Biology | Penn Today

Artificial cells can deliver molecules better than the real thing

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.

vachellia collinsii tree with swollen thorns growing in a pot

Timing is everything for the mutualistic relationship between ants and acacias

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.

A new drug target for chemically induced Parkinson’s disease

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.

A squid’s eye view

Alison Sweeney of the School of Arts and Sciences discussed the complex structure of squids’ eyes, which have special lenses that allow for crisp vision in dark water. “The resolution of their eyes is approaching that of humans, their retinas are much more sensitive than ours are to light, and if you dig into the nitty-gritty of how nature figured it out, I’m forever blown away at the level of nuance to get it to work.”

jennifer punt with students in canine lab

Meaningful science, with students at the helm

With CANINE, a collaboration between the School of Veterinary Medicine and the School of Arts and Sciences’ Biology Department, undergraduates are breaking new ground in immunology.

Q&A

Why is it so difficult to sleep when it’s hot?

Philip Gehrman of the Penn Sleep Center offers an explanation—and explores some other recent questions posed by sleep scholars.

watercolor image depicting the embryonic bone development process, endochondral ossification, featuring cartilage and bone.

Replicating fetal bone growth process could help heal large bone defects

A new study finds large bone defects could be regenerated through stem cell implantation and mimic the process of rapid fetal bone growth.

newborn baby in bassinet beside hospital bed with birth mother in background

Why are so many women still dying from childbirth?

Experts from Penn discuss the role that social determinants, socioeconomics, and racism play, and how the University is addressing the maternal mortality crisis head on.

Compound’s benefits aren’t tied to the body clock

New research from Penn Medicine overturns what was previously known about a compound associated with reductions in obesity and diabetes risk.

What Puerto Rico’s monkeys post-Maria teach us about survival

PIK Professor Michael Platt joined a conversation about surviving trauma and Puerto Rico’s “monkey island.”

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