School of Arts & Sciences

A squirmy, slimy, crunchy new potential staple of the American diet

Psychologist Paul Rozin discusses how it’s possible to get past the ick factor of eating bugs (the key is exposure), and how the insects actually taste. It’s all part of his research focusing on the emotion of disgust as it relates to food.

Penn names inaugural faculty co-directors of the Office of Penn First Plus Students

University of Pennsylvania Provost Wendell Pritchett has announced the appointments of Camille Charles and Robert Ghrist as the inaugural faculty co-directors of the Office of Penn First Plus Students.

Sophomore and junior picnic focuses on friends

More than 1,250 attended this year’s annual welcome back picnic hosted by the President’s Office on College Green.

Penn School of Design professor Francesca Ammon

Preserving Philadelphia’s Society Hill

The histories of more than 1,500 properties in a storied Philadelphia neighborhood are now accessible on the new website, “Preserving Society Hill.” Working with digital-humanities specialists in the Price Lab and the Libraries, PennDesign’s Francesca Ammon created an interactive map to document this innovative case study in urban renewal.

Incoming freshman experience college and community ahead of first semester

In its 32nd year, the weeklong Africana Studies Summer Institute brought 65 incoming freshmen to campus in July, introducing them to the program’s courses, professors, graduate students, and fellow undergraduates.

Mapping the ocean with marine robots

M. Ani Hsieh’s robotics lab investigates how to use ocean currents as a natural energy source for marine robots, which would enable widespread exploration.

Q&A

Camille Z. Charles on the 50th anniversary of the Fair Housing Act

Camille Z. Charles, professor of sociology, Africana studies, and education, and director of the Center for Africana Studies, talks about residential segregation and the promises and failures of the Fair Housing Act in light of the legislation’s 50th anniversary.

A novel history: Penn doctoral student uncovers first bill of sale for Jane Austen work

While digging through the Royal Archives in the U.K., Nick Foretek, a second-year doctoral student, made a surprising discovery: The Prince Regent paid 15 shillings to buy the first copy of Jane Austen’s “Sense and Sensibility.”

Navigating urban waters, with an interdisciplinary approach

With independent research projects and immersive experiences on and near Philadelphia’s waterways, summer fellows with the Penn Program in the Environmental Humanities are collaborating to develop new ways of learning and sharing knowledge.

In cells under duress, stress granules (in magenta) form outside of the nucleus (in blue). TDP-43 protein in green (arrow) that cannot bind to PolyADP ribose (PAR) builds up in large clumps distinct from stress granules. (Image: Leeanne McGurk, University of Pennsylvania; Molecular Cell)

Drugs in development for cancer may also fight brain diseases, including ALS

In a study done by researchers at the Perelman School of Medicine and the School of Arts and Sciences, PARP inhibitors, which are used for fighting cancer, can be useful for the treatment and prevention of brain disorders such as ALS.

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