8.15
Health Sciences
How researchers and clinicians navigate social media
The silence after an inaugural tweet can be ego-crushing. For medical professionals, garnering a following is a quantifiable exercise not just in personal popularity, but in the medical field itself.
Uncovering the biological basis of aesthetics
The new Penn Center for Neuroaesthetics, led by Anjan Chatterjee, will investigate the neural activity that dictates aesthetic experiences and choices
Orthopaedic implants for the future
The hardware that hold orthopaedic implants together must have some give in order to accommodate physiology. At the Biedermann Lab for Orthopaedic Research, specialists are studying and designing the hardwares’ minutiae to improve upon the intricacies of setting a broken bone in place.
Sharing space to support ‘better science’
Across disciplines, Penn researchers in the Computational Neuroscience Initiative put their heads together to better understand the brain.
Dental researchers identify protein key to wound healing
Resesarch from Penn Dental reveal that the cells that line the skin and mucosa play a role in blood-vessel formation through a protein called Foxo1, and targeting it may modulate the process of healing wounds.
New insight into autism and reward circuitry in the brain
New research reveals people with autism spectrum disorder respond differently to social and non-social cues than typically developing individuals, and might not respond to rewards for desired behavior.
Dental School’s Joan Gluch promotes academics and community engagement
A recipient of the third annual Netter Center Faculty-Community Partnership Award, Gluch and Philadelphia FIGHT will share award funding to develop projects to promote community oral health.
How to motivate heart disease patients to exercise? Pay them.
Financial incentives and wearable devices lead to increased exercise for high-risk patients with heart disease.
Floridians took Zika virus more seriously than rest of U.S., but most did nothing
A new study shows the differences between Florida and the rest of the United States in response to Zika prevention and awareness can inform future public health communication campaigns.
Can bias be reversed?
Mandatory education and training can improve awareness of implicit biases and how it may affect patient care, according to studies and fieldwork done in communities.
In the News
The New York Times
Clues to your health are hidden at 6.6 million spots in your DNA
Daniel Rader of the Perelman School of Medicine discussed the availability of genetic screening for early indicators of heart disease.
FULL STORY →
Philadelphia Inquirer
New hepatitis C drugs mean diseased organs can be used for transplants
The Perelman School of Medicine’s Peter Reese discussed the possibility of increased rejection in patients who’ve received infected kidneys, saying “we can’t rule it out. It’s possible there’s more immunological injury with hep C infection.”
FULL STORY →
Associated Press
Penn Medicine eliminating sugary drinks in facilities
Ralph Muller of Penn Medicine discussed the hospital system’s recent announcement regarding the phasing out of sugary drink sales.
FULL STORY →
Philadelphia Inquirer
Hyperbaric oxygen: The mysterious therapy that saved a cancer survivor from radiation side effects
Hyperbaric therapy is controversial, according to Matthew Kelly of HUP, largely because “it’s expensive, and some practitioners overuse it, which gives a black eye to the field.” However, for some patients, the oxygen-rich environment can promote healing and fight infection.
FULL STORY →
Philadelphia Inquirer
Cancer ‘drones’ in blood weaken immune system, Penn scientists show
Wei Guo of the School of Arts and Sciences and George Xu of the Perelman School of Medicine discussed their team’s cancer research. “Tumor cells are smarter than we thought,” said Guo.
FULL STORY →