Skip to Content Skip to Content

Nathi Magubane

Science News Officer
  • nathi@upenn.edu
  • (215) 898-8562
  • A portrait of science writer Nathi Magubane
    Articles from Nathi Magubane
    Delivering a one-two punch to superbugs to fight infections
    Rakesh Krishnan sits at a computer staring at a 3D rendering of a protein.

    Researchers led by César de la Fuente of the Perelman School of Medicine have created new peptides that fight hard-to-treat “superbug” infections by punching holes in bacterial cells and stimulating immune cells to signal for more defenders.

    (Image: Courtesy of Jianing Bai) 

    Delivering a one-two punch to superbugs to fight infections

    Penn researchers create mirror-image molecules that both kill pathogens outright and rally the immune system—an advance aimed at the growing crisis of antimicrobial resistance.

    3 min. read

    Lillian Miller: May grad turned Penn Ph.D.
    Lillian Miller and Irina Marinov

    Lillian Miller (left) graduated as a chemistry and environmental scieces double major in May. This summer, she returns to begin her graduate training in Irina Marinov’s (right), where researchers use big data and computational techniques to make better climate models.

    nocred

    Lillian Miller: May grad turned Penn Ph.D.

    Lillian Miller, a May graduate from the College, will begin graduate studies in the laboratory of Irina Marinov this summer, where she is leveraging big data to tackle ocean and climate-focused research.

    5 min. read

    AI x Science Postdoctoral Fellowship
    Aerial shot of Amy Guttman Hall

    Bhuvnesh Jain of the School of Arts & Sciences has teamed up with PIK University Professor René Vidal of the Perelman School of Medicine and the School of Engineering and Applied Science to create the AI x Science Fellowship offering postdoctoral researchers across the University opportunities to collaborate across disciplines.

    nocred

    AI x Science Postdoctoral Fellowship

    Bhuvnesh Jain and René Vidal have teamed up to create the AI x Science Fellowship, which builds on the thriving postdoctoral program of the Data Driven Discovery Initiative to foster cross-disciplinary collaboration among researchers across the University.

    6 min. read

    The soul of an artist, the mind of a mathematician
    A rainbow-colored swirl.

    Image: Courtesy of Robert Ghrist

    The soul of an artist, the mind of a mathematician

    An artist, author, engineer, mathematician, and mentor, PIK Professor in the School of Arts & Sciences and the School of Engineering and Applied Science Robert Ghrist embraces innovation to enrich each of these roles.

    8 min. read

    National Academy of Sciences elects four from Penn
    Four headshots of Penn Faculty. Top left tile clockwise: Mark Devlin, Katalin Karikó, E. John Wherry III, and Virginia M.Y. Lee

    Four faculty have been elected to the National Academy of Sciences in recognition of their innovative contributions to original scientific research. The newly honored scholars are Mark Devlin (top left) from the School of Arts & Sciences and Katalin Karikó (top right), Virginia M.Y. Lee (bottom left), and E. John Wherry III (bottom right) from the Perelman School of Medicine.

    nocred

    National Academy of Sciences elects four from Penn

    The newly elected members, recognized for their innovative contributions to original research, are Mark Devlin of the School of Arts & Sciences and Katalin Karikó, Virginia Lee, and E. John Wherry III of the Perelman School of Medicine.

    3 min. read

    Penn students develop AI-driven solution to transform senior care
    Nami Lindquist, Melanie Herbert, and Alex Popescu

    Melanie Herbert (center), a fourth-year in the School of Engineering and Applied Science, created Sync Labs—an innovative AI solution that addresses caregiving in senior care. Joined by Nami Lindquist (left) of the Wharton School and Penn Engineering and Alex Popescu of Penn Engineering (right) their technology, which has earned them the 2025 President’s Innovation Prize, allows caregivers to see three times more seniors while providing more personalized care.

    nocred

    Penn students develop AI-driven solution to transform senior care

    Fourth-year students Melanie Herbert, Nami Lindquist, and Alexandra Popescu were awarded the President’s Innovation Prize for Sync Labs, a privacy-centered AI system to address the growing caregiving gap in senior care

    8 min. read

    Armoring CAR T cells to take on cancer
     3D visualization showing a reddish-blue tumor mass with internal vasculature, surrounded by blue CAR T cells and small extracellular vesicles against a dark background.

    Wei Guo of the School of Arts & Sciences and colleagues from the Perelman School of Medicine, School of Veterinary Medicine, and School of Engineering and Applied Science have teamed up to uncover how solid tumors’ complicated microenvironments can manipulate cancer-fighting CAR T cells through extracellular vesicles, causing the engineered CAR T cells to commit fratricide—essentially turning against each other instead of attacking the cancer.

    (Image: iStock / Marcin Klapczynski)

    Armoring CAR T cells to take on cancer

    Wei Guo of the School of Arts & Sciences and colleagues from the Perelman School of Medicine, School of Veterinary Medicine, and School of Engineering and Applied Science have uncovered how solid tumors manipulate cancer-fighting CAR T cells through extracellular vesicles, causing the engineered CAR T cells to commit fratricide—essentially turning against each other instead of attacking the cancer.

    3 min. read

    Penn IUR enters its third decade
    From left: Genie Birch, Judith Rodin, and Susan Wachter

    Housed in Meyerson Hall, the Penn Institute for Urban Research (IUR) is a campus-wide enterprise that draws from the collective wisdom of experts around the Penn and beyond to inform urban development and actions on public policy to support the sustainable growth of metros. Now entering its third decade, President Emerita Judith Rodin and Penn IUR co-directors Eugénie Birch and Susan Wachter reflect on the Institute’s history and impact.

    nocred

    Penn IUR enters its third decade

    The Penn Institute for Urban Research enters its second decade. President emerita Judith Rodin and co-directors Eugénie Birch and Susan Wachter reflect on the Institute’s history and impact.

    10 min. read

    For a better cup of coffee, look to physics
    A kettle and pour-over coffee filter full of coffee grounds.

    (On homepage) 

    (Image: Courtesy of Ernest Park)

    For a better cup of coffee, look to physics

    Researchers from Penn have found new cost-effective ways to make a great cup of pour-over coffee using fewer beans. Their findings could potentially provide insights into similar systems such as waterfalls and surface erosion.

    4 min. read

    Load More