Skip to Content Skip to Content

Genetics

What’s That? Black squirrels
a black squirrel perched on a tree trunk

A black squirrel on College Green in the fall of 2024. 

nocred

What’s That? Black squirrels

Penn Today spoke to Sarah Tomke in the School of Veterinary Medicine’s Wildlife Futures Program about the black squirrels regularly seen on College Green. They are black because of a genetic mutation in the melanin receptor protein, which regulates pigment.
Understanding diabetes and oral health
Two students in lab coats surround a professor in a suit.

From left: Su Ah Kim, professor of periodontics Dana Graves, and Sanan Gueyikian.

nocred

Understanding diabetes and oral health

Two undergraduates, supported by PURM, worked on research projects this summer with the Graves Lab to contribute to the knowledge of diabetes’ impact on oral wound healing and periodontal disease.
Uncovering new antibiotics inside the human gut
Microscopic rendering of bacterial in the small intestines.

Image: iStock/ChrisChrisW

Uncovering new antibiotics inside the human gut

Researchers from Penn Engineering, led by César de la Fuente, have leveraged AI to discover dozens of potential new antibiotics in the human gut microbiome.

Ian Scheffler