News Archives

Karen Kelley

Feeling tense? Sweat it out

The next time you’re feeling tense, skip the hot bubble bath and instead head straight for the nearest sweaty male. New research from George Preti and Charles Wysocki, adjunct professors in the Departments of Dermatology and Animal Biology respectively, has shown that women who sniff male underarm secretions feel more relaxed and less tense. Their findings, which will appear in a forthcoming issue of Biology of Reproduction, also showed that the length and timing of a woman’s menstrual cycle are altered by a whiff of that smelly stuff.

Hoard of the Rings

It’s difficult generating excitement for the Oscars here at Penn—at least that’s the impression we got when we asked around. Many of you didn’t even know who was being nominated this year, that is, unless you were a Tolkien fan. It’s clear as day to those folks who deserves to go home with the golden man. NANCY WHITFIELDAssistant, Political Science“I only vote for anything that’s ‘Lord of the Rings’… I just saw ‘My Big Fat Greek Wedding’ this weekend. It was the funniest movie! I think it had a great script.”

Richard Swett to Visit Penn's Graduate School of Fine Arts

WHO: Richard N. SwettWHAT: A lecture on "The Architecture of Trust" as part of the GSFA Public Lecture Series WHEN: March 24 at 6 p.m.WHERE: Room B-1, Meyerson Hall, 210 S. 34th St.

Pheromones in Male Perspiration Reduce Women's Tension, Alter Hormone Response that Regulates Menstrual Cycle

PHILADELPHIA – Scientists at the University of Pennsylvania and the Monell Chemical Senses Center in Philadelphia have found that exposure to male perspiration has marked psychological and physiological effects on women: It can brighten women's moods, reducing tension and increasing relaxation, and also has a direct effect on the release of luteinizing hormone, which affects the length and timing of the menstrual cycle.The results will be published in June in the journal Biology of Reproduction and currently appear on the journal's Web site.

Penn Professor Receives Fulbright Grant to Australia

PHILADELPHIA -- Brian Sutton-Smith, professor emeritus in the University of Pennsylvania's Graduate School of Education, has received a Fulbright Senior Specialists grant to lecture and consult for two weeks at the Australian Centre of the University of Melbourne and also at the Museum Victoria. Sutton-Smith is a child-development expert and directed a child culture group during his tenure at Penn. His research interests include play history and the cross-cultural study of play, as well as psychology, education and folklore.

Marjorie K. Jeffcoat, DMD, Named Dean of Penn's School of Dental Medicine

PHILADELPHIA – Marjorie K. Jeffcoat, DMD, award-winning dental researcher, professor and administrator at the University of Alabama School of Dentistry, has been named dean of the School of Dental Medicine at the University of Pennsylvania, Penn President Judith Rodin announced. She will assume her new position this summer.

Benjamin Nathans Wins Koret Jewish Book Award

PHILADELPHIA -- A University of Pennsylvania history professor has taken the top prize in the history category of the fifth annual Koret Jewish Book Awards. Benjamin Nathans was honored for "Beyond the Pale: The Jewish Encounter with Late Imperial Russia." The awards highlight the best new English-language Jewish books and their authors.

Architectural Conservation Laboratory: Preserving the Past for the Future

PHILADELPHIA -- What do the Mesa Verde cliff dwellings, medieval Cairo, the Second Bank of the United States and the Creole cemeteries of New Orleans all have in common? The answer is Frank Matero, an associate professor of architecture at the University of Pennsylvania's Graduate School of Fine Arts.

Penn Study: Church-State Separation Not Breached When Faith-Based Groups Work with Government

PHILADELPHIA -- Faith-based organizations assisting at-risk children work closely with government agencies without raising First Amendment separation of church and state concerns, according to a new study from the Center for Research on Religion and Urban Civil Society at the University of Pennsylvania. "Churches, Charity and Children: How Religious Organizations Are Reaching America's At-Risk Kids" describes in detail a qualitative study of faith-based organizations that consider faith commitment an essential part of their effectiveness with youth.