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  • An ‘electronic nose’ to sniff out COVID-19

    Through a newly funded grant, researchers across the University are developing a device that can rapidly detect COVID-19 based on the disease’s unique odor profile.
    researcher scott zhang
    Postdoc Scott Zhang at work in the Johnson lab. Their current device is more than 90% sensitive and specific for COVID-19, but the researchers are hoping to improve the device’s accuracy through a better understanding of what specific chemicals give patients with COVID-19 a unique odor profile.

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  • Exposure to air pollution worsens Alzheimer’s disease
    Emissions from a power plant.

    Image: Pencho Chukov via Getty Images

    Exposure to air pollution worsens Alzheimer’s disease

    New research from Penn Medicine finds living in areas with high concentration of air pollution is associated with increased buildup of amyloid and tau proteins in the brains of Alzheimer’s patients, accelerating cognitive decline.

    Sep 9, 2025

    Penn physicist Charles Kane to receive the 2026 Lorentz Medal
    Charles Kane

    Charles Kane, Christopher H. Browne Distinguished Professor of Physics at Penn’s School of Arts & Sciences.

    (Image: Brooke Sietinsons)

    Penn physicist Charles Kane to receive the 2026 Lorentz Medal

    Awarded every four years by the Royal Netherlands Academy of Arts and Sciences, the medal honors Kane’s pioneering research on topological insulators.

    Sep 4, 2025