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A built-in ‘off switch’ to stop persistent pain

Collaborative research on the neural basis of chronic pain led by neuroscientist J. Nicholas Betley finds that a critical hub in the brainstem, has a built-in “off switch” to stop persistent pain signals from reaching the rest of the brain. Their findings could help clinicians better understand chronic pain. (Pictured) Flurorescence imaging reveals hunger neurons in the arcuate nucleus of the hypothalamus labeled in maroon with nuclei shown in blue.

(Image: J. Nicholas Betley)

A built-in ‘off switch’ to stop persistent pain

J. Nicholas Betley has led collaborative research seeking the neural basis of long-term sustained pain and finds that a critical hub in the brainstem holds a mechanism for stopping pain signals from reaching the rest of the brain. Their findings could help clinicians better understand chronic pain and lead to new, more efficacious treatments.

4 min. read

Women’s labor and political agency in Delhi
Four women street vendors sell shoes and footwear on a Delhi street.

Four women street vendors sell shoes and footwear on a Delhi street.

(Image: Kannagi Khanna)

Women’s labor and political agency in Delhi

Rashi Sabherwal, a doctoral student in political science, explores how women engage politically in society in informal roles through her research in India.

2 min. read

Helping robots work together to explore the Moon and Mars
forthcoming

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Helping robots work together to explore the Moon and Mars

Penn Engineers, NASA, and five other universities tested robotic systems designed to help unmanned explorers cooperate in the dunes of White Sands, New Mexico, paving the way for Moon and Mars exploration.

5 min. read

Two leadership gifts elevate Jewish Studies at Penn Arts & Sciences
College Hall.

The Julie Beren Platt and Marc E. Platt Professorship of Jewish Studies will provide support for eminent scholars in the field, facilitating research and educational opportunities that might have otherwise been out of reach.

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Two leadership gifts elevate Jewish Studies at Penn Arts & Sciences

A pair of gifts from Julie Beren Platt and Marc E. Platt will establish an endowed professorship and create a program fund for graduate support in the Jewish Studies Program that will advance scholarship, community engagement, and global impact.

4 min. read

Students test one way to combat extreme heat in Philadelphia
Nafisa Bangura (left) and Angelica Dadda (right) doing hands-on experimental work in the Composto Lab.

Nafisa Bangura (left) and Angelica Dadda (right) examine CoolSeal-treated asphalt bricks in the Composto Lab to better understand how this coating behaves in controlled environments.

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Students test one way to combat extreme heat in Philadelphia

Third-year students Nafisa Bangura and Angelica Dadda expanded upon a multidisciplinary research endeavor to evaluate a reflective pavement coating as a tool to mitigate extreme heat. Their work may inform policy efforts to improve urban heat resilience.

4 min. read

How tumor mechanics and tiny messengers could shape the future of cancer research

How tumor mechanics and tiny messengers could shape the future of cancer research

A literature review co-written by Penn Engineering Ph.D. student Kshitiz Parihar and Ravi Radhakrishnan, professor in bioengineering and chemical biomolecular engineering, highlights the hidden connections between tumor mechanics and extracellular vesicles (EVs), tiny packages of proteins and genetic material secreted by cells. EVs carry cargo like proteins and RNA between cells, influencing how tumors grow, how the immune system responds, and even how cancers spread to other parts of the body.

What stiffening lung tissue reveals about the earliest stages of fibrosis
Donia Ahmed prepares tissue for imaging.

Image: Courtesy of Penn Engineering Today

What stiffening lung tissue reveals about the earliest stages of fibrosis

A Penn Engineering team has targeted the lung’s extracellular matrix to better understand early fibrosis by triggering the formation of special chemical bonds that increase tissue stiffness in specific locations, mimicking the first physical changes that may lead to lung fibrosis.

Melissa Pappas

2 min. read

Penn Engineers send quantum signals with standard internet protocol
Yichi Zhang wearing sunglasses in the Penn Engineering lab.

Yichi Zhang, a doctoral student in materials science and engineering, inspects the source of the quantum signal.

(Image: Sylvia Zhang)

Penn Engineers send quantum signals with standard internet protocol

Penn engineers have developed a “Q-Chip” (quantum-classical hybrid internet by photonics) signal which coordinates quantum and classical data and can run on the same infrastructure that carries everyday online traffic.

Ian Scheffler

2 min. read