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Designing public institutions that foster cooperation
wooden blocks with a person icon shown connected by a web

Designing public institutions that foster cooperation

People are more likely to cooperate with those they see as “good.” Using a mathematical model, School of Arts & Sciences researchers found it’s possible to design systems that assess and broadcast participants’ reputations, leading to high levels of cooperation and adherence.

Katherine Unger Baillie

Pinpointing how cancer cells turn aggressive
Concentric circles with different colors inside representing cancer cell lineages

Pinpointing how cancer cells turn aggressive

Penn scientists have developed a new method for tracing the lineage and gene expression patterns of metastatic cancer at the single-cell level.

Katherine Unger Baillie

Climate change-resistant corals could provide lifeline to battered reefs
Scuba diver looks at coral growing on mats underwater

Penn biologist Katie Barott and colleagues found that corals maintain their ability to resist bleaching even when transplanted to a new reef. (Image: S. Matsuda)

Climate change-resistant corals could provide lifeline to battered reefs

Corals that withstood a severe bleaching event and were transplanted to a different reef maintained their resilient qualities, according to a new study led by Katie Barott of the School of Arts & Sciences.

Katherine Unger Baillie

Black in Marine Science is building a community
Camille Gaynus in scuba gear in the water with mountains in the background

A dive trip in Indonesia cemented Camille Gaynus’s desire to pursue a career in marine biology. Her hope is that Black in Marine Science helps normalize the idea of Black people pursuing their interest in the field. (Image: Courtesy of Camille Gaynus)

Black in Marine Science is building a community

Postdoc Camille Gaynus of the School of Arts & Sciences and colleagues formed a nonprofit dedicated to lifting up Black voices in marine science and inspiring a new generation to follow their curiosity about the ocean.

Katherine Unger Baillie

Blocking viruses’ exit strategy
A fluorescent microscopic image of a cell labeled in orange with virus particles emerging from it labeled green.

Blocking viruses’ exit strategy

Tests of a new antiviral that aims to prevent the deadly Marburg virus from spreading in the body show promise, according to a study led by School of Veterinary Medicine researchers.

Katherine Unger Baillie

First-year research is hands-on from the start
Student Amy Fernandez in a lab

First-year research is hands-on from the start

With the Penn Freshmen Exposure to Research in Biological Science program, students from communities that are underrepresented in STEM can jump-start their scientific careers with mentoring and opportunities to pursue original research.

Katherine Unger Baillie

The origin of reproductive organs
Four images labeled embryonic day showing the development of the precursors to sexual organs

The origin of reproductive organs

A new study led by the School of Veterinary Medicine’s Kotaro Sasaki elucidates the early biological processes involved in the development of ovaries and testes.

Katherine Unger Baillie

Four Penn faculty elected to the National Academy of Sciences
head shots of Marisa Bartolomei, M. Celeste Simon, Michael Kearns, and Diana Mutz

Four Penn faculty elected to the National Academy of Sciences

The new members of the Academy, honored scholars recognized for their unique and ongoing contributions to original research, include researchers from the Perelman School of Medicine, School of Engineering and Applied Science, and Annenberg School for Communication.

Erica K. Brockmeier

How humans evolved a super-high cooling capacity
Person wiping sweat from their brow with a towel under the sun.

How humans evolved a super-high cooling capacity

The higher density of sweat glands in humans is due, to a great extent, to accumulated changes in a regulatory region of DNA that drives the expression of a sweat gland-building gene, explaining why humans are the sweatiest of the Great Apes.

From Penn Medicine News