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Getting to the root of it: Why soil matters
Aerial view of fields at Penn Vet's New Bolton Center.

Penn Vet’s New Bolton Center.

(Image: Elliot Bullen)

  • Q&A

    • Getting to the root of it: Why soil matters

    Soil specialist Alain Plante of the School of Arts & Sciences explains what soil is, how it works, and why its health matters far beyond plant growth.

    3 min. read

    Green infrastructure
    Green infrastructure

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    Green infrastructure

    A roundup of Penn Today stories focusing on green infrastructure on campus, in research, in higher education, and in energy policy.

    Penn Today Staff

    2 min. read

    Why is everything gambling now?
    Hand holding a mobile phone with sports bets lined up.

    Over the last decade, there’s been an explosion in phone-based gambling platforms owing to the 2018 Supreme Court ruling that struck down a federal sports betting ban. Neuroscientist Michael L. Platt says the gambling boom has as much to do with human biology as it does business. 

    (Image: Hispanolist)

    Why is everything gambling now?

    Neuroscientist Michael Platt discusses the biological basis of gambling as it relates to the over proliferation of gambling-based platforms.
    An AI tool to speed antibiotic discovery
    Jacob R. Gardner, César de la Fuente and Marcelo Torres, holding a 3D-printed example of the kind of antibiotic peptide they generated

    (From left) Co-authors Jacob R. Gardner, César de la Fuente and Marcelo Torres, holding a 3D-printed example of the kind of antibiotic peptide they generated using AI.

    (Image: Sylvia Zhang)

    An AI tool to speed antibiotic discovery

    APEX is an AI model that predicts whether or not a given peptide is likely to have antimicrobial properties. Now, APEXGo can identify antibiotic candidates with laboratory activity against disease-causing bacteria, simply by searching large datasets.

    Ian Scheffler

    2 min. read

    Awards and accolades for Penn faculty and Centers
    People walking down Locust Walk in the summer.

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    Awards and accolades for Penn faculty and Centers

    A roundup of the latest awards and honors for faculty in the Annenberg Public Policy Center, the School of Arts & Sciences, Penn Nursing, and the Wharton School.

    Penn Today Staff

    2 min. read

    A different way of thinking about side effects
    A person holding a prescription pill bottle in their hand.

    Image: Catherine McQueen via Getty Images

    A different way of thinking about side effects

    The new book “Side Effects: The Social Ecology of Adverse Drug Reactions,” by sociologist Jason Schnittker and former Ph.D. student Duy Do, makes the case that side effects are a product of social, cultural, and institutional forces.

    3 min. read

    Proving climate science right
    A young person pouring water over their head.

    Image: Courtesy of Environmental Innovations Initiative

    Proving climate science right

    Research from climate scientist Michael Mann, Presidential Distinguished Professor of Earth & Environmental Science, and colleagues vindicates climate models and reframes the record heat of 2024.

    From Omnia

    2 min. read

    Penn filmmaking class shares the stories of Philadelphia’s neighborhoods
    Two students take video of archivist holding up newspaper clipping.

    Student filmmakers Harper Prentice and Hosaena Tilahun interviewed Alisha Davis, a former history teacher who has served as the Free Library of Philadelphia’s Hyperlocal Heritage archivist since August 2025. As part of America 250, Davis has been surveying collections held at Parkway Central Library and identifying archival materials for digitization, use in programming, and preservation.

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    Penn filmmaking class shares the stories of Philadelphia’s neighborhoods

    Graduate and undergraduate students in Alissa Jordan’s course partnered with community organizations to create five short films that touch on education, archiving, and grassroots organizing in Germantown, Northeast Philadelphia, and West Philadelphia.

    3 min. read