12.8
Health Sciences
Digital resources could help narrow sexual health equity gap for Puerto Rican adolescents
A study from Penn Nursing shows results of a web-based intervention in Puerto Rico that is designed to increase sexual risk communication between parents and adolescents.
The next frontier of precision medicine: Parkinson’s disease
The Molecular Integration in Neurological Diagnosis (MIND) Initiative is working to understand the nature of Parkinson's disease with molecular-level accuracy, so doctors can treat the root cause.
Seven Penn researchers receive NIH Director Awards
Seven researchers from the Perelman School of Medicine, School of Veterinary Medicine, and School of Engineering and Applied Science are to receive National Institutes of Health Director Awards, highly competitive grants to support innovative biomedical research.
The psychology of binge-watching
Though binge-watching—and even the way we crave television at all—is a relatively recent phenomenon, the psychology behind why we become consumed in stories is actually a tale as old as time.
To reduce concussions in football, change kickoffs
Research findings support an experimental rule in football that reduced concussions by moving the kickoff line from the 35- to 40-yard line and the touchback line from the 25- to 20-yard line.
Discovering a single cell that leads to relapse
Research from the Abramson Cancer Center identified a single leukemic cell, engineered for CAR T therapy, that caused a deadly recurrence of pediatric B-cell acute lymphoblastic leukemia.
DNA vaccine leads to immune responses in HPV-related head and neck cancer
Researchers from the Abramson Cancer Center find immunotherapy approach can help T cells infiltrate tumors.
What happens to the brain after a traumatic injury?
Two undergrads interning with Penn Medicine’s Ramon Diaz-Arrastia spent the summer looking for biomarkers in the blood of TBI patients, and studying whether the generic form of Viagra might help promote recovery after such an injury.
Ventilating with mixture of helium and oxygen improves outcomes for horses in surgery
Horses are so large that their weight can cause their lungs to collapse while under anesthesia. In a new study, Klaus Hopster and colleagues at the School of Veterinary Medicine found that ventilating horses with a mixture of helium and oxygen can lead to better pulmonary gas exchange.
Teachers become students to become better teachers at GRASP Lab’s RET program
The Research Experiences for Teachers (RET) program run by the GRASP Lab in the School of Engineering and Applied Science is part of a larger National Science Foundation effort to get students interested in science and engineering at an early age. This summer, one cohort of students worked with robots in the Rehabilitation Robotics Lab at the Perelman School of Medicine.
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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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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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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