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Immune linked high risk diabetic kidney disease found
Internal rendering of two kidneys.

Image: iStock/magicmine

Immune linked high risk diabetic kidney disease found

A Penn Medicine study maps kidney tissue in single cell resolution and identifies a form of disease linked to faster progression to kidney failure.

Matt Toal

2 min. read

Penn announces nine 2026 Thouron Scholars
Recipients of the 2026 Thouron awards are (left to right, top to bottom) Tristen Brisky, Charissa Howard, Jean Kim, Jordan Liu, Caroline Magdolen, Griffin Pitt, Andrew Schmidt, Sriya Teerdhala, and Megha Thomas.

Recipients of the 2026 Thouron awards are (left to right, top to bottom) Tristen Brisky, Charissa Howard, Jean Kim, Jordan Liu, Caroline Magdolen, Griffin Pitt, Andrew Schmidt, Sriya Teerdhala, and Megha Thomas.

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Penn announces nine 2026 Thouron Scholars

Six fourth-year students and three recent graduates will use the scholarship award to pursue graduate studies in the United Kingdom.

6 min. read

Penn fourth-year awarded Davis Projects for Peace grant
Hemza Tarawneh

Class of 2026 student Hemza Tarawneh has been chosen for a Kathryn Wasserman Davis Projects for Peace grant to help refugees in Jordan find protection from the heat and sun.

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Penn fourth-year awarded Davis Projects for Peace grant

The College of Arts & Sciences student will lead an effort aiding women and children in two Jordanian refugee camps.

1 min. read

Shujie Yang harnesses sound to build the next generation of microrobotic medicine
Shujie Yang

Shujie Yang is at the frontier of single-cell acoustic manipulation, an emerging field that blends physics, mechanobiology, and medicine.

(Image: Courtesy of Penn Engineering)

Shujie Yang harnesses sound to build the next generation of microrobotic medicine

Yang’s lab at Penn Engineering uses precisely-controlled ultrasound waves to develop microscale tools that can manipulate cells, viruses, and soft materials without physical contact.

Melissa Pappas

2 min. read

Four third-years receive Goldwater Scholarships
(Top row) Shreya Nair and Ian Peng. (Bottom row) Pranav Sompalle and Emily Valerio.

(Top row) Shreya Nair and Ian Peng. (Bottom row) Pranav Sompalle and Emily Valerio.

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Four third-years receive Goldwater Scholarships

Goldwater Scholarships are awarded to students planning research careers in the sciences, engineering, and mathematics.

3 min. read

DNA study offers clues to contact between modern humans and neanderthals

DNA study offers clues to contact between modern humans and neanderthals

Sarah Tishkoff from the Perelman School of Medicine and School of Arts & Sciences found that Neanderthals carried an unusually high amount of modern human DNA on their X chromosomes—suggesting frequent mating between Neanderthal men and modern human women, rather than genetic incompatibility, as previously believed.

How ancient attraction shaped the human genome
Human X chromosomes, karyotype, structure, division in genetic biological study

Why do modern humans carry small amounts of Neanderthal DNA almost everywhere in their genome except on the X chromosome? A new study by Alexander Platt and Daniel Harris in the lab of geneticist Sarah Tishkoff suggests the answer lies in ancient attraction. (Pictured) An illustration of a normal karyotype, the full complement of chromosomes arranged in homologous pairs.

(Image: quantic69 via Getty Images)

How ancient attraction shaped the human genome

Research led by geneticist Sarah Tishkoff’s finds that prehistoric mating preferences is a likely explanation for why modern humans have small amounts of Neanderthal genetic elements on their X chromosomes, challenging the idea that human evolution was driven solely by survival of the fittest.

3 min. read