Health

a head of lettuce on a colorful background

Insulin grown in lettuce can be taken orally

New synthetic insulin harvested from lettuce plants can be made cheaply, taken orally, and transported at room temperature.

Kristin Houser

Brain

Cancer med appears to prevent brain aneurysms

Japanese researchers have discovered that the cancer drug sunitinib can prevent the formation of brain aneurysms in mice.

Kristin Houser

“Nature’s own Ozempic” or berberine is all over social media

Does berberine work as well as Ozempic to help people lose weight? Social media seems to think so, but it’s not likely.

Rebecca Roubin and Nial Wheate and Tina Hinton

Color-changing gold tattoo can monitor your health

Researchers have found a way to use gold nanoparticles to help diagnose medical problems by embedding them in an invisible tattoo.

Teresa Carey

A modified herpes virus can fight brain cancer in children

In a small clinical trial, using herpes viruses modified to only infect tumors — oncolytic virus therapy — more than doubled the life expectancy of children with aggressive brain tumors.

B. David Zarley

Inhaled asthma drug accelerates COVID-19 recovery at home

Budesonide — a cheap, inhaled asthma drug that can be self-administered — appears to shorten at-risk COVID-19 patients’ recovery times.

Kristin Houser

Can a blood test help diagnose depression?

An objective blood test could help provide a clearer understanding of the patient’s mental health.

Amanda Winkler

Phone cameras can now measure your pulse and breathing

A team of researchers has developed an algorithm to measure pulse and respiration rate during a telehealth appointment using your device’s camera.

B. David Zarley

New oral insulin tech replaces needles with nanoparticles

If the success of a new oral insulin delivery system in rats translates to people, it could entice more diabetics to pursue insulin therapy.

Kristin Houser

Game triggers auditory hallucinations in mice and people

An experimental game that triggers auditory hallucinations in both mice and humans could lead to new treatments for schizophrenia.

Kristin Houser

New approach for mRNA HIV vaccine passes first human trial

There is currently no HIV vaccine, but a new technique which produced specific immunity cells in humans may pave the way to one.

B. David Zarley

Penn scientists correct genetic blindness with a single injection into the eye

Antisense oligonucleotide therapy uses small molecules to alter RNA. Researchers have now used those molecules to alleviate a genetic form of blindness.

B. David Zarley

Nobel prize-winning chemist helps invent synthetic mucus

Mucins, the long proteins in mucus, have an array of bacteria-fighting properties. These artificial mucins can act like the real thing.

B. David Zarley

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