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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
Ahead of the Fed’s latest economic outlook, Penn Today spoke with Wharton’s Patrick Harker and Penn Arts & Sciences’ Harold Cole to unpack inflation, interest rates, and labor trends.
Bo Zhen (right) and postdoctoral researcher Li He developed a system for guiding light through tiny crystals in ways that allow it to navigate undeterred bu bumps and defects. Their work could lead to sturdier lasers, faster data links, and light-based chips that don’t get tripped up by imperfections.
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A new way to guide light
Penn researchers developed a system that allows light to be guided through a tiny crystal, undeterred by bumps, bends, and back-reflections. Their findings pave the way for robust, controllable light-based chips, smarter routing for data links, and more stable lasers.
A new class of 2D materials known as MXenes holds the key to next-generation applications, such as consumer electronics and medical devices. Now, collaborative research led by Zahra Fakhraai of the School of Arts & Sciences, Aleksandra Vojvodic of the School of Engineering and Applied Science, and their collaborators offers fundamental insights into the chemical and geometric mechanisms underlying the synthesis of these materials, a finding that could lead to cleaner, quicker energy conversion and storage for these devices.
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Understanding atomic disorder and next-gen electronics
A Penn team has developed insight into the chemical and geometric mechanisms underlying the synthesis of new 2D materials, paving the way for next-gen devices, biomedical applications, and cleaner, quicker energy conversion and storage.
