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Health Sciences
Consuming alcohol leads to epigenetic changes in brain memory centers
Consuming alcohol leads to epigenetic changes in brain memory centers
What drives the biology behind alcohol cravings has remained largely unknown. A new Penn study shows how a byproduct of the alcohol breakdown produced mostly in the liver travels to the brain’s learning system and impacts behavior around environmental cues to drink.
Researchers explore spinal discs’ early response to injury
Researchers explore spinal discs’ early response to injury
Researchers may have found a way to press pause on spinal disc injuries, giving doctors more time to treat them before worse issues develop.
The science of sensations
The science of sensations
To confront the ills of the opioid epidemic, scientists must develop a fundamental understanding of the biology of pain. Biologist Ishmail Abdus-Saboor’s work is setting the stage for screening alternative drugs and uncovering new pathways that an opioid-alternative could target.
Six Penn faculty members elected to National Academy of Medicine
Six Penn faculty members elected to National Academy of Medicine
One of the nation’s highest honors in biomedicine, members are elected by their peers for accomplishments and contributions to the advancement of the medical sciences, health care, and public health.
Providing a ‘LIFT’ to first-generation med students
Providing a ‘LIFT’ to first-generation med students
All new students face challenges in the transition to college, but for first-generation, low-income (FGLI) students, it’s a whole new world. Providing a community for these students helps counter feelings of isolation and the “impostor” syndrome that FGLI students may experience.
Failure of mitochondrial quality control causes heart disease
Failure of mitochondrial quality control causes heart disease
A new Penn Medicine study reveals a well-known protein participates in mitophagy; mutations in the genes of that protein suppress mitophagy and cause disease.
Researchers unravel the early makings of an exhausted T cell
Researchers unravel the early makings of an exhausted T cell
Knowing which T cells will lose the battle against cancer earlier could inform treatments and the development of new immunotherapies.
#OldBoysClub: Twitter and gender disparities in health services research
#OldBoysClub: Twitter and gender disparities in health services research
A JAMA Internal Medicine study of Twitter users find that female health services and policy researchers had considerably less reach and influence on the social media platform than their male counterparts.
Algorithm personalizes which cancer mutations are best targets for immunotherapy
Algorithm personalizes which cancer mutations are best targets for immunotherapy
A new model developed by researchers in the Abramson Cancer Center hand-picks cancer cells to target for more effective, customized cancer vaccines.
The price of noise
The price of noise
Silence is a rare commodity these days, because society has only gotten louder. “And we're all paying a price for it in terms of our health,” says Mathias Basner, an associate professor of sleep and chronobiology in psychiatry at Penn.
In the News
Science
Deciphering a cancer treatment’s dark side
Saar Gill of the Perelman School of Medicine said it would be easier to treat cancer using CAR-T cell therapy without the looming possibility of triggering cytokine release syndrome.
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Rolling Stone
Can melatonin vapes safely help people sleep?
Philip Gehrman of the Perelman School of Medicine commented on the use of melatonin to aid sleep. “There have been quite a few randomized trials showing that melatonin is no better than placebo to help people sleep,” he said.
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The New York Times
Can melatonin vapes safely help people sleep?
Julio Chirinos of the Perelman School of Medicine wrote an editorial to accompany a new study about the effects of marathon running on the heart. “Exercise is great for the entire body, including the arteries,” he said.
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“Academic Minute” (WAMC, Northeast Public Radio)
Jonathan Moreno on bioethics and the transformation of health care in America
PIK Professor Jonathan Moreno discussed the book “Everybody Wants to Go to Heaven but Nobody Wants to Die: Bioethics and the Transformation of Health Care in America,” which he co-authored with President Amy Gutmann.
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The New York Times
The F.D.A. is in trouble. Here’s how to fix it
Steven Joffe of the Perelman School of Medicine spoke about the tensions between groups that want medical products to be proven effective before the F.D.A. approves them for public use and groups that believe patients can make their own decisions once the products pass basic safety testing. “The F.D.A. has been moving in the latter direction under great political and public pressure,” he said.
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