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Continued CO2 emissions will impair cognition
Several smokestacks giving off smoke in a scene showing a top of a building and the skyline in the distance.

Continued CO2 emissions will impair cognition

Rising CO2 causes more than a climate crisis, according to a study from Penn and CU Boulder. It may directly harm our ability to think.

Michele W. Berger

‘Disease knows no borders’
Lazaretto quarantine hospital

‘Disease knows no borders’

From the history of science to medical anthropology, governance, and economics, Penn experts look at the history of global health from different perspectives to see what the future may hold.

Kristina Linnea García

Fixing leaky optical pipes with topological glue
an abstract depiction of an optical chip with arrows representing unidirectional light travel

Fixing leaky optical pipes with topological glue

Combining theoretical insights with experimental results, physicists demonstrate a new design for optoelectronic devices that could help make optical fiber communications more energy efficient.

Erica K. Brockmeier

The Arctic could have almost no summer sea ice by 2040, decades sooner than expected
Pieces of sea ice over the Arctic.

The Arctic could have almost no summer sea ice by 2040, decades sooner than projected by many climate models, according to a statistical analysis by economists Francis X. Diebold of Penn and Glenn D. Rudebusch of the Federal Reserve Bank of San Francisco. (Image: Wasif Malik/Flickr Creative Commons)

The Arctic could have almost no summer sea ice by 2040, decades sooner than expected

Statistical analysis by economists from Penn and the Federal Reserve Bank of San Francisco could supplement current climate models and help global climate prediction.

Michele W. Berger

A historical ‘Earth Day Project’
People march along Benjamin Franklin Parkway in Philadelphia on April 22, 1970 during Earth Day.

Participants marching along Benjamin Franklin Parkway during Philadelphia’s first Earth Day on April 22, 1970. (Image: University Archives)

A historical ‘Earth Day Project’

On the 50th anniversary of Earth Day, historian Anne Berg and a team of students are launching an online exhibit looking at Penn’s connection to the Philadelphia celebration.

Kristen de Groot

Understanding the Americas through material texts
Professor standing with hands on her hips in the library with a chandelier in the background

Glenda Goodman, assistant professor of music at Penn, collaborated with a friend at Princeton to organize the American Contact project on material texts. 

Understanding the Americas through material texts

Penn and Princeton partner to create a now-virtual symposium to explore 38 objects, including books, journals, maps, musical scores, visual art, wampum, textiles, stone tablets, and various kinds of handwork. 

Louisa Shepard

Juan Castrillón’s ‘Re-Covering the Ney Collection’
Glass display case of ney flutes, part of Juan Castrillón’s exhibit.

Ney flutes on view in Juan Castrillón’s exhibit, “Re-Covering the Ney Collection.” (Image: Pennsylvania Gazette)

Juan Castrillón’s ‘Re-Covering the Ney Collection’

Juan Castrillón, a Ph.D. candidate in ethnomusicology, had pre-planned an online version of his exhibit “Re-Covering the Ney Collection,” which is proving valuable now that museumgoers are staying home.

Penn labs get creative to stay productive, connected
thomas mallouk lab with researcher

Penn labs get creative to stay productive, connected

In the face of a pandemic that has shuttered most physical laboratories across campus, researchers have shifted gears, maintaining work and social ties through grant- and manuscript-writing, virtual journal clubs, online coffee breaks, and more.

Michele W. Berger

The optimal immune repertoire for bacteria
electron micrograph of bacteriophages attached to a bacterial cell

The optimal immune repertoire for bacteria

Researchers develop a physical model that describes the optimal amount of ‘memory’ of prior infections that bacteria should have in order to efficiently mount a successful immune response.

Erica K. Brockmeier