Through
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A complete list of stories featured on Penn Today.
Archive ・ Penn News
PHILADELPHIA -- In-vivo gene therapy successfully restored the immune system in basset pups with X-linked severe combined immunodeficiency, or XSCID, a life-threatening genetic disorder that effectively disables the immune system. Researchers from the University of Pennsylvania School of Veterinary Medicine and the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Disease injected a retrovirus containing a corrective version of the gene responsible for XSCID, an important proof of principle for the technique of "in-vivo" gene therapy.
Archive ・ Penn Current
STAFF Q&A/Twenty years after leaving college to start a family, Isabel Boston took a job at Penn—and soon started the long journey of finishing her degree. “I thought I’d be a fool not to do it.” Ask Isabel Boston what it’s like to go back to college after a 20-year absence—taking Ivy League courses in everything from Medieval music to Latin while also balancing a husband, five kids, and a day job—and she’ll tell you: It’s really hard.
Archive ・ Penn Current
WHO SHE IS: Accounting Clerk, Department of Transportation and Parking YEARS AT PENN: 12. Parker started her Penn career as a temporary employee.
Archive ・ Penn Current
Taking up residence from May 12 through June 5 in the ICEBOX Project Space—a new visual arts gallery in Fishtown—is a collection that includes hand-cut paper mandalas, a light-based installation and, at right, the delicate charcoal work, “Brother, Can You Spare a Dime?” by Phillip Adams. Intrigued? You should be, since this is the work of recent Penn MFA recipients. Work by 19 emerging artists—selected by Institute of Contemporary Art Senior Curator Ingrid Schaffner—is feaured in the show, including painting, video and performance, photographs and sculptures.
Archive ・ Penn Current
We’ve been hearing about the “Postal Lands” for a while now, and finally, next spring, the University will officially acquire the 24 acres of real estate that stretches between the campus and the river and includes the 30th Street Post Office Building and Postal Annex. Taking possession of the Postal Lands is a very big deal, says Executive Vice President Craig Carnaroli, who, with Provost Ron Daniels, heads up the Campus Development Planning Committee.
Archive ・ Penn Current
Beginning in the 1920s, Penn’s female students welcomed in spring with dancing, song and the crowning of a May Queen. The May Day tradition is no longer in practice, but in its heyday, the celebration included a procession, dancing, pantomime—which the women’s student newspaper, Bennett News, called “a whimsical affair”—and, finally, the crowning of the queen whose identity was “cloaked in mystery” until the celebrations of May Day.
Archive ・ Penn Current
Nick Drake was one of the most troubled and most talented songwriters of his generation. He released just three studio albums in his all-too-brief career, none of which sold particularly well, and after battling depression all his life, died of an apparent overdose of antidepressant drugs in 1974. He was 26. Only in the decades since his death has the music world come to appreciate Drake’s genius: Cited as an influence by such varied artists as Lucinda Williams, Peter Buck of R.E.M.
Archive ・ Penn Current
By THE CURRENT STAFF We’re big coffee drinkers here at the Current, but once in a while, waiting in line for our venti cappuccinos we’ll catch sight of tea offerings on the menu board that sound intriguing. And with summer in the offing, we figured some of the iced tea beverages deserved a sip. We went for chai and green tea since they sounded exotic, and while we’re not likely to make the switch from our beloved bean anytime soon, we did get a taste of how the other half drinks. And it’s really not so bad.
Archive ・ Penn Current
When the sparkling new Skirkanich Hall opens next month, it will do more than just give Penn engineers access to world-class lab space. It will also finally give Penn’s stellar bioengineering department a real home—which is something the department, and several of its faculty, hasn’t had for some time. “There is one researcher right now whose office is down at 30th and Market streets,” says Ira Winston, director of facilities for Penn Engineering. “We have some faculty in Hayden, some in Towne, and some don’t have labs at all.”
Archive ・ Penn Current
Pick up the phone Penn’s non-commercial, member-supported radio station WXPN is planning its Spring Fund Drive June 6-12 and needs friendly volunteers. Sign up to answer phones, take donations and provide membership information to callers. Shifts run 3 to 4 hours. Food and drinks are provided. For more information, contact Melissa Brown, volunteer coordinator at 215-746-5457 or go to www.xpn.org/volunteer.php. Crossing disciplines