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Communicating change in a ‘land of extremes’
fog rolling in over mongolia water

Communicating change in a ‘land of extremes’

In Aurora MacRae-Crerar’s Penn Global Seminar, students are grappling with the impacts of a shifting and unpredictable climate in Mongolia.

Katherine Unger Baillie

David S. Roos on the future of COVID-19
Selfie of David Roos in front of two desktop computer monitors and a laptop.

David O. Roos, E. Otis Kendall Professor of Biology. (Image: Courtesy of David O. Roos)

David S. Roos on the future of COVID-19

The E. Otis Kendall Professor of Biology and infectious disease specialist discusses the virus, its variants, and vaccines in a Q&A.

From Omnia

Research reveals how a cell mixes its mitochondria before it divides
molecules showing the cyclic assembly and disassembly of actin (in orange) on mitochondria (in blue) in dividing HeLa cells

Research reveals how a cell mixes its mitochondria before it divides

A team at Penn Medicine has discovered—and filmed—the molecular details of how a cell, just before it divides in two, shuffles important internal components called mitochondria to distribute them evenly to its two daughter cells.

Melissa Moody

Med study illuminates the molecular details of lung development
Diagram of lungs comprised of microscopic dots.

Med study illuminates the molecular details of lung development

Researchers at Penn Medicine have produced a detailed molecular atlas of lung development, key for future studies of mammalian biology and of new treatments for diseases, such as COVID-19, that affect the lungs.

Melissa Moody

Three Goldwater Scholars for Penn
three students

Three undergraduates in the School of Arts & Sciences have received 2021 Goldwater Scholarships, awarded to sophomores or juniors planning research careers in mathematics, the natural sciences, or engineering. Penn’s newest Goldwater Scholars are (from left) sophomore Emma Keeler from Rochester, Massachusetts; junior Michele Meline from Philadelphia; and junior Max Wragan from Washington, D.C.

Three Goldwater Scholars for Penn

Penn’s newest Goldwater Scholars, awarded to sophomores or juniors planning research careers in mathematics, the natural sciences, or engineering are sophomore Emma Keeler, junior Michele Meline and junior Max Wragan.

Louisa Shepard

How female frogs tune out useless, noisy males

How female frogs tune out useless, noisy males

Amritha Mallikarjun, a postdoc in the School of Veterinary Medicine, weighed in on a study that found that female frog lungs can not only amplify the mating calls of male frogs but also muffle noises from other species. “It seems incredibly smart,” she said. “They’re taking sounds that aren’t interesting and trying to reduce them.”

Like humans, naked mole-rats have regional accents

Like humans, naked mole-rats have regional accents

Robert Seyfarth of the School of Arts & Sciences weighed in on a new study that found naked mole-rat colonies have unique vocal signatures. “Mole-rats have this incredible society,” he said. “It looks like their vocal communication, and the way their brain organizes vocalizations, has evolved to fit the demands of that society.”

Five Penn faculty named 2021 Sloan Research Fellows
portraits of from top left clockwise Ishmail Abdus-Saboor, Bo Zhen, Marc Miskin, Ziyue Gao, and Bhaswar B. Bhattacharya

Five Penn faculty named 2021 Sloan Research Fellows

The fellowship recognizes extraordinary U.S. and Canadian researchers whose creativity, innovation, and research accomplishments make them stand out as the next generation of scientific leaders.

Erica K. Brockmeier

Stem cell study illuminates the cause of an inherited heart disorder
A microscopic look at an iPSC-cardiomyocyte harboring an LMNA mutation.

Pictured, an iPSC-cardiomyocyte harboring an LMNA mutation. Researchers at Penn studied how mutations in LMNA impact how DNA is organized in the cell. (Image: Penn Medicine News)

Stem cell study illuminates the cause of an inherited heart disorder

A new study from Penn Medicine shows that LMNA gene mutations can disrupt the ‘identity’ of heart muscle cells, leading to a congenital form of dilated cardiomyopathy.

From Penn Medicine News

First ever ‘pioneer’ factor found in plants enables cells to change their fate
A close-up view of white flowers emerging from a plant

Using an experimental technique whereby flowers can be coaxed to form from plant roots, biologists led by Doris Wagner uncovered a protein that enables for the initial loosening of chromatin that can allow new proteins to be made and plants to take on different forms. (Image: Courtesy of the Wagner laboratory)

First ever ‘pioneer’ factor found in plants enables cells to change their fate

To start the process of unpacking tightly bundled genetic material, plants depend on the LEAFY pioneer protein, according to work led by biologist Doris Wagner.

Katherine Unger Baillie