they eat one
Frederic Bushman of Perelman School of Medicine commented on research that found that placenta encapsulation kits may be pre-contaminated by outside microbes. “It was really a very impressive bunch of detective work,” he said. “They were absolutely artistic at figuring out the sources of different kinds of contamination.”
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Scientific American
Scientists seek better guidelines for editing genes in human embryos
Bruce Levine of the Perelman School of Medicine called for a moratorium on scientific research that entails gene editing in human embryos. “There has not been a conversation with society at large—the lay public, government, religious groups, NGOs [nongovernmental organizations], stakeholders—because the science has been moving faster than [our own] conversations have been,” he said.
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The New York Times
The ethical mess of our healthcare system
President Amy Gutmann and PIK Professor Jonathan Moreno authored an op-ed about the U.S. health care system. “By revising and reinforcing the A.C.A.,” they wrote, “we can benefit all Americans without threatening any with the loss of hard-fought, lifesaving health coverage. Surely our fellow Americans with life-threatening diseases of all sorts are also worth saving.”
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