10.21
Health Sciences
Using statistics to uncover the truth about individual cells
Researchers at Penn have developed a better method for interpreting data from single-cell RNA sequencing technologies.
Correcting a blind spot
A groundbreaking genetic study seeks to transform the prevention and treatment of glaucoma while reversing historical racial disparities in who suffers from the disease, and who benefits from such research.
New therapeutic target for slowing the spread of flu virus
Understanding influenza virus-host interactions point to potential new targets for flu treatments.
Governor Ed Rendell ‘myth-busts’ Parkinson’s
Former governor Edward G. Rendell’s announcement that he has Parkinson’s disease comes with a message of optimism—new therapies coupled with leading research have changed what a current diagnosis can mean.
How police killings of black Americans affect communities
Black Americans are nearly three times more likely to be killed by police than their white counterparts, with even larger disparities among those who are unarmed. The trend is also harming the mental health of the black community.
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
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.
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.
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.
In the News
Philadelphia Inquirer
Depression often goes undiagnosed. Researchers are turning to Facebook to change that
Researchers from the Perelman School of Medicine co-authored a study on social media and mental illness. “Depression is a really debilitating disease and we have treatments that can help people,” said Raina Merchant. “We want to think of new ways to get people resources and identification for depression earlier.”
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CNN
Smoking featured in half of hip-hop videos, study finds
The Annenberg Public Policy Center’s Dan Romer offered commentary on a study of smoking in music videos. He noted that the study didn’t differentiate between marijuana and tobacco products or consider the role of product placement.
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Philadelphia Inquirer
Brown fat could help fight obesity. This Penn scientist is looking to harness its power
Patrick Seale of the Perelman School of Medicine discussed differing types of human fat: “white fat,” which stores energy, and “brown fat,” which burns it. Seale was recently awarded the Richard E. Weitzman Outstanding Early Career Investigator Award for his research on the subject.
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Time
How scientists are treating breast cancer using the immune system
The Abramson Cancer Center’s Robert Vonderheide described challenges in treating breast cancer. Most cases, he said, “fit into a category we call ‘cold’ immunological tumors, meaning the tumor has the ability to either exclude the immune system or hide from it altogether. That kind of cancer isn’t easily treated with current immunotherapies.”
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Philadelphia Inquirer
Is blackout drinking the same as passing out from alcohol? A Penn psychologist explains
The Perelman School of Medicine’s Reagan Wetherill discussed common misconceptions about alcohol-related blackouts. People in a blackout are “conscious and interacting with their environment,” she said. But their brains are “not creating memories” due to alcohol’s impact on the hippocampus.
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