10.20
Health Sciences
More than a third of Congressional members held significant health care assets
More than a third of Congressional members held significant health care assets
Due to their role in shaping health care policy, lawmakers should divest from assets while in office, Penn Medicine researchers recommend.
Penn study details robust T-cell response to mRNA COVID-19 vaccines
Penn study details robust T-cell response to mRNA COVID-19 vaccines
The results underline the importance of a second dose and include implications for booster shots.
Penn researchers unlock genetic ‘treasure map’ for chronic kidney disease
Penn researchers unlock genetic ‘treasure map’ for chronic kidney disease
The genome-wide association study pinpoints new target genes, cell types, and mechanisms for treating the disease that affects 850 people million worldwide.
Medical anthropologist Fran Barg reflects on three decades at Penn
Medical anthropologist Fran Barg reflects on three decades at Penn
She spent her career studying the culture of medicine. Through collaborations with colleagues in medicine and anthropology, she’s pinpointed why it’s so crucial to see serious medical problems from both a scientific perspective and a patient one.
Engineers create faster and cheaper COVID-19 testing with pencil lead
Engineers create faster and cheaper COVID-19 testing with pencil lead
A new electrochemical COVID-19 test addresses the challenges of cost, time, and accuracy and uses electrodes made from graphite.
Improving patient experiences in cancer clinical trials
Improving patient experiences in cancer clinical trials
Cancer clinical trials (CCTs) provide patients an opportunity to receive experimental drugs, tests, and/or procedures that can lead to remissions. For some, a CCT may seem like their only option. Yet little is known about the experiences of patient participants who withdraw from CCTs.
Relief for dry eyes
Relief for dry eyes
Dry eye is a common condition, affecting nearly half of U.S. adults at some point during their lives, but it is often overlooked as a serious ailment, and the classic symptom of dry eyes isn’t always present.
Mentorship an ‘essential ingredient’ for nursing Ph.D. students
Mentorship an ‘essential ingredient’ for nursing Ph.D. students
A new School of Nursing initiative places doctoral students into small peer-mentorship groups. The researchers who implemented this found it offers an important supplement to one-on-one peer support and faculty advising.
Scaling the model of care for patients with opioid use disorder
Scaling the model of care for patients with opioid use disorder
Data show that concurrent with the opioid overdose crisis, there has been an increase in hospitalizations of people with opioid use disorder. One in ten of these hospitalized medical or surgical patients have comorbid opioid-related diagnoses.
Four things to know about the latest IPCC climate report
Four things to know about the latest IPCC climate report
The assessment describes ‘unequivocal’ human influence that no doubt caused ‘widespread and rapid changes’ to the atmosphere, oceans, and more. Professors Mark Alan Hughes and Michael Weisberg discuss the findings, plus how we can avoid passing the point of no return.
In the News
The New York Times
Waiting on U.S. mandate, some nursing homes are slow to vaccinate staff
PIK Professor Ezekiel Emanuel said lower COVID-19 vaccination rates lead to more infections. “We should be clear that mandates have been working and have been working in every industry that has tried them,” he said.
FULL STORY →
ABC News
Why breakthrough COVID deaths can be misunderstood
Edward Stadtmauer of the Perelman School of Medicine advised cancer patients to get vaccinated against COVID-19. “If you have abnormal plasma cells to begin with or are getting therapy that might suppress or damage plasma cells, you can see why that this group of patients may have the most difficulty responding to a COVID infection and responding to vaccines,” he said. “If there is any group of patients who should be vaccinated and get a booster, it is this group of patients.”
FULL STORY →
Scientific American
Four success stories in gene therapy
Jean Bennett and Albert Maguire of the Perelman School of Medicine developed a gene therapy to treat blindness in patients with retinal dystrophy caused by mutations in the RPE65 gene. “These people can now do things they never could have dreamed of doing, and they’re more independent and enjoying life,” said Bennett.
FULL STORY →
ABC News
Why COVID boosters weren't tweaked to better match variants
John Wherry of the Perelman School of Medicine said there’s no guarantee that a booster shot retooled to target the delta variant would work better than a general COVID-19 vaccine booster.
FULL STORY →
Philadelphia Inquirer
Why are incarcerated people, the only Americans with guaranteed health care, dying of COVID-19 faster than the general public?
Daniel Teixeira da Silva and SUMR scholar Kayla McLymont of the Leonard Davis Institute wrote an opinion piece about the lack of regulation of health care in U.S. correctional facilities. “The COVID-19 pandemic has revealed how these shortcomings in how health care is overseen in prisons and jails can have fatal consequences,” they said.
FULL STORY →