School of Arts & Sciences

the Atacama Cosmology Telescope in the foreground and the desert and mountains of chile in the background

New view of nature’s oldest light adds fresh twist to debate over universe’s age

Observations by the Atacama Cosmology Telescope suggest that the universe is 13.77 billion years old, and reveals how fast the cosmos is expanding.

cartoon of a person scratching their head confused wearing full-body ppe

Joseph Kable discusses decision making amidst the pandemic

Joseph Kable, Baird Term Professor of Psychology, seeks to understand how people make decisions by taking a multilevel approach: understanding the process at both the psychological and biological level.

People wearing face masks chat on the street in Olinda, Brazil

Q&A

Brazil’s coronavirus crisis

Brazil has become one of the world’s deadliest hotspots for the novel coronavirus, second only to the United States in deaths and infections. Melissa Teixeira, a historian of modern Brazil, shares her thoughts on the nation’s response and challenges it faces in battling the virus.

Jackie Shi stands in front of Marina Bay Sands in Singapore.

To Singapore and back again

Rising senior Jackie Shi spent the early part of the spring semester studying abroad in Southeast Asia.

Guthrie Ramsey’s creative journey of healing, collaboration, and persistence

Music Professor Guthrie Ramsey has released a new album of songs meant to pay homage to his many musical partnerships. The project was prompted by his cancer diagnosis and influenced by the global pandemic and uprising against racial injustice.

Map from 1830s depicting the eastern United States, showing cholera cases with red highlights

Q&A

Cholera vs. flu: Philadelphia’s historical epidemic successes and failures

Philadelphia’s response to the 1918 influenza might be the poster child of how not to handle an epidemic. Timothy Kent Holliday makes the case that the city was well equipped for outbreaks decades and even centuries earlier.

nocred

New database aims to make Alzheimer’s diagnosis easier and earlier

A five-minute online session will allow neural health to be tracked across time, so that doctors can make an earlier diagnosis and researchers can evaluate medications and other treatments.

Michael Hanchard on continuing injustice and the fight for equal protections

The chair and Gustave C. Kuemmerle Professor of Africana Studies, discusses the recent wave of protests following the killings of George Floyd, Breonna Taylor, and other unarmed Black women and men across the country.

Mosaic of students singing together via Zoom call

Penn performers keep creating during pandemic

During the pandemic, the student Performing Arts Council has been working with the Platt Student Performing Arts House to encourage and support the hundreds of Penn performers, finding ways to promote their work on social media.

Satellite image of Earth highlighting border in different colors.

Coding for a cause

As the viral pandemic shuttered campus and disrupted routines, The Borders and Boundaries Project turned the challenging situation into a chance to give back and get work done.

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