The human genome encodes roughly 20,000 genes, only a few thousand more than fruit flies. The complexity of the human body, therefore, comes from far more than just the sequence of nucleotides that comprise our DNA, it arises from modifications that occur at the level of gene, RNA and protein.
It has been well-documented that the human-animal connection provides a powerful healing bond. This bond will be evidenced at the third annual “Best Friends Bash” on Wednesday, July 22, 2015, as craniofacial patients from The Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia (CHOP) meet eight canines who have undergone similar craniofacial procedures or overcome other health challenges. The event coincides with National Cleft & Craniofacial Awareness & Prevention Month.
Cancer cells defy the rules by which normal cells abide. They can divide without cease, invade distant tissues and consume glucose at abnormal rates.
In the most severe form of male infertility, men do not make any measurable levels of sperm. This condition, called azoospermia, affects approximately 1 percent of the male population and is responsible for about a sixth of cases of male infertility.
Summertime is great for eating ice cream, but the heat and humidity can be dangerous for dairy cows, lowering milk production and threatening their health, said Dr. Meggan Hain, Staff Veterinarian at Penn Vet’s Marshak Dairy at New Bolton Center.
Summer is a great time to enjoy your horse, but summer heat can be dangerous for horses, resulting in dehydration, lethargy, and general malaise. Severe heat stress may cause diarrhea, or even colic. Following these 10 tips and using common sense will help keep you and your horse safe and comfortable during the hot days ahead.
For diabetics, a quick prick of the finger can give information about their blood glucose levels, guiding them in whether to have a snack or inject a dose of insulin. Point-of-care glucose meters, or glucometers, are also used in the veterinary world to monitor cats and dogs with diabetes or pets hospitalized for other reasons. In both cases, the device’s readout can literally be a matter of life and death.
The University of Pennsylvania School of Veterinary Medicine’s Olena Jacenko, Professor of Biochemistry, has earned the University’s prestigious Christian R. and Mary F. Lindback Award for Distinguished Teaching. Dr. Jacenko is one of eight standing Penn faculty to earn the award this spring.
The University of Pennsylvania’s School of Veterinary Medicine (Penn Vet) announces the appointment of Mary A. Bryant, VMD, to the newly created position of Executive Director of the Office of Students.
Clients and pets alike can enjoy the newly renovated lobby at Penn Vet’s Ryan Hospital. Andrew and Mindy Heyer generously funded the $1.5 million, six-month renovation project. New features include:
Like a beloved pair of jeans, human DNA accumulates damage over time, and older people’s bodies can’t repair it as well. Many scientists believe a build up of damage can cause cells to enter an irreversible dormant state known as senescence. Cellular senescence is believed to be responsible for some of the telltale signs of aging, such as weakened bones, less resilient skin and slow-downs in organ function.
The brain is a privileged organ in the body. So vital to life, the brain is protected from alterations elsewhere in the body by a highly regulated gateway known as the blood-brain barrier, which allows only selected molecules to pass through.
Penn Vet Dean Joan Hendricks announced today the selection of two Pennsylvania students as recipients of the inaugural Commonwealth One Health Scholarship. Recognizing the students’ potential to the School, to the veterinary profession, and to Pennsylvania agriculture, the scholarships provide full tuition subsidy for four years at Penn Vet, Pennsylvania’s only veterinary school.
Benson (Ben) Bennett Martin, Jr., VMD, of Kennett Square, PA, died March 18, 2015, at the age of 68, after a long illness.
A generous gift from the Richard Lichter Charity for Dogs is helping to save the lives of shelter dogs in need of specialized medical care. Through the Shelter Dog Specialty Medical Treatment Project, experts at Penn Vet will provide life-saving, specialty care to dogs in partnering shelters that are at risk for euthanasia. The dogs will be selected through the Penn Vet Shelter Animal Medicine Program and treated at Penn Vet’s Ryan Hospital.
Researchers are one step closer to unraveling the extraordinarily complex series of processes that lead to an event crucial to human reproduction: the creation of sperm.
In recognition of National Kidney Month in March, Penn Vet’s Ryan Hospital reminds pet owners that animals can suffer from a range of kidney ailments, including kidney failure, toxicity, and infection. Penn Vet’s Ryan Hospital is the nation’s only academic veterinary hospital offering comprehensive services and certified specialists in urologic and kidney care for companion animals.
To many, March Madness means basketball, but at Penn Vet’s New Bolton Center, it means an opportunity for soon-to-be farm animal veterinarians to put their skills to work before graduation.
Niemann Pick Disease type C, or NPC, is a disease most people have never heard of, affecting just one person in 150,000. Yet the disease is a devastating one. Frequently diagnosed in children in their elementary school years, sufferers usually die by the time they’re 20. The disease is sometimes referred to as “childhood Alzheimer’s” because of the progressive mental and physical decline seen in the children it afflicts.
If you were about to enter a crowded subway during flu season, packed with people sneezing and coughing, wouldn’t it be helpful if your immune system recognized the potentially risky situation and bolstered its defenses upon stepping into the train?