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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
    Finding a new behavioral adaptation in fruit flies
    Researchers pose next to a box they fabricated for recording fly courtship.

    From left to right, Dawn Chen, Yun Ding, and Minhao Li.

    Eric Sucar

    Finding a new behavioral adaptation in fruit flies

    Penn researchers discovered “wing spreading” in Drosophila santomea, research that hints at a rare, novel finding and offers insights into an underrepresented area in sexual reproduction research: female-initiated behaviors.
    Studying Wikipedia browsing habits to learn how people learn
    Network schematic of peoples' browsing activity on Wikipedia.

    Shown here: A hyperlink network from English Wikipedia, with only 0.1% of articles (nodes) and their connections (edges) visualized. Seven different reader journeys through this network are highlighted in various colors. The network is organized by topic and displayed using a layout that groups related articles together.

    (Image: Dale Zhou)

    Studying Wikipedia browsing habits to learn how people learn

    A collaborative team of researchers analyzed the information-seeking styles of more than 480,000 people from 50 countries and found that gender and education inequality track different types of knowledge exploration. Their findings suggest potential cultural drivers of curiosity and learning.
    IT safety and well-being
    Female scammer with cellphone and laptop.

    As part of a series on wellness resources for the Penn community, Penn Today speaks with Nick Falcone from Information Systems & Computing to better understand how they partner with campus information technology teams and others to secure and maintain the community’s cyber presence.

    (Image: iStock / Tero Vesalainen)

    IT safety and well-being

    Nick Falcone from Information Systems & Computing discusses resources the Penn community can use to secure data and privacy.
    Penn solutions to climate change
    Banner that reads climate week at Penn

    At a Climate Week event, Penn’s Climate Solutions Showcase, a group of faculty and researchers from the School of Engineering and Applied Science and Weitzman School of Design presented innovative strategies to combat the causes and effects of climate change.

    (Image: Felice Macera)

    Penn solutions to climate change

    As society grapples with the impacts of a worsening climate—from the increased frequency and intensity of extreme weather events to rising sea levels and deadly heat waves—the need for actionable solutions has never been greater, Penn researchers say.
    Acoustic signals for better wireless technologies
    Charlie Johnson, Yue Jiang, and Vince Kerler.

    Yue Jiang (center), a Ph.D. student in Charlie Johnson’s (left) lab in the School of Arts & Sciences, has led research hinting at a new way to control sound waves at frequencies in which phones and other wireless technologies operate. These findings could lead to better signal processing and improve technologies for both classical and quantum information systems.

    nocred

    Acoustic signals for better wireless technologies

    Researchers push the limits of sound wave control, unlocking the potential for faster, clearer wireless communication and quantum information processing technologies.
    Twisted sheets yield electrifying outcomes
    Artist's rendering of a quantum computing unit.

    iStock/Bartlomiej Wroblewski

    Twisted sheets yield electrifying outcomes

    Researchers uncovered how twisting layers of a material can generate a mysterious electron-path-deflecting effect, unlocking new possibilities for controlling light and electrons in quantum materials.
    A look at Penn’s Information Systems and Computing
    IT expert stands next to a server.

    Members of the Information Systems & Computing division discuss how they partner with campus information technology teams to secure and maintain the vital systems that are becoming increasingly reliant upon.

    (Image: iStock/gorodenkoff)

    A look at Penn’s Information Systems and Computing

    A conversation with staff from the University’s central information technology division.
    Takeaways: The new mini moon
    Visualization of 2024PT5's orbit around the sun temporarily joining Earth's.

    On Sunday, Sept. 29, Earth welcomed 2024 PT5, a “mini-moon” temporarily captured by the planet’s orbit that’s set to depart on Monday, Nov. 25.

    (Image: Courtesy of NASA/JPL)

    Takeaways: The new mini moon

    Last month Earth welcomed a visitor known as 2024 PT5. To learn more about this celestial guest, Penn Today caught up with two astronomers in the School of Arts & Sciences, Gary Bernstein and Bhuvnesh Jain.
    Pioneering robotic triage
    remote controlled robotic vehicle

    nocred

    Pioneering robotic triage

    By combining the power of autonomous systems and medical expertise, a team of engineers and physician scientists from Penn are tackling the challenge of mass casualty triage.
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