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Penn Integrates Knowledge Professors

‘From the Freedom Rides to neuroscience’
Peter Sterling recently next to mugshot from 1961.

University of Pennsylvania neuroscience professor Peter Sterling joined the Freedom Rides in 1961, when he was an undergraduate at Cornell University, and was arrested.

(Images: Courtesy of the Office of Social Equity and Inclusion)

‘From the Freedom Rides to neuroscience’

In conversation with Professor of Practice Ben Jealous, neuroscience professor Peter Sterling returned to campus to talk about activism in his youth and how that informed his research in health.
The YouTube algorithm isn’t radicalizing people
A person pressing play on a YouTube video on a smartphone.

Image: Danykur for Adobe Stock

The YouTube algorithm isn’t radicalizing people

A new study from Annenberg School for Communication’s Computational Social Science Lab finds that the YouTube recommendation system is less influential on users’ political views than is commonly believed.

From Annenberg School for Communication

‘Are Civil Rights Enough?’
Dorothy Roberts speaks at a podium. The wooden podium has the words "University of Pennsylvania" and its seal.

PIK Professor Dorothy Roberts addresses the audience at the  23rd annual Reverend Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Lecture in Social Justice.

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‘Are Civil Rights Enough?’

During the 23rd annual Reverend Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Lecture in Social Justice, PIK Professor Dorothy Roberts addressed the question “Are Civil Rights Enough?”

Kristina García

Breaching the blood-brain barrier
Researchers Mike Mitchell and Emily Han examining a microfluidic device used to make LNPs by mixing lipids and mRNA.

Michael Mitchell (left) and Emily Han (right) examine a microfluidic device used to make LNPs by mixing lipids and mRNA. 

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Breaching the blood-brain barrier

A team of researchers in the School of Engineering and Applied Sciences has devised a method to deliver mRNA into the brain using lipid nanoparticles, potentially advancing treatments for Alzheimer’s disease and seizures.
How common is common sense?
Artist rendering depiction of common sense: This image features an abstract representation of multiple silhouetted profiles facing each other against a background of overlapping, multicolored shapes, symbolizing the interplay and convergence of diverse perspectives and ideas. The interlocking colors and profiles suggest the complex, multifaceted nature of common sense.

How common is common sense? A straightforward question that, surprisingly, has yet to receive a definitive science-based answer. Now, PIK Professor Duncan Watts and co-author Mark Whiting of the Wharton School and the School of Engineering and Applied Science present a new way to quantify common sense among both individuals and collectives.

(Image: Courtesy of Mark Whiting)

How common is common sense?

Researchers from Penn develop a framework for quantifying common sense, findings address a critical gap in how knowledge is understood.
More than skin deep: A molecular and mechanistic look at pigmentation variation
Two men sitting and smiling for a photgraph

PIK Professor Sarah Tishkoff led a collaborative team of researchers who have discovered key insights into the molecular basis of skin color differences among Africans. “There’s so much genetic diversity in African populations, but they’ve also been historically underrepresented in studies,” Tishkoff says. “Our findings offer more information on these populations and paint a clearer picture of human evolution.”

(Image: Courtesy of Sarah Tishkoff and Alessia Ranciaro)

More than skin deep: A molecular and mechanistic look at pigmentation variation

A new collaborative study offers a better understanding of genes and variants responsible for skin color, providing insights into human evolution and local adaptation.
Torn Apart: Terror

Torn Apart: Terror

PIK Professor Dorothy Roberts describes the horrors that the child welfare system inflicts by invading homes, targeting low-income families, and threatening to separate parents and children.