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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
    The evolution of societal cooperation
    Graphic ilustration of people holding hands in a concentric circle formation.

    Image: iStock/melitas

    The evolution of societal cooperation

    Research led by the School of Arts & Sciences’ Joshua Plotkin and Taylor Kessinger sheds light on the impact of social contexts and multilayered societies on promoting cooperative behavior.
    Nanorobotic system presents new options for targeting fungal infections
    Before and after fluorescence imaging of fungal accumilations being removed by microrobots.

    Candida albicans is a species of yeast that is a normal part of the human microbiota but can also cause severe infections that pose a significant global health risk due to their resistance to existing treatments, so much so that the World Health Organization has highlighted this as a priority issue. The picture above shows a before (left) and after (right) fluorescence image of fungal biofilms being precisely targeted by nanozyme microrobots without bonding to or disturbing the tissue sample.

    (Image: Min Jun Oh and Seokyoung Yoon)

    Nanorobotic system presents new options for targeting fungal infections

    Researchers from Penn Dental and Penn Engineering have developed a nanorobot system that precisely and rapidly targets fungal infections in the mouth.
    Safe and sound: Sonura supports newborn development by sequestering disruptive noise
    Sonura team

    Recipients of the 2023 President’s Innovation Prize, team Sonura, five bioengineering graduates from the School of Engineering and Applied Science, have created a device that filters out disruptive environmental noises for infants in neonatal intensive care units. Their beanie offers protection and fosters parental connection to newborns while also supporting their development.

    nocred

    Safe and sound: Sonura supports newborn development by sequestering disruptive noise

    A team of five recent graduates from the School of Engineering and Applied Science and recipients of the 2023 President’s Innovation Prize have developed a beanie that filters out harmful noises for infants in neonatal intensive care units.
    Understanding the decline in racial disparities in COVID
    Young black man wearing surgical face masks while sitting and riding on a window seat of a tram

    Image: iStockPhoto / AlexLinch

    Understanding the decline in racial disparities in COVID

    The School of Arts & Sciences’ Irma Elo and Samuel Preston, with a collaborative team of researchers, assessed racial disparities in U.S. COVID-19 deaths, calling for continued efforts to better understand and implement targeted strategies for addressing health inequalities.
    Social conformity in pandemics: How our behaviors spread faster than the virus itself
    Subway train passengers with protective masks crowding to get on and off subway station platform on Metro station.

    Subway train passengers with protective masks on a station platform in Sofia, Bulgaria in June 2020.

    (Image: iStock/JordanSimenov)

    Social conformity in pandemics: How our behaviors spread faster than the virus itself

    Researchers led by former postdoc Bryce Morsky and Erol Akçay of the School of Arts & Sciences have produced a model for disease transmission that factors in the effects of social dynamics, specifically, how masking and social distancing are affected by social norms.
    Moore than meets the eye
    Photos of transistors.

    Transistors replaced vacuum tubes in the mid-20th century. They were initially made of germanium and later silicon, leading to the development of integrated circuits containing millions to billions of transistors on a single chip. The Metal-Oxide-Semiconductor Field-Effect Transistor (MOSFET) became the dominant type due to its smaller size, faster speed, and greater energy efficiency. Today, MOSFETs are essential components in modern electronic devices such as computers, smartphones, and power electronics.

    (Image: iStockphoto/vlabo)

    Moore than meets the eye

    Following the death of Gordon Moore, co-founder of Intel and a pioneer in computer processor chips, Penn Today spoke with the School of Engineering and Applied Science’s Benjamin C. Lee about Moore’s contributions to technology and the history and rapid evolution of chips.
    Four from Penn elected to the National Academy of Sciences
    Headshots of David Brainard, Duncan Watts, Susan R. Weiss, and Kenneth S. Zaret

    Newly elected members of the U.S. National Academy of Sciences, (clockwise from top left) David Brainard from the School of Arts & Sciences; Duncan Watts from the Annenberg School for Communication, the School of Engineering and Applied Science, and the Wharton School; Kenneth S. Zaret; and Susan R. Weiss, both from the Perelman School of Medicine.

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    Four from Penn elected to the National Academy of Sciences

    The newly elected members, distinguished scholars recognized for their innovative contributions to original research, include faculty from the School of Arts & Sciences, Perelman School of Medicine, Annenberg School for Communication, and Wharton School.
    Repairing fractured metals for more sustainable construction
    Tensile test for welding procedure. It, also known as tension testing, is a fundamental materials science and engineering test in which a sample is subjected to a controlled tension until failure

    Image: iStock Photo / Funtay

    Repairing fractured metals for more sustainable construction

    Mining, refining, and processing metals commonly used in construction are estimated to contribute around three billion tons of CO2-equivalent emissions. Now, researchers have developed a new metal-healing technique that fully restores previously unrepairable metals, presenting sustainable options for manufacturers.
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