Supporting Philadelphia newcomers and longtime residents through Palms Solutions Wil Prall, a biology doctoral student, volunteered as part of Palm It Forward, an event organized by Palms Solutions to support the West Philadelphia community during the pandemic. (Image: Courtesy of Mecky Pohlschröder) Supporting Philadelphia newcomers and longtime residents through Palms Solutions Founded by a Penn alum, the West Philadelphia-based nonprofit connects members from area African and Caribbean immigrant communities with students through mentoring and tutoring alongside social and cultural exchanges.
Penn Libraries opens newly renovated Biotech Commons The Penn Libraries has transformed its former Biomedical Library into a renovated and updated space, now named the Biotech Commons. A new feature is an Anatomage Table that will allow the review and virtual dissection of life-size virtual cadavers outside of clinical lab coursework. Libraries visualizationist Lexi Voss conducts a demonstration. Penn Libraries opens newly renovated Biotech Commons The Penn Libraries has transformed its former Biomedical Library into a newly renovated space with a new name, the Biotech Commons.
Mapping words to color A Penn study has looked at the communicative needs that drive similarities and differences in how languages develop vocabularies for color. Mapping words to color Researchers led by postdoc Colin Twomey and professor Joshua Plotkin developed an algorithm that can infer the communicative needs different linguistic communities place on colors.
Interact, adapt, repeat: A summer studying coevolution To study coevolution, the responsibilities of Nova Meng and Linda Wu included caring for plants in the Penn greenhouse. (Image: From July 2021, when masks were not required) Interact, adapt, repeat: A summer studying coevolution Sophomores Linda Wu and Nova Meng spent the summer studying coevolution among plants, mutualistic bacteria, and parasitic nematodes in Corlett Wood’s biology lab.
Evolutionary ‘arms race’ may help keep cell division honest Evolutionary ‘arms race’ may help keep cell division honest Research from the lab of Michael Lampson in the School of Arts & Sciences suggests that certain proteins may have evolved to reduce the likelihood of chromosomes “cheating” to bias their chance of winding up in an egg during the cell-division process meiosis.
Prizewinning photo by Penn biologist called metaphor for ‘spiraling crisis’ in the ocean Philadelphia Inquirer Prizewinning photo by Penn biologist called metaphor for ‘spiraling crisis’ in the ocean Kristen Brown, a postdoc in the lab of Katie Barott at the School of Arts & Sciences, won a contest with a photo she took while researching coral reefs. Rewiring cell division to make eggs and sperm New findings reveal the varied roles of a key protein in cell division. When the protein Meikin is not properly cleaved before meiosis II, chromosomes do not align properly, causing problems in cell division (bottom image). Chromosomes are in blue and the cellular machinery that pulls them to opposite sides of the cell is in purple. (Image: Jun Ma) Rewiring cell division to make eggs and sperm Research by the School of Arts & Sciences’ Michael Lampson and Jun Ma, collaborating with Whitehead Institute researchers, reveals how a key protein enables the process of meiosis to unfold. High-ranking hyena mothers pass their social networks to their cubs Hyenas benefit from being born to high-ranking mothers, from whom they inherit their social networks, according to research led by biologists from Penn and Michigan State University. (Image: Kate Shaw Yoshida) High-ranking hyena mothers pass their social networks to their cubs Using 27 years of detailed data on hyena social interactions, a team led by Penn biologists nailed down a pattern of social network inheritance and its implications for social structure, rank, and survival. Hyenas inherit their moms’ social connections Psychology Today Hyenas inherit their moms’ social connections Erol Akçay of the School of Arts & Sciences and former postdoc Amiyaal Ilany discussed their research on hyena’s social networks. “We show that a simple process—social inheritance—is important to understanding network structure and dynamics,” said Akçay. Biologist Daniel Janzen illustrates how a cicada is like an oak tree Biologist Daniel Janzen illustrates how a cicada is like an oak tree Janzen, the DiMaura Professor in Biology, on why cicadas (and wildebeests, salmon, and oak trees) act the way they do. Load More
Rewiring cell division to make eggs and sperm New findings reveal the varied roles of a key protein in cell division. When the protein Meikin is not properly cleaved before meiosis II, chromosomes do not align properly, causing problems in cell division (bottom image). Chromosomes are in blue and the cellular machinery that pulls them to opposite sides of the cell is in purple. (Image: Jun Ma) Rewiring cell division to make eggs and sperm Research by the School of Arts & Sciences’ Michael Lampson and Jun Ma, collaborating with Whitehead Institute researchers, reveals how a key protein enables the process of meiosis to unfold.
High-ranking hyena mothers pass their social networks to their cubs Hyenas benefit from being born to high-ranking mothers, from whom they inherit their social networks, according to research led by biologists from Penn and Michigan State University. (Image: Kate Shaw Yoshida) High-ranking hyena mothers pass their social networks to their cubs Using 27 years of detailed data on hyena social interactions, a team led by Penn biologists nailed down a pattern of social network inheritance and its implications for social structure, rank, and survival.
Hyenas inherit their moms’ social connections Psychology Today Hyenas inherit their moms’ social connections Erol Akçay of the School of Arts & Sciences and former postdoc Amiyaal Ilany discussed their research on hyena’s social networks. “We show that a simple process—social inheritance—is important to understanding network structure and dynamics,” said Akçay. Biologist Daniel Janzen illustrates how a cicada is like an oak tree Biologist Daniel Janzen illustrates how a cicada is like an oak tree Janzen, the DiMaura Professor in Biology, on why cicadas (and wildebeests, salmon, and oak trees) act the way they do.
Biologist Daniel Janzen illustrates how a cicada is like an oak tree Biologist Daniel Janzen illustrates how a cicada is like an oak tree Janzen, the DiMaura Professor in Biology, on why cicadas (and wildebeests, salmon, and oak trees) act the way they do.