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Robot-driven Imaging System Opens New Avenues for Discovery
Even those who have never had a CT scan are likely familiar with the process, which often entails a slow journey through a narrow tube. Given that the experience can elicit feelings of claustrophobia in human adults, it’s easy to imagine how complicated it can be to perform the same procedure on a 1,400 pound horse.
Penn’s Jane Willenbring to Study Soil Metals for Geology and Gardeners
At first glance, it might seem that community gardening and beryllium isotopes have little in common.
Penn prof to check for lead during free soil assessment
The recent public health crisis in Flint, Mich., has refocused attention on an issue that likewise plagues Philadelphia: lead contamination. While the main concern in Flint is toxic lead in the water, in Philadelphia, paint from the city’s older buildings is thought to be the primary contributor to lead exposure, which can cause serious health problems, particularly in young children.
A new home for the life sciences
A decade ago, faculty from the departments of Biology and Psychology put together a vision statement describing their wishes to consolidate expertise and students from disparate locations oncampus in one facility, replete with functional, inviting spaces for collaboration and learning.
Old favorites and new twists at Philadelphia Science Festival
Science lovers, rejoice. The Philadelphia Science Festival (PSF) is making a return on Friday, April 22, through Saturday, April 30, and Penn, a sponsor and core collaborator of the event, will be well represented in the festivities.This year marks the sixth annual PSF and includes more than 90 events citywide.
Penn’s Melanie Mariano to Turn Public Libraries Into Hubs of Health Information
This is the third in a series of features introducing the 2016 Penn President’s Engagement Prize winners. Public libraries serve communities in myriad ways, providing places where people gather to read, learn a new language, access the internet, pick up tax forms or apply for jobs.
Explaining the female bias in autoimmunity
Females are at a disadvantage when it comes to susceptibility to lupus and many other autoimmune conditions. Eighty-five percent of lupus patients are women.
Penn astronomer helps NASA devise new tool to find Earth-like planets
By some estimates, there are more than 100 billion stars in the Milky Way galaxy. Like our sun, many of these stars are orbited by planets.Over the last five years, thousands of exoplanet candidates have been detected by NASA’s Kepler satellite, part of a search for other worlds that resemble Earth and may even be hospitable to life.
Penn Chemists Lay Groundwork for Countless New, Cleaner Uses of Methane
Methane is the world’s most abundant hydrocarbon. It’s the major component of natural gas and shale gas and, when burned, is an effective fuel. But it’s also a major contributor to climate change, with 24 times greater potency as a greenhouse gas than carbon dioxide.
Growing Penn Park orchard to become ‘fully functional food forest’
At the southernmost edge of Penn Park, beyond the tennis courts and alongside the railroad tracks, an orchard grows. The first plantings—including fig, plum, pear, blueberry, quince, and elderberry—went in during the fall of 2014.