Biology | Penn Today

A person in a hazmat suit removes a piece of roofing from a roof.

Using marine bacteria to detoxify asbestos

Researchers from the School of Arts and Sciences have shown that bacteria from extreme marine environments can reduce asbestos’ toxic properties.

Nature

Developing human embryos imaged at highest-ever resolution

Nicolas Plachta of the Perelman School of Medicine discusses being able to view an early human embryo at the very early stages of development with cellular resolution.

Exploring the relationship between cooking and scientific discovery

Penn physicist Arnold Mathijssen and colleagues have authored a review article discussing the history of food innovations and the current scientific breakthroughs that are changing the way we eat.

BBC

Taurine may extend life and health, scientists find

Joseph Baur of the Perelman School of Medicine and med student Joseph McGaunn caution that a singular focus on increasing dietary taurine risks driving poor nutritional choices.

Graphic ilustration of people holding hands in a concentric circle formation.

The evolution of societal cooperation

Research led by the School of Arts & Sciences’ Joshua Plotkin and Taylor Kessinger sheds light on the impact of social contexts and multilayered societies on promoting cooperative behavior.

Stat

Academia’s postdoc system is teetering, imperiling efforts to diversify life sciences

As co-chair of an NIH group to re-envision postdoctoral training, PIK Professor Shelley Berger expresses concern about the future of academic research.

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.

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.

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.

Subway train passengers with protective masks crowding to get on and off subway station platform on Metro station.

Social conformity in pandemics: How our behaviors spread faster than the virus itself

Researchers led by former postdoc Bryce Morsky and Erol Akçay of the School of Arts & Sciences have produced a model for disease transmission that factors in the effects of social dynamics, specifically, how masking and social distancing are affected by social norms.

Filters