12.8
Health Sciences
Multidisciplinary team to develop stem cell-based approaches to restore vision
Gene therapies have had success in treating blindness but can’t save areas of the retina where cells have already died. In a new effort, School of Veterinary Medicine scientists John Wolfe and William Beltran will attempt to develop a stem-cell-based approach that restores vision.
Linguistic red flags from Facebook posts can predict future depression diagnoses
The language people use in these social media posts can make these predictions as accurately as the tools clinicians use in medical settings to screen for the disease.
Blood test identifies more treatable cancer mutations than biopsies alone
A new study shows patients with treatable mutations identified by liquid biopsies rather than tissue biopsies also largely respond to therapy.
Immune cells involved in triple-negative breast cancer could offer future therapeutic target
New research led by Rumela Chakrabarti reveals how immune cells called myeloid-derived immunosuppressor cells contribute to the progression of triple-negative breast cancer, a particularly aggressive cancer. Pairing chemotherapy with a drug that blocks these cells may one day help stem its growth.
‘Cancer in all forms is our enemy’
Robert H. Vonderheide, the Abramson Cancer Center director, talks innovation, discoveries, FDA approvals, and how to deliver top-of-the-line cancer care.
A study in prenatal gene editing with DNA in utero
A Penn Medicine and CHOP team shows the first example of using base-editing tools to treat a disease in animal models in utero.
The world’s oldest nightmare: Understanding sleep paralysis
Sleep paralysis has been linked to the supernatural for centuries. Neuroscientists work to uncover the science of REM disorders.
Electronic research notebooks streamline the scientific method
To do it right, scientific research requires careful record keeping, dutiful repetition of protocols, and, in many cases, free exchange of data. Electronic research notebooks are intended to help researchers up their game and are now available at no charge to the University community through the Office of the Vice Provost for Research, Dawn Bonnell.
Cutting-edge science moves to the clinic to help ‘our furry friends’ fight cancer
A year after its launch, the Penn Vet Cancer Center is solidifying the translational science pipeline, connecting basic scientists to the clinic and vice versa, to transform veterinary cancer care.
Medicaid expansions linked to slower rises in overdose deaths
A recent study in the Journal of General Internal Medicine contradicts the idea that state expansions of Medicaid leads to more illicit use of prescription opioids.
In the News
Science
What now for human genome editing?
The Perelman School of Medicine’s James Wilson discussed possible venues for the scientific oversight of controversial research. The FDA could be a good option, he suggested, but the organization would have to change its confidentiality restrictions to supervise effectively.
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Reader’s Digest
The 10 most common types of cancer in the United States
Thomas Karasic of the Perelman School of Medicine weighed in on treatments for liver and pancreatic cancers.
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Today
Died of a broken heart? The science behind close couple deaths
David Casarett of the Perelman School of Medicine spoke about the phenomenon of spouses dying shortly after one another. Casarett said social and cultural factors may play a role, as in cases when “the surviving spouses stop taking care of themselves. Sometimes they become depressed.”
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Philadelphia Inquirer
Black and Hispanic Americans have a harder time quitting cigarettes. Will this Penn study find a way to help?
Researchers from the Perelman School of Medicine, led by Scott Halpern, are exploring better ways to support smoking cessation in black and Latino populations. “We’re confident that if we succeed in producing this evidence, health systems and payers will respond,” Halpern said.
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Smithsonian Magazine
What’s new, and what’s not, in the reported birth of the CRISPR babies
The Perelman School of Medicine’s Kiran Musunuru said that the birth of gene-edited babies does not constitute a scientific advancement because “there was nothing preventing previous researchers who edited human embryos from doing the same, except their own ethics and morals.”
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