4/22
School of Arts & Sciences
Green labs group strives to make science more sustainable
With a Green Labs working group, Elicia Preston of the Perelman School of Medicine and the University’s Sustainability Office in Facilities and Real Estate Services are striving to make the pursuit of scientific research a more eco-friendly endeavor.
Not-so-self-evident truths
In her new book, Sophia Rosenfeld, the Walter H. Annenberg Professor of History, digs up the roots of the relationship between democracy and truth.
Exploring the unseen: On dark matter and dark energy
Physics professors Mark Trodden and Masao Sako explain how dark matter and dark energy shape their work.
U.S. fertility is at an all-time low, but is that a bad thing?
Researchers from the Population Studies Center dissect the latest CDC numbers and explain the role of migration patterns, better family planning, and delayed parenthood.
Making headway against a killer virus
Around Penn, clinicians and researchers are focused on Ebola, working to ensure this disease—fearsomely lethal—can be vanquished.
A post-Oscars chat with Kathy DeMarco Van Cleve
In the latest episode of Penn Today’s ‘Office Hours’ podcast series, a casual chat with Kathy DeMarco Van Cleve, senior lecturer in Cinema and Media Studies.
When green ‘fixes’ actually increase the carbon footprint
New research shows that when tech companies move in, they often encourage a sustainability mindset, but lead to gentrification and stable or higher emissions.
How Islamic feminism could shape gender equity
Ahead of a lecture as part of the Religion and the Global Future speaker series, Assistant Professor of South Asian Religions Megan Robb discusses Islamic feminism’s potential influence on grassroots feminist movements.
Shooting for the moon
In her Language and the Brain course, linguistics professor Kathryn Schuler asked 30 undergrads to think big about big problems—and their solutions didn’t disappoint.
The future of urban waters
Students and faculty of the Penn Program in Environmental Humanities’ Liquid Histories course study the impact of rising sea levels from the banks of Philadelphia and Mumbai.
In the News
Here’s why experts don’t think cloud seeding played a role in Dubai’s downpour
Michael Mann of the School of Arts & Sciences says that many people blaming cloud seeding for Dubai storms are climate change deniers trying to divert attention from what’s really happening.
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‘Slouch’ review: The panic over posture
In her new book, “Slouch: Posture Panic in Modern America,” Beth Linker of the School of Arts & Sciences traces society’s posture obsession to Charles Darwin’s theory of evolution.
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In death, three decades after his trial verdict, O.J. Simpson still reflects America’s racial divides
Camille Charles of the School of Arts & Sciences says that Black Americans have grown less likely to believe in a famous defendant’s innocence as a show of race solidarity.
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“Record-shattering” heat wave in Antarctica — yep, climate change is the culprit
Michael Mann of the School of Arts & Sciences says that persistent summer weather extremes like heat waves are becoming more common as people continue to warm the planet with carbon pollution.
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The truth behind the slouching epidemic
Beth Linker of the School of Arts & Sciences traces the history of a poor-posture epidemic in the U.S. which began at the onset of the 20th century.
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