Erynn Johnson and Aja Carter both earned their doctoral degrees in paleontology from Penn, employing pioneering techniques, such as 3D printing to replicate the forms of ancient creatures. In a new publication, they share advice for attracting and retaining students and trainees from underrepresented groups to paleontology.
Mentorship strategies to boost diversity in paleontology
Drawing on research as well as their experiences as women of color in paleontology, Aja Carter and Erynn Johnson, who earned doctoral degrees from Penn, coauthored a paper offering advice for making the field more inclusive.
The Quad elm cut an imposing figure, shown here in the spring of 2021, before leaf out. The space will be replanted with three native white oaks at a later date. (Image: Eric Sucar/University Communications)
Goodbye to an iconic tree
More than a century old, the American elm located in the heart of the Quadrangle residences has been ailing and is due to be removed the week of July 25. The site will be replanted at a later date with three native white oaks.
hile free-swimming microrobots have been explored as a way to precisely deliver therapeutics within a blood vessel, they can disperse in the strong flows, failing to reach their target at high enough concentrations. In contrast, microrobots propelled along an artificial microtubule, developed by physicist Arnold Mathijssen and colleagues, can be transported precisely, even working against the current. (Image: Courtesy of Arnold Mathijssen/Nature Machine Intelligence)
Inspired by nature, artificial microtubules can work against a current to transport tiny cargoes
Technology developed by Arnold Mathijssen of the School of Arts & Sciences and colleagues could one day clear blockages in blood vessels or precisely target chemotherapy drugs to a tumor.
Grappling with a watershed’s uncertain environmental future
Artists supported by the Penn Program in Environmental Humanities created tools for navigating unpredictable ecological challenges, then brought them to life in a series of public workshops at the Independence Seaport Museum.
Acollaborative team developed an alginate-based hydrogel system that mimics the viscoelasticity of the natural extracellular matrix in bone marrow. By tweaking the balance between elastic and viscous properties in these artificial ECMs, they could recapitulate the viscoelasticity of healthy and scarred fibrotic bone marrow, and study the effects on human monocytes placed into these artificial ECMs. (Image: Adam Graham/Harvard CNS/Wyss Institute at Harvard University)
Deconstructing the mechanics of bone marrow disease
A new understanding of how mechanical features of bone marrow affect resident immune cells in a fibrotic cancer points to future therapeutic strategies for cancers and fibrotic diseases.
Members of The Philadelphia Orchestra, including Carol Jantsch, principal tuba player, took part in a study led by Penn scientists Paulo Arratia and Douglas Jerolmack. Their investigation examined the aerosols professional musicians generate as they play. (Image: Courtesy of Paulo Arratia)
Music-making and the flow of aerosols
If simply breathing can spread the SARS-CoV-2 virus to others nearby, what about blowing into a tuba? Researchers from the School of Engineering the School of Arts & Sciences used fluid mechanics to study the movement of aerosols generated by musicians.
Six students from across the University presented their vision of an airport equipped with carbon-capturing technology and an electrified vehicle fleet at a NASA competition, garnering the “Most Intriguing Concept” award.
Shapeshifting microrobots can brush and floss teeth
In a proof-of-concept study, researchers from the School of Dental Medicine and School of Engineering and Applied Science shows that a hands-free system could effectively automate the treatment and removal of tooth-decay-causing bacteria and dental plaque.
With the decision in West Virginia v. the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, the Supreme Court ruled to limit the EPA’s capacity to regulate power plant emissions under the Clean Air Act. The move hamstrings efforts by the federal government to regulate a major contributor to climate change.
The Supreme Court restricts the EPA’s power to curb climate change
Shelley Welton, a new faculty member with Penn Carey Law and the Kleinman Center for Energy Policy, calls the decision “devastating,” even if expected. She explains the ruling and its implications for action on climate change.
When the enzyme DOT1L is not functional, spermatogonial stem cells become exhausted, leading to a failure of sperm cell development. This crucial role for DOT1L places it in rarefied company as one of just a handful of known stem cell self-renewal factors, a Penn Vet team found. (Image: Courtesy of Jeremy Wang)
A newly identified stem cell regulator enables lifelong sperm production
Research led by Jeremy Wang of the School of Veterinary Medicine has discovered that the enzyme DOT1L, a stem cell renewal factor, is essential for mice to produce sperm throughout their adult lives.
