Biology

Genomics reveals a complex human history in Africa

An international team of researchers led by Penn geneticists sequenced the genomes of 180 indigenous Africans. The results shed light on the origin of modern humans, African population history, and local adaptation.

Katherine Unger Baillie

Rewiring blood cells to give rise to precursors of sperm

School of Veterinary Medicine researchers teamed with scientists at the University of Texas at San Antonio to transform blood cells to regain a flexible fate, growing into a precursor of sperm cells.

Katherine Unger Baillie

Harnessing an innate protection against Ebola

School of Veterinary Medicine researchers have identified a cellular pathway that keeps Ebola virus from exiting human cells, with implications for developing new antivirals.

Katherine Unger Baillie

How species partnerships evolve

Biologists from the School of Arts & Sciences explored how symbiotic relationships between species evolve to become specific or general, cooperative, or antagonistic.

Katherine Unger Baillie

Eight Penn professors elected 2022 AAAS Fellows

Researchers from the School of Arts & Sciences, School of Engineering and Applied Science, Perelman School of Medicine, and School of Veterinary Medicine join a class of scientists, engineers, and innovators spanning 24 scientific disciplines.

Michele W. Berger



In the News


New Scientist

We may finally know why psychological stress worsens gut inflammation

A study by Christoph Thaiss of the Perelman School of Medicine and colleagues identified a pathway between the brain and immune system in mice that may explain why psychological stress can worsen gut inflammation.

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Business Insider

Study: Heat-temperature marine bacteria help detoxify asbestos

Ileana Perez-Rodriguez of the School of Arts & Sciences says that iron has been identified as a major component driving the toxicity of asbestos minerals.

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Science

‘Pangenome’ hopes to represent more diverse view of humans

Sarah Tishkoff of the Perelman School of Medicine says that the new pangenome adds structural variants that were previously hard to sequence and analyze.

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The New York Times

Scientist revisits data on raccoon dogs and COVID, stressing the unknowns

Frederic Bushman of the Perelman School of Medicine doesn’t think that a new study reexamining genetic material proves that infected raccoon dogs were the origin of COVID.

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Wired

Scientists turned monkey stem cells into ‘synthetic embryos’

Kotaro Sasaki of the School of Veterinary Medicine comments on the results of a study that created embryo-like structures derived from monkey stem cells.

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National Geographic

T. rex had lips, upending its enduring pop culture image

Ali Nabavizadeh of the School of Veterinary Medicine comments on the validity of research demonstrating that non-avian theropods like T. rex had extra-oral tissues.

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