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Engineering a solution for microplastic pollution

May graduates Sarah Beth Gleeson, Shoshana Weintraub, and Julia Yan will use their President’s Sustainability Prize to create a device for trapping microfibers in laundry machines to reduce ocean microplastic pollution.
Sarah Beth Gleeson, Julia Yan, Sarah Beth Gleeson, and Shoshana Weintraub.
2022 President’s Sustainability Prize winners Julia Yan, Sarah Beth Gleeson, and Shoshana Weintraub.

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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

    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