Skip to Content Skip to Content
  • Science & Technology
  • Penn cosmology team ready to field the largest ever cosmic microwave background camera

    A new study details the inner workings of the Large Aperture Telescope Receiver, the cryogenic camera that will be installed at the Simons Observatory at 17,000 feet in northern Chile.
    people working inside of a big metal column
    The shell of the Large Aperture Telescope Receiver (LATR) arrived to Penn’s campus and was installed in the Devlin High Bay in the summer of 2019. Since then, researchers have been addressing key engineering and technical challenges, which range from holding temperatures at very precise stages, maintaining optical alignment, limiting temperature gradients, and minimizing the time it takes to move between temperatures. 

    Recent Articles

  • More Articles
  • 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

    What stiffening lung tissue reveals about the earliest stages of fibrosis
    Donia Ahmed prepares tissue for imaging.

    Image: Courtesy of Penn Engineering Today

    What stiffening lung tissue reveals about the earliest stages of fibrosis

    A Penn Engineering team has targeted the lung’s extracellular matrix to better understand early fibrosis by triggering the formation of special chemical bonds that increase tissue stiffness in specific locations, mimicking the first physical changes that may lead to lung fibrosis.

    Sep 12, 2025