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Dynamic plants
Larger plant growing next to smaller plant

Dynamic plants

Led by School of Arts & Sciences prof Brian Gregory and postdoc Xiang Yu, researchers have uncovered one way plants respond to hormonal cues. A similar process is likely at play in mammals.

Katherine Unger Baillie

Sensuality in Latin American literature and film
Photograph of old Victorian era library.

The sensuality in Latin American literature and film offers a wholistic way of engaging with the world, according to Ph.D. candidate Dana Khromov.  

Sensuality in Latin American literature and film

Ph.D. student Dana Khromov presented her research on the body as the site of sensuality in Latin American literature and film as part of the Latin American and Latinx Studies Internal Speakers series.

Kristina García

A new vision for the Population Aging Research Center
Two older adults walking outside, wearing cold-weather gear, walking arm in arm across a bridge, trees in the background.

A new vision for the Population Aging Research Center

For more than 25 years, PARC has been a hub for work on disparities in aging and mortality. Co-directors Hans-Peter Kohler and Norma Coe, who took over in July, want to expand its reach.

Michele W. Berger

Latino voters and lessons from the 2020 election
A young child smiles at the camera standing in green grass holding a small American flag next to his head as a pickup truck passes on the street behind him with a passenger waving an American flag.

One of the narratives emerging from Election Night 2020 was how Latinos around the country voted.

Latino voters and lessons from the 2020 election

Political scientist Michael Jones-Correa, historian Ann Farnsworth-Alvear, and demographer Emilio Parrado share their thoughts on the election results and what both parties might take away from looking at how Latinos voted.

Kristen de Groot

‘What makes us human’: Amy Lutz on autism and community
Amy Lutz seated with her husband and children in nature.

From left to right, top row: Erika Lutz, Amy Lutz, Andrew Lutz, Aaron Lutz. Bottom row: Hilary Lutz, Jonah Lutz, Gretchen Lutz. (Image: Courtesy Amy Lutz)

  • Q&A

    • ‘What makes us human’: Amy Lutz on autism and community

    In “We Walk: Life with Severe Autism,” doctoral candidate Amy Lutz examines what it means to be in community.

    Kristina García

    A modified game of ‘chicken’ reveals what happens in the brain during decision-making
    A person in a suit and button-down shirt sitting on a stairwell landing, smiling. The intricate white stairwell and a brick wall behind it are to the person's right.

    Penn Integrates Knowledge professor Michael Platt holds appointments in the Department of Psychology in the School of Arts & Sciences, the Department of Neuroscience in the Perelman School of Medicine, and the Marketing Department in the Wharton School.

    A modified game of ‘chicken’ reveals what happens in the brain during decision-making

    Research from the Platt Labs found that in rhesus macaques, two regions of the brain mirror those of similar regions in humans, broadening the understanding of what unfolds, neurologically, when people interact and cooperate.

    Michele W. Berger

    One step closer to a clinical fix for the side effects of monovision
    A person sitting in front of a computer and a machine that tests vision.

    The lab of neuroscientist Johannes Burge (above) focuses on how the human visual system processes the images that fall on the back of the eye. This line of work, closely related to a 100-year-old illusion called the Pulfrich effect, could have serious public safety and public health implications.

    One step closer to a clinical fix for the side effects of monovision

    Monovision counters the deterioration of the ability to see up close but also causes dramatic visual distortions. New research confirms that a solution that successfully works with trial lenses—the special lenses used by eye doctors—also succeeds with contact lenses.

    Michele W. Berger

    Academic freedom in an age of global digital delivery
    stock image of world depicting global connection

    Academic freedom in an age of global digital delivery

    During a virtual forum, Penn experts across disciplines discussed specific implications online learning can present for international students and their freedom of expression.

    Lauren Hertzler