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Nathi Magubane

Science News Officer
  • nathi@upenn.edu
  • (215) 898-8562
  • A portrait of science writer Nathi Magubane
    Articles from Nathi Magubane
    Four from Penn receive Kaufman Foundation grants

    Four from Penn receive Kaufman Foundation grants

    Penn researchers will receive two of four grants awarded this year by the Charles E. Kaufman Foundation in support of interdisciplinary collaboration aimed at developing novel approaches to fundamental scientific questions.
    A serendipitous find leads to lifesaving discoveries
    Fluorescent imaging of glioblastoma under a microscope.

    Image: Kyosuke Shishikura

    A serendipitous find leads to lifesaving discoveries

    A Penn-led team has revealed a how hydralazine, one of the world’s oldest blood pressure drugs and a mainstay treatment for preeclampsia, works at the molecular level. In doing so, they made a surprising discovery—it can also halt the growth of aggressive brain tumors.

    3 min. read

    A massive chunk of ice, a new laser, and new information on sea-level rise
    A researcher walking through a glacier in Greenland.

    nocred

    A massive chunk of ice, a new laser, and new information on sea-level rise

    For nearly a decade, Leigh Stearns and collaborators aimed a laser scanner system at Greenland’s Helheim Glacier. Their long-running survey reveals that Helheim’s massive calving events don’t behave the way scientists once thought, reframing how ice loss contributes to sea-level rise.

    5 min. read

    Why aren’t America’s national roadways working?
    Traffic from New Jersey to Philadelphia.

    Professor of city and regional planning Erick Guerra recently published a book exploring the economic and societal impacts of American highways. He explains some of the pitfalls associated with an ever-expansive highway system, arguing that spending more on highways might not be the solution to the country’s transportation issues.

    (Image: Courtesy of Getty / peeterv)

    Why aren’t America’s national roadways working?

    Penn urban planner Erick Guerra’s new book, “Overbuilt,” argues that additional spending on building more highways might not be the solution to the country’s transportation issues. In a Q&A, Guerra shares his insights.

    4 min. read

    Tumor-on-a-chip offers insight into cancer-fighting cells in immunotherapy
    Hand holding a microdevice

    Penn engineers and collaborators have developed a transparent, micro-engineered device that houses a living, vascularized model of human lung cancer—a “tumor on a chip”—and show that the diabetes drug vildagliptin helps more CAR T cells break through the tumor’s defenses and attack it effectively.

    (Image: Courtesy of Dan Huh)

    Tumor-on-a-chip offers insight into cancer-fighting cells in immunotherapy

    Penn engineers and collaborators have built a living tumor on a chip to expose how cancers block immune attacks, and how one existing drug could make immunotherapy like CAR T more effective against solid tumors.

    3 min. read

    Can tiny ocean organisms offer the key to better climate modeling?
    Researcher Xin Sun injects substance into glass vials.

    Xin Sun prepares samples collected from the Eastern Tropical North Pacific aboard a research vessel. By adding stable isotope tracers to these vials, Sun and her team can track how different microbial groups convert nitrogen compounds into nitrous oxide, revealing how subtle shifts in oxygen and organic matter change the ocean’s chemistry.

     
     

    (Image: Courtesy of Xin Sun)

    Can tiny ocean organisms offer the key to better climate modeling?

    In the shadowy layers of the Pacific, microbes decide how much nitrous oxide—a potent greenhouse gas—rises skyward. New research from Penn’s Xin Sun offers an improved understanding of microbial ecology and geochemistry—key to forecasting global emissions in response to natural and man-made climate change.

    3 min. read

    A built-in ‘off switch’ to stop persistent pain

    Collaborative research on the neural basis of chronic pain led by neuroscientist J. Nicholas Betley finds that a critical hub in the brainstem, has a built-in “off switch” to stop persistent pain signals from reaching the rest of the brain. Their findings could help clinicians better understand chronic pain. (Pictured) Flurorescence imaging reveals hunger neurons in the arcuate nucleus of the hypothalamus labeled in maroon with nuclei shown in blue.

    (Image: J. Nicholas Betley)

    A built-in ‘off switch’ to stop persistent pain

    J. Nicholas Betley has led collaborative research seeking the neural basis of long-term sustained pain and finds that a critical hub in the brainstem holds a mechanism for stopping pain signals from reaching the rest of the brain. Their findings could help clinicians better understand chronic pain and lead to new, more efficacious treatments.

    4 min. read

    Helping robots work together to explore the Moon and Mars
    forthcoming

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    Helping robots work together to explore the Moon and Mars

    Penn Engineers, NASA, and five other universities tested robotic systems designed to help unmanned explorers cooperate in the dunes of White Sands, New Mexico, paving the way for Moon and Mars exploration.

    5 min. read

    Water Environment Federation, Amazon, Penn’s Water Center, and leading utilities of the world launch groundbreaking Water-AI Nexus Center of Excellence 
    Open water.

    The Water-AI Nexus Center of Excellence will work to ensure AI growth benefits water resources and reduces stress on water resources.

    (Image: Levente Bodo)

    Water Environment Federation, Amazon, Penn’s Water Center, and leading utilities of the world launch groundbreaking Water-AI Nexus Center of Excellence 

    The first-of-its-kind initiative will develop best practices to minimize water impact in the age of AI.

    5 min. read

    Does early-life cellular activity influence cancer and aging?
    Artist rendering of chromosome structure with telomeres highlighted at the ends.

    Mia Levine and Michael Lampson’s research examines how telomere length is inherited, and how this can inform future genetic research in how cancer develops.

    (Image: Courtesy of Getty/nopparit)

    Does early-life cellular activity influence cancer and aging?

    New research from Michael Lampson and Mia T. Levine in the School of Arts & Sciences offers insight into how telomeres—protective chromosomal caps linked to aging and cancer in mammals—are inherited. Their finding that telomeres become longer or shorter during early embryonic development opens new avenues for research.

    3 min. read

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