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Bioengineering

Brain research could help patients with paralysis move again
Iahn Cajigas and Qasim Qureshi review data on a desktop computer.

Iahn Cajigas and researcher Qasim Qureshi review data to identify consistent patterns in brain activity that will enable them to predict a patient’s intention to move in real time.

(Image: Courtesy of Penn Medicine News)

Brain research could help patients with paralysis move again

Penn Medicine researchers are using machine learning to study the areas of the brain that control movement.

From Penn Medicine News

How fungi make a key medicinal molecule
A petri dish of fungal matter in a lab.

Image: Bella Ciervo

How fungi make a key medicinal molecule

New research from Penn Medicine has uncovered the catalyst that creates a compound in fungi whose derivatives are applied to treatments for cancer and inflammation.

Ian Scheffler

A lipid nanoparticle delivers an mRNA cure for preeclampsia
Kelsey Swingle working in a lab.

Kelsey Swingle at work in the lab of Michael Mitchell.

(Image: Kevin Monko)

A lipid nanoparticle delivers an mRNA cure for preeclampsia

Doctoral student Kelsey Swingle developed a lipid nanoparticle that delivers an mRNA therapeutic that reduces maternal blood pressure through the end of gestation and improves fetal health and blood circulation in the placenta.

Melissa Pappas

Pre-eclampsia could be treated with mRNA technology
New Scientist

Pre-eclampsia could be treated with mRNA technology

Michael Mitchell and Ph.D. student Kelsey Swingle of the School of Engineering and Applied Science and colleagues are using mRNA molecules to treat pre-eclampsia, a common pregnancy complication.

Real vs. fake Christmas trees: The great debate, explained
Axios

Real vs. fake Christmas trees: The great debate, explained

Lorena Grundy of the School of Engineering and Applied Science says that the debate between real and fake Christmas trees isn’t as black and white as it’s being portrayed.

Refining lipid nanoparticles for better mRNA therapies
Microscopic rendering of mRNA inside a lipid nanoparticle.

Image: iStock/Love Employee

Refining lipid nanoparticles for better mRNA therapies

A new method developed by Penn engineers for designing ionizable lipids is expected to have broad implications for mRNA-based vaccines and therapeutics.

Ian Scheffler

RFK Jr.’s 10 wildest medical theories
Rolling Stone

RFK Jr.’s 10 wildest medical theories

Kenneth R. Foster of the School of Engineering and Applied Science says studies haven’t provided clear evidence that exposure to levels of radio frequency energy below accepted limits, such as Wi-Fi, disrupts the blood-brain barrier.

Penn fourth-year Om Gandhi is a 2025 Rhodes Scholar
Om Gandhi.

Penn fourth-year Om Gandhi has been awarded a 2025 Rhodes Scholarship. 

(Image: Courtesy of Om Gandhi)

Penn fourth-year Om Gandhi is a 2025 Rhodes Scholar

Penn fourth-year Om Gandhi, from Barrington, Illinois, has been awarded a 2025 Rhodes Scholarship, which funds tuition and a living stipend for graduate study at the University of Oxford in England. He is among 32 American Rhodes Scholars, and an expected 100 worldwide.
Developing kidneys from scratch
Rendering of kidneys.

Image: iStock/Vladyslav Severyn

Developing kidneys from scratch

Bioengineering professor Alex Hughes tackles the burden of chronic kidney disease by creating kidney tissue from scratch, which could reduce the need for both dialysis and transplantation.

Ian Scheffler