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Bioengineering

A faster way to make drug microparticles
microparticles

The Penn Engineering team fit 10,260 of these microparticle-generating devices onto a four-inch silicon wafer.

A faster way to make drug microparticles

Penn Engineers have developed a liquid assembly line process that controls flow rates to produce particles of a consistent size at a thousand times the speed.

Evan Lerner

Calculus III for cells
calc iii

Calculus III for cells

Cells can sense and respond to surface curvature in very clever ways. The results, which revealed that curvature is a profound biological cue, could pave the way to new tools in the field.

Ali Sundermier

Researchers show that cells’ perception of stiffness is a matter of time
Cell Stiffness

A cell can spread out more on a stiffer surface, making it easier for it to move, but the stiffness of its natural biological environment also changes in response. More realistic models of that interplay are necessary.

Researchers show that cells’ perception of stiffness is a matter of time

The relative stiffness of a cell’s environment is known to have a large effect on that cell’s behavior, including how well the cell can stick or move. Now, a new study by University of Pennsylvania researchers demonstrates the role timing plays in how cells perceive this stiffness.

Ali Sundermier , Evan Lerner

The future of technology
Teach-in.Future of tech

Moderator Susan Davidson and panelists Rakesh Vohra, Aaron Roth, and Michael Kearns (left to right) discussed algorithmic decision making, which now contributes to the prices of goods and services we purchase, the media we consume, and whether we are approved for a loan or interviewed for a job.

The future of technology

As new technologies emerge, they bring with them new ethical challenges. The topic of the future of technology was front and center on day three of the Penn Teach-in.

Ali Sundermier

Penn engineers test drug transfer using placenta-on-a-chip

Penn engineers test drug transfer using placenta-on-a-chip

Researchers at the University of Pennsylvania’s School of Engineering and Applied Science have demonstrated the feasibility of their “organ-on-a-chip” platform in studying how drugs are transported across the human placental barrier.

Ali Sundermier , Evan Lerner

Penn chemists develop 'motion capture' technology for tracking protein shape

Penn chemists develop 'motion capture' technology for tracking protein shape

In many modern animated movies, the trick to achieving realistic movements for individual characters and objects lies in motion-capture technology. This process often involves someone wearing a tracking suit covered in small, colored balls while a camera captures the position of those colored balls, which is then used to represent how the person is moving.

Ali Sundermier