Family members of intensive care unit (ICU) patients often experience psychological and spiritual distress as they deal with serious illness and potential death. A new paper authored by a national team of experts at the intersection of health and spirituality highlights the critical role of the spiritual care provided by chaplains in supporting family members of ICU patients. "By providing emotional and spiritual support, chaplains can help with medical decisions. That in turn both affects the care the patient receives and what will happen to them in the future. And it also affects the spiritual and psychological well-being of the family long term,” said study lead author Alexia Torkie, M.D., of the Regenstrief Institute and the Indiana University School of Medicine. She added, "Chaplains are particularly good at taking care of people who've been underserved by the healthcare system or might feel excluded by the healthcare system in the past."

Radiation is one of the most effective ways to kill a tumor. But these therapies are indiscriminate, and they can damage healthy tissues. 

Penn Vet and Penn Medicine researchers found that endothelial cells lining the veins in lungs contribute to repair of blood vessels after lung injury.

Higher incomes are often correlated with healthier pregnancies and babies, but is it really the money that matters? Sedimentary rocks that formed 390 million years ago, surprisingly, help provide the answer, at least for those who live above the Marcellus Shale formation, according to a team led by researchers at Penn State.