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Katherine Unger Baillie
Science News Officer
kbaillie@upenn.edu
Biology
A society’s cultural practices shape the structure of its social networks
A society’s cultural practices shape the structure of its social networks
Biologists Erol Akçay and Marco Smolla used mathematical models to show that societies that favor generalists, who have a wide range of skills, are less well-connected than those societies that favor specialists, who are highly skilled at a smaller number of traits.
Three-dimensional printing turns fiction into medical reality
Three-dimensional printing turns fiction into medical reality
One of its most significant impacts in health care is in the area of “traditional prototyping”—the process leading to designing medical devices.
‘Smart aviary’ poised to break new ground in behavioral research
‘Smart aviary’ poised to break new ground in behavioral research
A collaboration that has brought together biologists, engineers, and physicists to study the reproductive behavior of birds using machine learning in a custom-built aviary at Pennovation Works.
Artificial cells can deliver molecules better than the real thing
Artificial cells can deliver molecules better than the real thing
With an onion-like structure, the artificial cells developed by researchers at Penn appear more stable and better equipped to carry cargo than their natural and commercial counterparts.
Timing is everything for the mutualistic relationship between ants and acacias
Timing is everything for the mutualistic relationship between ants and acacias
With a new insight into a long-described mutualistic relationship, plant biologists from the School of Arts and Sciences reveal the genetic factors and evolutionary forces that govern the development of the acacia’s ant-sustaining traits.
A new drug target for chemically induced Parkinson’s disease
A new drug target for chemically induced Parkinson’s disease
An enzyme that modifies chemicals formed in the body by alcohol, tobacco, and certain foods may be a new target for treating Parkinson’s disease. The altered compounds may play a role in triggering the onset or advancing the progression of the neurodegenerative condition.
Meaningful science, with students at the helm
Meaningful science, with students at the helm
With CANINE, a collaboration between the School of Veterinary Medicine and the School of Arts and Sciences’ Biology Department, undergraduates are breaking new ground in immunology.
Why is it so difficult to sleep when it’s hot?
Why is it so difficult to sleep when it’s hot?
Philip Gehrman of the Penn Sleep Center offers an explanation—and explores some other recent questions posed by sleep scholars.
Replicating fetal bone growth process could help heal large bone defects
Replicating fetal bone growth process could help heal large bone defects
A new study finds large bone defects could be regenerated through stem cell implantation and mimic the process of rapid fetal bone growth.
Why are so many women still dying from childbirth?
Why are so many women still dying from childbirth?
Experts from Penn discuss the role that social determinants, socioeconomics, and racism play, and how the University is addressing the maternal mortality crisis head on.
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In the News
Genetic Engineering & Biotechnology News
Scientists Isolate Human Lung Progenitor Cells That Repair Alveolar Damage
Edward E. Morrisey, of the Perelman School of Medicine, has co-authored a paper on lung stem cells in mice and humans, which may lead to the development of new strategies for human lung regeneration.
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The Scientist
Parasitologist, Reprogrammed: A Profile of David Roos
David Roos of the School of Arts and Sciences was profiled for his journey from art major to scientist and for his current work developing EuPathDB, a catalog of “parasites and other pathogens.”
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