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Q&A
The chemistry behind fireworks
A Q&A with inorganic chemist Eric Schelter about the chemical reactions that create explosive displays and how different metals are used to create bright and brilliant colors.
Mary Frances Berry on the 55th anniversary of the Civil Rights Act of 1964
Africana Studies professor Mary Frances Berry discusses the history of civil rights legislation, and where the 1964 bill fits in.
The state of Alzheimer’s research at Penn
The Penn Memory Center’s Sanjeev Vaishnavi discusses the progress and setbacks made in Alzheimer’s research in the past five years.
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.
Why do Achilles ruptures take so long to heal?
Kathryn O’Connor, an assistant professor of clinical orthopaedic surgery at the Perelman School of Medicine, gives the ins and outs of Achilles tears.
The science behind Spider-Man’s superpowers
A Q&A with biomaterials engineer Shu Yang about the real-life technologies and research that could allow people to climb up walls and synthesize their own superstrong spider silk.
Toxins from the tap
In Pennsylvania and hundreds of other locations around the country, manmade chemicals known as PFAS have been found in drinking water. Howard Neukrug discusses the potential harm, how local and federal agencies are responding, and the many related questions that remain unanswered.
Lamentations for Sudan
Sudanese scholar Ali Ali-Dinar, a senior lecturer in the Department of Africana Studies, discusses the ongoing uprising in the East African country and the Sudan massacre.
Why is it so difficult to sleep when it’s hot?
Philip Gehrman of the Penn Sleep Center offers an explanation—and explores some other recent questions posed by sleep scholars.
30 years after Tiananmen Square, a changed China largely ignores the milestone
Political scientist Avery Goldstein discusses the mood in Beijing this week, and how the regime has suppressed the history of the crackdown.
In the News
Former Penn president Judith Rodin on the changing relationship between business and universities
In a Q&A, former Penn President Judith Rodin discusses her current role advising the Bellwether District, which seeks to reinvent two square miles of former oil refineries in South and Southwest Philly, and the rapid changes in business-academic relations throughout her career.
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Life is not a series of linear stages defined by age: Mauro F Guillen
In a Q&A, Mauro F. Guillén of the Wharton School discusses his latest book, “The Perennials,” which outlines the shaping of a post-generational society and its implications for businesses, governments, and society at large.
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The Biden administration is trying to make it easier to convert offices to apartments post-pandemic
In a Q&A, Vincent Reina of the Weitzman School of Design discusses a new White House initiative to incentivize commercial-to-residential conversion projects, especially as the office market continues to struggle.
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Lab tests and scans interpreted by AI? These Penn doctors are researching the good—and bad—ways to use AI in health care
In a Q&A, Samiran Mukherjee of the Perelman School of Medicine discusses the potential ways that AI can benefit health care professionals and patients.
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A CHOP pediatrician shares how she talks to patients—and her own kids—about pedestrian safety
In a Q&A, Katie Lockwood of the Perelman School of Medicine explains when and how to teach children about pedestrian safety.
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Oil demand growth could near zero globally by 2028—fossil fuel subsidies are a hidden problem in the green energy transition
In a Q&A, Arthur van Benthem of the Wharton School discusses how investors are measuring and managing climate risks in their portfolios.
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