News Archive | Penn Today

colorful rendering of the brain with dots indicating synapses

Scientists identify brain cells that drive wakefulness and resist general anesthetics

A new study that identifies the neurons that promote wakefulness supports a long-debated hypothesis that the brain’s sleep regulation mechanism also regulates its response to general anesthetics.

African American person lying on a hospital bed asleep.

Closing the racial disparity gap in survival after in-hospital cardiac arrest

Despite investments to improve the quality of resuscitation efforts, fewer than 25% of all patients that experience cardiac arrests in hospitals survive to discharge, and survival varies significantly across hospitals and by race.

A person in a suit and button-down shirt sitting on a stairwell landing, smiling. The intricate white stairwell and a brick wall behind it are to the person's right.

A modified game of ‘chicken’ reveals what happens in the brain during decision-making

Research from the Platt Labs found that in rhesus macaques, two regions of the brain mirror those of similar regions in humans, broadening the understanding of what unfolds, neurologically, when people interact and cooperate.

The text of the First Amendment is printed on a granite block across from Independence Hall in Philadelphia.

Whatever happened to the right to petition?

Maggie Blackhawk of the Law School discusses the First Amendment’s right to petition, how the right was exercised historically, what it looks like in its current form, and why it changed.

closeup of below-freezing liquid poured into a vessel.

Penn joins ‘cryo revolution’ by adding Nobel-winning microscope

The Singh Center’s Krios G3i, an electron microscope for studying samples at extremely low temperatures, allows researchers to look at cells, proteins, and nanoparticles like never before.

a cartoon of four researchers one with a notebook, one looking through a microscope, one injecting liquid into a test tube, and one looking at two flasks

Translating groundbreaking scientific discoveries into practical technologies

Amidst the numerous challenges posed by COVID-19, the Penn Center for Innovation has continued to facilitate impactful innovations created at Penn, fostering partnerships and helping to realize new products and businesses.

Crowd of graduates wearing mortarboards walking in procession at commencement.

Black borrowers are hit hardest by the student debt crisis

Released by the NAACP, a report by Penn GSE’s Jalil Mustaffa Bishop argues for the cancellation of student debt and reinvesting in institutions that serve the most Black students.

Neon microscopic rendering of a bone joint.

Potential cellular target for eliminating bone breakdown in osteoporosis found

New research has discovered a cell type that governs the way bones form and maintain themselves, opening up a potential target for future therapies for bone disorders like osteoporosis.

A person sitting in front of a computer and a machine that tests vision.

One step closer to a clinical fix for the side effects of monovision

Monovision counters the deterioration of the ability to see up close but also causes dramatic visual distortions. New research confirms that a solution that successfully works with trial lenses—the special lenses used by eye doctors—also succeeds with contact lenses.

Two people standing beside a Mongolian ger on a hill with Ulaanbaatar in the background.

Gers and the grid: Combatting air pollution in Mongolia

The Center for Environmental Building and Design (CEBD) at The Weitzman School partnered with Mongolian nonprofit GerHub to test out ways of making ger living more energy efficient to reduce air pollution and improve respiratory conditions in Ulaanbaatar.

Filters