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What can ants and naked-mole rats teach about societal roles?
Leafcutter ants moving around a bright green leaf.

In eusocial superorganisms like leafcutter ant colonies, labor is divvied up according to body shape and size, but PIK Professor Shelley Berger and her team discovered that molecular signals can override that blueprint. Their findings reveal how simple neuropeptides can reprogram ant behavior, reshuffling roles in nature’s most disciplined workforce.

(Image: Courtesy of Tierney Scarpa)

What can ants and naked-mole rats teach about societal roles?

PIK Professor Shelley Berger and colleagues explored the genetic basis of labor distribution in communal-dwelling species and discovered that pathways dating back hundreds of millions of years are conserved across animal kingdoms. Their findings offer fundamental insights into complex social behaviors.

5 min. read

Unlocking the mechanics of protein misfolding
Artist's interpretation of prion mechanics.

Mathieu Ouellet

Unlocking the mechanics of protein misfolding

An interdisciplinary team led by School of Engineering and Applied Science’s Lee C. Bassett and Dani Bassett, also of the School of Arts & Sciences, have studied the mechanical properties of prions, the mysterious shape-shifting proteins that are infamous for mad cow disease yet essential for yeast survival

5 min. read

Shelley Berger honored by AACR for cancer research

Shelley Berger honored by AACR for cancer research

Berger, the Daniel S. Och University Professor with appointments in the Perelman School of Medicine department of Cell & Developmental Biology and a Penn Integrates Knowledge Professor in the School of Arts & Sciences, is recognized for her outstanding contributions to cancer research by the American Association for Cancer Research with the 2025 AACR-Women in Cancer Research Charlotte Friend Lectureship.

Penn alum Hoang C. Le awarded a 2025 Paul & Daisy Soros Fellowship for New Americans

Penn alum Hoang C. Le awarded a 2025 Paul & Daisy Soros Fellowship for New Americans

Le, a Class of 2023 graduate, has been awarded a Fellowship to the merit-based program that provides graduate school funding for immigrants and children of immigrants to the United States. Le’s research explores the evolution of viral-host interactions to uncover novel molecular tools and therapeutic targets.

Scientists unlock frogs’ antibacterial secrets to combat superbugs
A tree frog in Thailand.

The researchers theorized that frogs must have developed antibiotics to survive in their challenging environment.

Image: Michael Edward via Getty Images

Scientists unlock frogs’ antibacterial secrets to combat superbugs

The lab of César de la Fuente has created synthetic peptides, a class of antibiotics, derived from the secretions of a frog commonly found in South Asia.

Ian Scheffler

2 min. read

Meniscus injuries may soon be treated by customizable hydrogel

Meniscus injuries may soon be treated by customizable hydrogel

Researchers at the Perelman School of Medicine found a new 3D-printed customizable hydrogel performed well in preclinical trials with several different types of meniscal tears, offering a potential mend for common joint injuries.

Frank Otto

1 min. read

2025 CAREER Award recipient: Jina Ko

2025 CAREER Award recipient: Jina Ko

Ko, a professor in bioengineering in Penn Engineering and in Pathology and Laboratory Medicine in the Perelman School of Medicine, is awarded the 2025 National Science Foundation (NSF) CAREER Award for her expertise across bioengineering, molecular biology, and chemistry in developing transformative technologies for molecular diagnostics of diseases, especially with respect to how brain-related conditions are diagnosed and treated.