News Archives

Why Is the Helix Such a Popular Shape? Perhaps Because They Are Nature's Space Savers

PHILADELPHIA -- Something about nature loves a helix, the ubiquitous spiral shape taken on by DNA and many other molecules found in the cells of living creatures. The shape is so useful that, while researching the means of creating self-assembling artificial helices, physicists at the University of Pennsylvania believe that they have come across a plausible mathematical reason for why the helical shape is so common. Their findings appear in the Feb. 18 issue of the journal Science.

Penn Alexander Eighth Graders Take Part in Mock Trial as They Get a Taste of Law School at Penn

WHO:Eighth-grade students from The Sadie Tanner Mossell Alexander University of Pennsylvania Partnership School (Penn Alexander) WHAT:"Communiversity Day," a day-long campus visit designed to provide area youth an opportunity to experience college life and see first hand the broad spectrum of activities at the University of PennsylvaniaWHEN:Wednesday, Feb. 16 & Wednesday, Feb. 23Mock trial classes held 11 a.m.-noonCommuniversity Day 9:15 a.m. 2:30 p.m.WHERE:University of Pennsylvania Law SchoolSilverman Hall

Penn to Offer Master's Degree in Urban Spatial Analytics

PHILADELPHIA -- The University of Pennsylvania, through its Penn Institute for Urban Research, has launched a master of urban spatial analytics degree to teach the application of spatial technology to business and public-sector decision making.  

Just in Time for Valentine's Day: Falling in Love in Three Minutes or Less

PHILADELPHIA --  It seems that the heart wants what the heart wants -- and it can figure it out fairly quickly, according to evolutionary psychologists at the University of Pennsylvania.  The researchers studied dating data from 10,526 anonymous participants of HurryDate, a company that organizes "speed dating" sessions, and found rare behavioral data on how people genuinely act in dating situations.  

At Work With...Nikki Cyter

Dalí the dreamer

When she began research on a book about Salvador Dalí Ingrid Schaffner says she was sometimes embarrassed to admit to people what she was working on. Though Dalí may beat even Picasso to the title of best-known-artist ever, his reputation in the art world has never caught up with his fame. The artist’s endless self promotion, his zeal for pop culture and his willingness to caricature himself were, says Schaffner, “all things artists weren’t supposed to do,” and consequently his stock has faltered among the high art cognoscenti.

Ask Benny: Was only half of College Hall renovated?

Dear Benny, I can’t help but notice when I walk by College Hall that one side of the building seems to have been renovated, while the other side of the building does not. The stone on the apparently renovated east façade seems to have been cleaned up; the stone on the west side, meanwhile, looks untouched. Were there renovations performed on one side of College Hall, but not the other?—Curious About College Hall

A scratch-and-sniff Alzheimer’s test?

Richard Doty considers the sense of smell just as important to the human experience as sight or hearing. But he says most other people—even doctors—don’t. “It’s still ignored,” says Doty, director of the Smell and Taste Center in Penn’s School of Medicine. “I don’t think people view it as being very important.”

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Q&A with Ania Loomba

Ania Loomba has always felt there were crucial connections between Shakespearian times and 1970s India. For Loomba, a native of India, exploring issues of race and gender in the Renaissance period made studying the literature “more exciting” and personally resonant, but it wasn’t until Loomba went to England to pursue her Ph.D. and found herself in a country dealing with uncomfortable issues of race that she discovered how relevant her research was.