Southern Iraq’s toxic twilight Penn In the News The New York Times Southern Iraq’s toxic twilight Marilyn Howarth of the Perelman School of Medicine says oil rain, a byproduct of oil production, can be carcinogenic. “The oil itself can contain traces of heavy metals, arsenic, and radioactivity, which could be a source of lung cancer,” she said. 300-million-year-old fish resembles a sturgeon but took a different evolutionary path In a new report, paleontologists Lauren Sallan and Jack Stack re-examine the “enigmatic and strange” prehistoric fish Tanyrhinichthys mcallisteri. (Image: Nobu Tamura) 300-million-year-old fish resembles a sturgeon but took a different evolutionary path Tanyrhinichthys mcallisteri recasts the notion of what it means to be a “primitive” vertebrate, according to paleontologists Lauren Sallan and Jack Stack. The joys and trials of defending a dissertation virtually Aja Carter (seen here in May 2018) recently earned her doctorate from the Department of Earth and Environmental Science in the School of Arts & Sciences. In the lab of Peter Dodson, she studied how the structure of the vertebrae in the spinal column changed over time and how that affected the way animals move. As most aspects of university life moved online because of COVID-19, so did her thesis defense and that of so many others. The joys and trials of defending a dissertation virtually When most aspects of university life moved online because of COVID-19, so, too, did the thesis defense for Ph.D. candidates. Despite some challenges, the shift had unexpected benefits. No asteroids needed: ancient mass extinction tied to ozone loss, warming climate Penn In the News Science No asteroids needed: ancient mass extinction tied to ozone loss, warming climate Lauren Sallan of the School of Arts & Sciences spoke about the end of the Devonian period 359 million years ago, in which the ozone layer was damaged, resulting in a mass extinction. The discovery is significant to today’s climate change research. Life, death, and the Amazonian litter layer Asmall farm in the Andean-Amazonian foothills. Image: Kristina Lyons. Life, death, and the Amazonian litter layer Kristina Lyons’ new book explores the Colombian world of litter layers, seeds, and soils; Amazonian farmers, narcos, and the War on Drugs Junior Paul Lin named a 2020 Udall Scholar Junior Paul Lin is a 2020 Udall Scholar. Junior Paul Lin named a 2020 Udall Scholar Junior Paul Lin, an earth science major in the College of Arts & Sciences, has been selected as a 2020 Udall Scholar. Engaging with the climate crisis, online Work by Amy Balkin, artist-in-residence for the PPEH this year, is a part of the Making Sense gallery. (Image: Amy Balkin) Engaging with the climate crisis, online Across a quartet of digital platforms, including one for this week’s Climate Sensing and Data Storytelling convening, the Penn Program in Environmental Humanities is encouraging public engagement and the pairing of environmental art and science on climate issues. The Arctic could have almost no summer sea ice by 2040, decades sooner than expected The Arctic could have almost no summer sea ice by 2040, decades sooner than projected by many climate models, according to a statistical analysis by economists Francis X. Diebold of Penn and Glenn D. Rudebusch of the Federal Reserve Bank of San Francisco. (Image: Wasif Malik/Flickr Creative Commons) The Arctic could have almost no summer sea ice by 2040, decades sooner than expected Statistical analysis by economists from Penn and the Federal Reserve Bank of San Francisco could supplement current climate models and help global climate prediction. New feathered dinosaur was one of the last surviving raptors Dineobellator notohesperus is the name of a newly discovered species of dinosaur, that lived near the end of the reign of dinosaurs (Image: Sergey Krasovskiy) New feathered dinosaur was one of the last surviving raptors Dineobellator notohesperus lived 67 million years ago. Steven Jasinski, who recently earned his doctorate from the School of Arts and Sciences working with Peter Dodson, also of the School of Veterinary Medicine, led the effort to describe the find. Greener economy ‘not science fiction anymore’ In November 2019, Cohen presented Representative Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez with a copy of the book outside the Pelham Parkway Houses in the Bronx, where they led a training on the Green New Deal for Public Housing Act. (Image: Gabriel Hernandez Solano) Greener economy ‘not science fiction anymore’ A new book from Penn sociologist Daniel Aldana Cohen and colleagues describes four key facets of the Green New Deal and why they could become a reality in the not-too-distant future. Load More
300-million-year-old fish resembles a sturgeon but took a different evolutionary path In a new report, paleontologists Lauren Sallan and Jack Stack re-examine the “enigmatic and strange” prehistoric fish Tanyrhinichthys mcallisteri. (Image: Nobu Tamura) 300-million-year-old fish resembles a sturgeon but took a different evolutionary path Tanyrhinichthys mcallisteri recasts the notion of what it means to be a “primitive” vertebrate, according to paleontologists Lauren Sallan and Jack Stack.
The joys and trials of defending a dissertation virtually Aja Carter (seen here in May 2018) recently earned her doctorate from the Department of Earth and Environmental Science in the School of Arts & Sciences. In the lab of Peter Dodson, she studied how the structure of the vertebrae in the spinal column changed over time and how that affected the way animals move. As most aspects of university life moved online because of COVID-19, so did her thesis defense and that of so many others. The joys and trials of defending a dissertation virtually When most aspects of university life moved online because of COVID-19, so, too, did the thesis defense for Ph.D. candidates. Despite some challenges, the shift had unexpected benefits.
No asteroids needed: ancient mass extinction tied to ozone loss, warming climate Penn In the News Science No asteroids needed: ancient mass extinction tied to ozone loss, warming climate Lauren Sallan of the School of Arts & Sciences spoke about the end of the Devonian period 359 million years ago, in which the ozone layer was damaged, resulting in a mass extinction. The discovery is significant to today’s climate change research. Life, death, and the Amazonian litter layer Asmall farm in the Andean-Amazonian foothills. Image: Kristina Lyons. Life, death, and the Amazonian litter layer Kristina Lyons’ new book explores the Colombian world of litter layers, seeds, and soils; Amazonian farmers, narcos, and the War on Drugs Junior Paul Lin named a 2020 Udall Scholar Junior Paul Lin is a 2020 Udall Scholar. Junior Paul Lin named a 2020 Udall Scholar Junior Paul Lin, an earth science major in the College of Arts & Sciences, has been selected as a 2020 Udall Scholar. Engaging with the climate crisis, online Work by Amy Balkin, artist-in-residence for the PPEH this year, is a part of the Making Sense gallery. (Image: Amy Balkin) Engaging with the climate crisis, online Across a quartet of digital platforms, including one for this week’s Climate Sensing and Data Storytelling convening, the Penn Program in Environmental Humanities is encouraging public engagement and the pairing of environmental art and science on climate issues. The Arctic could have almost no summer sea ice by 2040, decades sooner than expected The Arctic could have almost no summer sea ice by 2040, decades sooner than projected by many climate models, according to a statistical analysis by economists Francis X. Diebold of Penn and Glenn D. Rudebusch of the Federal Reserve Bank of San Francisco. (Image: Wasif Malik/Flickr Creative Commons) The Arctic could have almost no summer sea ice by 2040, decades sooner than expected Statistical analysis by economists from Penn and the Federal Reserve Bank of San Francisco could supplement current climate models and help global climate prediction. New feathered dinosaur was one of the last surviving raptors Dineobellator notohesperus is the name of a newly discovered species of dinosaur, that lived near the end of the reign of dinosaurs (Image: Sergey Krasovskiy) New feathered dinosaur was one of the last surviving raptors Dineobellator notohesperus lived 67 million years ago. Steven Jasinski, who recently earned his doctorate from the School of Arts and Sciences working with Peter Dodson, also of the School of Veterinary Medicine, led the effort to describe the find. Greener economy ‘not science fiction anymore’ In November 2019, Cohen presented Representative Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez with a copy of the book outside the Pelham Parkway Houses in the Bronx, where they led a training on the Green New Deal for Public Housing Act. (Image: Gabriel Hernandez Solano) Greener economy ‘not science fiction anymore’ A new book from Penn sociologist Daniel Aldana Cohen and colleagues describes four key facets of the Green New Deal and why they could become a reality in the not-too-distant future.
Life, death, and the Amazonian litter layer Asmall farm in the Andean-Amazonian foothills. Image: Kristina Lyons. Life, death, and the Amazonian litter layer Kristina Lyons’ new book explores the Colombian world of litter layers, seeds, and soils; Amazonian farmers, narcos, and the War on Drugs
Junior Paul Lin named a 2020 Udall Scholar Junior Paul Lin is a 2020 Udall Scholar. Junior Paul Lin named a 2020 Udall Scholar Junior Paul Lin, an earth science major in the College of Arts & Sciences, has been selected as a 2020 Udall Scholar.
Engaging with the climate crisis, online Work by Amy Balkin, artist-in-residence for the PPEH this year, is a part of the Making Sense gallery. (Image: Amy Balkin) Engaging with the climate crisis, online Across a quartet of digital platforms, including one for this week’s Climate Sensing and Data Storytelling convening, the Penn Program in Environmental Humanities is encouraging public engagement and the pairing of environmental art and science on climate issues.
The Arctic could have almost no summer sea ice by 2040, decades sooner than expected The Arctic could have almost no summer sea ice by 2040, decades sooner than projected by many climate models, according to a statistical analysis by economists Francis X. Diebold of Penn and Glenn D. Rudebusch of the Federal Reserve Bank of San Francisco. (Image: Wasif Malik/Flickr Creative Commons) The Arctic could have almost no summer sea ice by 2040, decades sooner than expected Statistical analysis by economists from Penn and the Federal Reserve Bank of San Francisco could supplement current climate models and help global climate prediction.
New feathered dinosaur was one of the last surviving raptors Dineobellator notohesperus is the name of a newly discovered species of dinosaur, that lived near the end of the reign of dinosaurs (Image: Sergey Krasovskiy) New feathered dinosaur was one of the last surviving raptors Dineobellator notohesperus lived 67 million years ago. Steven Jasinski, who recently earned his doctorate from the School of Arts and Sciences working with Peter Dodson, also of the School of Veterinary Medicine, led the effort to describe the find.
Greener economy ‘not science fiction anymore’ In November 2019, Cohen presented Representative Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez with a copy of the book outside the Pelham Parkway Houses in the Bronx, where they led a training on the Green New Deal for Public Housing Act. (Image: Gabriel Hernandez Solano) Greener economy ‘not science fiction anymore’ A new book from Penn sociologist Daniel Aldana Cohen and colleagues describes four key facets of the Green New Deal and why they could become a reality in the not-too-distant future.