Biology

Tissue gets stiffer when it’s compressed. That stiffening response is a long-standing biomedical paradox, as common sense dictates that when you push the ends of a string together, it loosens tension, rather than increasing it. New research explains the mechanical interplay between that fiber network and the cells it contains.

Penn Today Staff ・ October 18, 2019

In just five generations, an altered microbiome can lead to genome-wide evolution in fruit flies, according to new research led by Paul Schmidt and postdoc Seth Rudman of the School of Arts and Sciences.

Katherine Unger Baillie ・ September 17, 2019

Scientists have studied the nematode worm Caenorhabditis elegans for decades, making essential contributions to basic science. In the latest milestone, a team uses cutting-edge technology to individually profile the genes expressed in more than 80,000 cells in a developing C. elegans embryo.

Katherine Unger Baillie ・ September 5, 2019

Concern over fake news and online trolls is widespread and warranted, but researchers have identified another impediment to the free flow of information in social networks. The phenomenon, which they term “information gerrymandering,” arises from the structure of a social network and introduces bias into collective decisions.

Katherine Unger Baillie ・ September 4, 2019

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.

Katherine Unger Baillie ・ August 14, 2019

One of its most significant impacts in health care is in the area of “traditional prototyping”—the process leading to designing medical devices.

Penn Today Staff ・ July 25, 2019

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.

Katherine Unger Baillie ・ July 23, 2019

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.

Gina Vitale , Erica K. Brockmeier ・ July 16, 2019

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.

Katherine Unger Baillie ・ July 15, 2019

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.

Katherine Unger Baillie ・ June 21, 2019