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When employees feel slighted, they work less

When employees feel slighted, they work less

New research from Wharton management professor Peter Cappelli reveals how even the slightest mistreatment at work can result in lost productivity.

From Knowledge at Wharton

2 min. read

Sniffing out cancer: Trained dogs can detect hemangiosarcoma by scent
A black lab smelling an odor in an olfactometer.

Dalton at the olfactometer lineup.

(Image: Shelby Wise)

Sniffing out cancer: Trained dogs can detect hemangiosarcoma by scent

Penn Vet’s Cynthia M. Otto and Clara Wilson and colleagues show that trained dogs can identify the odor of hemangiosarcoma, a devastating canine cancer, offering the hope of a better screening tool and more effective treatments.

3 min. read

‘How the Cold War Broke the News’
Barbie Zelizer

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‘How the Cold War Broke the News’

The latest book from Annenberg professor Barbie Zelizer traces how problematic journalistic practices became entrenched during the Cold War.

3 min. read

Three ways to reframe boredom
A person sleeping at their desk.

Image: iStock/cyano66

Three ways to reframe boredom

In modern society, boredom is largely considered a bad thing. Stephen M. Gorn Family Assistant Professor of English Lilith Todd thinks people can reframe how to think about being idle.

2 min. read

Can reminders help you save more money?

Can reminders help you save more money?

Wharton’s Katy Milkman has led a megastudy on 2 million U.S. bank customers, showing that regular reminders to save encouraged people to put money aside.

From Knowledge at Wharton

1 min. read

Lifesaving breakthrough in bacterial behavior
Artist's rendering of bacteria moving through a nanofabricated tube.

(Pictured) An artist’s depiction of a single cell moving through the nanofabricated mictostrucures biophysicist Arnold Mathijssen’s team used to study E. coli.

(Image: Courtesy of Ruoshui Liu/Cylos Studio)

Lifesaving breakthrough in bacterial behavior

Bacteria can actively swim upstream, leading to severe infections in places like the urinary tract and respiratory system and contamination of medical devices like catheters. Biophysicist Arnold Mathijssen and colleagues have uncovered how and why this happens, revealing that E. coli actually “thrives under pressure.” Their findings point to new strategies for designing safer, more effective biomedical tools and treatments.

3 min. read

Awards and accolades for Penn faculty
College Hall seen through the archway of Fischer Fine Arts.

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Awards and accolades for Penn faculty

A roundup of appointments and awards for various members of Penn’s faculty across several schools.

2 min. read

20 breakthroughs of 2025
Masoud Akbarzadeh holding up one of the fabricated materials.

The Polyhedral Structures Laboratory is housed at the Pennovation Center and brings together designers, engineers, and computer scientists to reimagine the built world. Using graphic statics, a method where forces are mapped as lines, they design forms that balance compression and tension. These result in structures that use far fewer materials while remaining strong and efficient.

(Image: Eric Sucar)

20 breakthroughs of 2025

From ancient tombs and tiny robots to personalized gene editing and AI weather models, Penn’s 2025 research portfolio showed how curiosity—paired with collaboration—moves knowledge into impact and stretches across disciplines and continents.

5 min. read

Centering joy in AI development and implementation
Desmond Patton seated at his desk.

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Centering joy in AI development and implementation

PIK Professor Desmond Upton Patton—of Annenberg and SP2—and collaborators introduce a joy-informed framework designed to initiate conversations among engineers, designers, and researchers.

2 min. read

Weighing sustainability of real vs. fake Christmas trees
A person putting ornaments on an artificial Christmas tree.

Image: Dmytro Betsenko via Getty Images

Weighing sustainability of real vs. fake Christmas trees

Engineering professor Lorena Grundy says people looking to make a sustainable decision should consider how many years they would use an artificial tree, how they plan to dispose of a real tree, and how the tree was transported.

2 min. read