Thanks to Temple's "Get REAL - Regional Education Assisting Life Long Learning" project, bookmobiles and libraries across Pennsylvania will receive magnification technologies to make reading easier for people who are blind or partially sighted. The project, sponsored by Temple's Institute on Disabilities, provides bookmobiles with portable video magnifiers and trains staff members to assist with the equipment. Libraries receive additional equipment, including video magnifiers, computers with specialized hardware such as high-contrast keyboards and "text-to-speech" screen reading programs.

In recent months, researchers in Philadelphia and beyond have reported success using gene therapy to treat cardiac problems including heart failure, hardened arteries and atrial fibrillation. Although these successes occurred in animal models — with results in humans being inconclusive, researchers believe the field is close to a breakthrough. "I think cardiac gene therapy has great promise," said Steven Houser, director of the Independence Blue Cross Cardiovascular Research Center at Temple's School of Medicine. "I think you'll see lots of things over the next few years."