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Decoding ancient immunity networks
Hand holding a blood vial that reads "complement (C3 + C4)"

A collaborative team from the School of Engineering and Applied Science and the Perelman School of Medicine have unraveled the mathematics of a 500-million-year-old protein network that acts like the body’s bouncer, “deciding” which foreign materials get degraded by immune cells and which are allowed entry.

(Image / iStock Md Saiful Islam Khan)

Decoding ancient immunity networks

A collaborative team from Penn Medicine and Penn Engineering have  unraveled the mathematics of a 500-million-year-old protein network that “decides” which foreign materials are friend or foe.

Nathi Magubane , Ian Scheffler , Holly Wojcik , Matt Toal

5 min. read

Who, What, Why: Xiao Schutte Ke on Tibetan pastoralists and citizen science
Xiao Schutte Ke.

Image: Courtesy of Xiao Schutte Ke

Who, What, Why: Xiao Schutte Ke on Tibetan pastoralists and citizen science

Schutte Ke, a sixth-year linguistic anthropology doctoral candidate in the School of Arts & Sciences, explains the importance of Indigenous citizen scientists in understanding a crucial ecosystem of nomadic livestock herders on the mountainous region of the Tibetan Plateau.

3 min. read

What can ants and naked-mole rats teach about societal roles?
Leafcutter ants moving around a bright green leaf.

In eusocial superorganisms like leafcutter ant colonies, labor is divvied up according to body shape and size, but PIK Professor Shelley Berger and her team discovered that molecular signals can override that blueprint. Their findings reveal how simple neuropeptides can reprogram ant behavior, reshuffling roles in nature’s most disciplined workforce.

(Image: Courtesy of Tierney Scarpa)

What can ants and naked-mole rats teach about societal roles?

PIK Professor Shelley Berger and colleagues explored the genetic basis of labor distribution in communal-dwelling species and discovered that pathways dating back hundreds of millions of years are conserved across animal kingdoms. Their findings offer fundamental insights into complex social behaviors.

5 min. read

Native plants from afar
A diagram of areas where marigolds are native plants.

Image: Courtesy of Weitzman News

Native plants from afar

In a course led by 2024-25 McHarg Fellow Leah Kahler, students explored the movement of plants across cultures and climates, as well as the relationships between recreational and productive landscapes.

From the Weitzman School of Design

2 min. read

How cable news has diverged from broadcast news
Person sitting on couch watching news.

Image: simonkr via Getty Images

How cable news has diverged from broadcast news

A team of researchers from the Computational Social Science Lab at the University of Pennsylvania find that cable news has increasingly diverged from broadcast news in the topics covered and language used.

3 min. read

Research and scholarship at the intersection of law and history
(From left) Serena Mayeri; Sarah (Sally) Barringer Gordon; Karen Tani, Sophia Lee; and Shaun Ossei-Owusu.

Legal History Consortium members (from left) Serena Mayeri; Sarah (Sally) Barringer Gordon; Karen Tani, Sophia Lee; and Shaun Ossei-Owusu.

(Image: Courtesy of Penn Carey Law)

Research and scholarship at the intersection of law and history

Under the leadership of Penn Carey Law’s Karen Tani, the Legal History Consortium unites the Law School and Penn’s Graduate History Department in a collaborative program.

From Penn Carey Law

2 min. read

Sparking curiosity for better learning and better lives
Xinyi Wang.

Xinyi Wang is a member of Annenberg’s Addiction, Health, & Adolescence Lab and the Communication Neuroscience Lab.

(Image: Courtesy of Annenberg School for Communication)

Sparking curiosity for better learning and better lives

Annenberg School for Communication doctoral graduate Xinyi Wang studies how people actively seek out and engage with new information.

Hailey Reissman

2 min. read

Unlocking the mechanics of protein misfolding
Artist's interpretation of prion mechanics.

Mathieu Ouellet

Unlocking the mechanics of protein misfolding

An interdisciplinary team led by School of Engineering and Applied Science’s Lee C. Bassett and Dani Bassett, also of the School of Arts & Sciences, have studied the mechanical properties of prions, the mysterious shape-shifting proteins that are infamous for mad cow disease yet essential for yeast survival

5 min. read

Penn students innovate in the time of AI
Helen Jin, Davis Brown

Helen Jin and Davis Brown.

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Penn students innovate in the time of AI

Students from schools across the University are putting knowledge into practice, asking deep questions and finding innovative uses for AI tools.

5 min. read

Penn, Neubauer Family Foundation, and Philadelphia Police Department partner to support police leadership education
Jeffrey Kallberg; Keven Bethel; Joseph Neubauer; Cherelle Parker; Jeanette Lerman-Neubauer; John MacDonald; and Beth A. Winkelstein.

(From left) Interim Dean of Penn’s School of Arts & Sciences and William R. Kenan, Jr. Professor of Music History Jeffrey Kallberg; Philadelphia Police Commissioner Kevin Bethel; Joseph Neubauer; Philadelphia Mayor Cherelle Parker; Jeanette Lerman-Neubauer; professor of criminology John MacDonald; and Deputy Provost Beth A. Winkelstein.

(Image: Brooke Sietinsons)

Penn, Neubauer Family Foundation, and Philadelphia Police Department partner to support police leadership education

The first-of-its-kind graduate degree in the U.S. for police leaders launches this fall at the School of Arts & Sciences.

3 min. read