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Erica K. Brockmeier
Science News Officer
ekbrock@upenn.edu
Bioengineering
Protein controlled by both light and temperature can inform cell signal pathways
Protein controlled by both light and temperature can inform cell signal pathways
Penn Engineering researchers have described a new type of optogenetic protein that can be controlled not only by light, but also by temperature, allowing for a higher degree of control in the manipulation of cellular pathways.
Refining data into knowledge, turning knowledge into action
Refining data into knowledge, turning knowledge into action
Penn Engineering researchers are using data science to answer fundamental questions that challenge the globe—from genetics to materials design.
Three Penn faculty named Hastings Center Fellows
Three Penn faculty named Hastings Center Fellows
Holly Fernandez Lynch, Quayshawn Spencer, and Connie Ulrich have been named Hastings Center Fellows for deepening public understanding of complex ethical issues in health, health care, science, and technology.
Two Penn seniors named 2022 Rhodes Scholars
Two Penn seniors named 2022 Rhodes Scholars
Two Penn seniors have been awarded Rhodes Scholarships for graduate study at the University of Oxford, Raveen Kariyawasam, from Colombo, Sri Lanka, and Nicholas Thomas-Lewis, from Kimball, Nebraska.
‘Encrypted’ peptides could be wellspring of natural antibiotics
‘Encrypted’ peptides could be wellspring of natural antibiotics
An interdisciplinary team of Penn researchers have used a carefully designed algorithm to discover a new suite of antimicrobial peptides, or naturally occurring antibiotics, in the human genome.
Penn establishes the Center for Precision Engineering for Health with $100 million commitment
Penn establishes the Center for Precision Engineering for Health with $100 million commitment
The Center will conduct interdisciplinary, fundamental, and translational research in biomaterials that can create breakthroughs in improving health care and saving lives, including nanoparticle technologies to improve storage and distribution of COVID-19 mRNA vaccines.
Penn engineers will develop on-demand, on-site mRNA manufacturing
Penn engineers will develop on-demand, on-site mRNA manufacturing
With an NSF grant, Penn Engineering researchers are developing a new manufacturing technique that would be able to produce mRNA sequences in a way that removes the need for cryogenic temperatures.
Smart dental implants
Smart dental implants
Geelsu Hwang of the School of Dental Medicine and colleagues are developing a smart dental implant that resists bacterial growth and generates its own electricity through chewing and brushing to power a tissue-rejuvenating light.
Engineers create faster and cheaper COVID-19 testing with pencil lead
Engineers create faster and cheaper COVID-19 testing with pencil lead
A new electrochemical COVID-19 test addresses the challenges of cost, time, and accuracy and uses electrodes made from graphite.
New engineering approaches to address unmet oral health needs
New engineering approaches to address unmet oral health needs
With a new NIH training grant, awards, and new faculty and publications, the recently launched Center for Innovation & Precision Dentistry is leveraging technological advancements to improve oral health.
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Technical.ly Philly
Penn is establishing a $100M center to focus on the intersection of engineering and biomedicine
A planned Center for Precision Engineering for Health, housed in the School of Engineering and Applied Science, will focus on developing biomaterials for personalized medical treatments. “Engineering solutions to problems within human health is one of the grand challenges of the discipline,” Dean Vijay Kumar said. “Our faculty are already leading the charge against these challenges, and the Center will take them to new heights.”
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WHYY (Philadelphia)
Science vs science: The contradictory fight over whether electromagnetic hypersensitivity is real
Electromagnetic fields are everywhere, and especially so in recent years. To most of us, those fields are undetectable. But a small number of people believe they have an actual allergy to electromagnetic fields. Ken Foster, a professor emeritus of bioengineering, has heard these arguments before. “Activists would point to all these biological effects studies and say, ‘There must be some hazard’; health agencies would have meticulous reviews of literature and not see much of a problem.”
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Los Angeles Times
This L.A. start-up is building tiny injectable robots to attack tumors
Marc Miskin of the School of Engineering and Applied Science commented on a new startup that is developing remote-control medical microrobots. “I would give them a lot of credit for figuring out a space where they can make an impact and justify how they’ll be competitive with traditional pharmaceutical approaches,” he said.
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