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Science & Technology
Bats and COVID
A new study from Penn Vet's New Bolton Center tests the guano of North American bats currently in Pennsylvania wildlife rehabilitation centers for the presence of COVID-19.
Navigating cytokine storms
Pairing their expertise, Nilam Mangalmurti of the Perelman School of Medicine and Christopher Hunter of the School of Veterinary Medicine have been working to understand the protective and harmful aspects of the immune response, including in COVID-19.
Glowing dye may aid in eliminating cancer
In dogs with mammary tumors, researchers from the School of Veterinary Medicine and Perelman School of Medicine used a substance that glows under near-infrared light to illuminate cancer.
Reviving ‘old school’ chemistry to tackle the energy crisis
In the lab of Neil Tomson, chemists tackle the complex challenges of catalysis while gaining firsthand experience in science outreach and communication.
Engineering’s Stephanie Weirich designs tools for a safer world
Stephanie Weirich, ENIAC President’s Distinguished Professor in Computer and Information Science, aims to make software systems more reliable, maintainable, and secure.
Engineering’s Firooz Aflatouni’s electronic-photonic innovations
Firooz Aflatouni has built his career on designing clever combinations of electronic and photonic technology with applications from laser-based 3D imaging, to microwave “cameras.”
300-million-year-old fish resembles a sturgeon but took a different evolutionary path
Tanyrhinichthys mcallisteri recasts the notion of what it means to be a “primitive” vertebrate, according to paleontologists Lauren Sallan and Jack Stack.
Novel ways to store data in light waves
A pair of studies from Penn Engineering provides new ways to increase information density in optical communications, paving the way for a massive increase in the bandwidth of fiber optic networks.
Additional challenges in bringing research online
As research on campus slowly restarts, those whose work requires field surveys, large-scale collaborations, or travel face additional challenges in bringing their research back online.
What do ‘Bohemian Rhapsody,’ ‘Macbeth,’ and a list of Facebook friends all have in common?
To an English scholar or avid reader, the Shakespeare Canon represents some of the greatest literary works of the English language. To a network scientist, Shakespeare’s 37 plays and the 884,421 words they contain also represent a massively complex communication network.
In the News
Can Biden’s climate plan spark cooperation in Pa.? Some see possible common ground in jobs, infrastructure
Oscar Serpell of the Kleinman Center on Energy Policy in Stuart Weitzman School of Design spoke about President-elect Joseph Biden’s plan to transition the country to renewable energy. “The business case has never been stronger, and I think it will continue to get stronger every single year,” Serpell said.
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Facebook keeps data secret, letting conservative bias claims persist
PIK Professor Duncan Watts is working with Facebook to analyze its content for bias. "Mostly it's mainstream content," he said. "If anything, there is a bias in favor of conservative content."
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Your dog may love you, but doesn't love the sight of your face, study finds
Carlo Siracusa of the School of Veterinary Medicine commented on a study that found dogs were more stimulated by seeing other dogs than people. “Mother Nature will not invest in something that is not relevant to survival, either in dog-to-dog or even wolf-to-wolf interactions,” he said. “They use other ways of communicating such as ear position—which can be seen from the front and from behind. The ear position will tell about the mood of the dog. We humans don’t move our ears.”
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University of Pennsylvania program training dogs to sniff out spotted lanternfly eggs
Jennifer Essler, a postdoc in the School of Veterinary Medicine, spoke about a new program that trains dogs to detect the presence of spotted lanternfly eggs. “For the dogs, it’s a game, it’s like anything else. They don’t know that they are saving the planet in any way,” she said.
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Drone maker hurt by US-China rift, opening door to US rivals
Dean Vijay Kumar of the School of Engineering and Applied Science spoke about the challenges of using drones for commercial purposes and about American perceptions of DJI, a China-based drone manufacturer.
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Pandemic exposes broadband divide
Christopher Yoo of the Law School spoke about the importance of expanding broadband infrastructure in the U.S. “Investing in infrastructure would be a terrific way to support the economy. It not only spends money but also lays the foundation for future growth and future jobs,” he said.
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What you need to know about coronavirus on Wednesday, September 2
Kenneth Foster of the School of Engineering and Applied Science debunked conspiracy theories that link 5G networks and radio frequencies to the spread of COVID-19. "There's nothing different in terms of exposure," he said.
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Elon Musk to show off working brain-hacking device
Ari Benjamin, a doctoral student in the School of Engineering and Applied Science, said the biggest stumbling block for brain-to-machine interface technology is the complexity of the human brain. "Once they have the recordings, Neuralink will need to decode them and will someday hit the barrier that is our lack of basic understanding of how the brain works, no matter how many neurons they record from,” he said. "Decoding goals and movement plans is hard when you don't understand the neural code in which those things are communicated."
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Does your cat actually hate you?
Carlo Siracusa of the School of Veterinary Medicine spoke about how cats interact with their owners. “Humans are very physical in their relationships—they want to hold their cat, hug their cat, etc. This can be terrible for any animal that doesn’t enjoy your presence, but it’s even worse for cats, because the way in which cats express their preferences is through proximity,” he said.
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National Science Foundation invests $104 million to launch four new engineering research centers
Cherie Kagan of the School of Engineering and Applied Science spoke about the Penn-led IoT4Ag center’s work: “We need new technology to meet the challenges of a world with a growing population and changing climate. We simply need to produce more crops for every drop of water or Joule of energy we’re currently using to realize a food, energy and water-secure future.”
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