Public Health | Penn Today

Tearing down abandoned buildings may help lower gun violence, Detroit study shows

Eugenia South of the Perelman School of Medicine weighed in on a study that linked the demolition of abandoned buildings in Detroit to a decline in gun violence, saying that additional factors may also have contributed to the drop. “Perhaps the areas that received demolitions has stronger city council advocacy, which would mean they likely had other benefits and services that could be responsible for violence reduction, not the demolitions themselves,” she said.

The biggest source of salmonella outbreaks? It's clucking in U.S. backyards

Sherrill Davison of the School of Veterinary Medicine spoke about the increasing popularity of backyard chicken rearing in spite of the possibility of salmonella infections. “There are very simple steps to take to reduce the risk,” she said. “What I do is talk about how to house the birds—the key is to keep things clean and dry—and after you work in the conveyer area, wash up so you don't bring anything inside the house.”

A person sitting in front of a computer and a machine that tests vision.

When a fix for one vision problem causes another

Aging diminishes the ability of the eyes to focus up close. New Penn research reports that monovision, a common prescription lens correction to mitigate this issue, can cause dramatic misperceptions of depth and 3D direction for objects in motion.

Front facade of Hahnemann Hospital with large murals of patients standing and sitting and in wheelchairs and a toddler.

Why are U.S. hospitals closing?

Wharton’s Lawton Burns discusses the closure of Philadelphia’s Hahnemann University Hospital and the trend of medical facilities shuttering nationwide.

child looking at shoulder while parent sprays sunscreen on.

Further testing on sunscreen is needed. That’s no reason to avoid it

Following a study on active ingredients in sunscreen, the takeaway is: Wear it. Avobenzone, which was found to be absorbed into the bloodstream, is not ‘not safe,’ says dermatology’s Bruce Bod.

Four smiling students posing by a blue container with a level on top of it

Relieving water scarcity, one home at a time

Due to a rapidly depleting underground aquifer, many residents of Mexico City are left with little-to-no easily accessible clean water for hours or days at a time. This summer, members of the Penn chapter of Isla Urbana helped install rainwater harvesting and filtration systems to provide residents of the Mexican capital with clean water year-round.

A crowd of people on an outdoor staircase in France

Q&A

A conversation about second-generation immigrants and mortality

In a Q&A, Penn demographer Michel Guillot discusses recent work showing that male children of immigrants from Algeria, Morocco, and Tunisia have a mortality rate nearly double that of the native population in France.

Young child outside in sunlight holding a ball and using an asthma inhaler

Managing asthma amid the summer heat and dips in air quality

For people with asthma, effective treatment plans can help patients better manage their condition and prevent complications. However, a variety of factors, like increased exposure to poor air quality, can make life more challenging.

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