Does heat travel differently in tight spaces? Hugo Ulloa and Daisuke Noto of the School of Arts & Sciences have unearthed findings that address long-standing mysteries in the mechanics of fluids in confined, tight spaces: how their boundaries affect heat as it emanates from one place and dissipates throughout the space. The image above is a lab-scale hydrothermal system modeled utilizing a Hele-Shaw cell of 10 cm tall, 20 cm long and 4 mm gap. The interior of the Hele-Shaw cell is filled with degassed, deionized water heated from the bottom and cooled from above. A green laser sheet crosses the middle plane of the cell to visualize the motions of micro-scale particles seeded on the water, allowing researchers to estimate the fluid velocity and temperature. (Image: Courtesy of Daisuke Noto) Does heat travel differently in tight spaces? New research led by Penn scientists offers insights into fundamental problems in fluid mechanics, findings that pave the way for more efficient heat transfer in myriad systems.
Penn pioneers a ‘one-pot platform’ to promptly produce mRNA delivery particles Lipid nanoparticles present one of the most advanced drug delivery platforms to shuttle promising therapeutics such as mRNA but are limited by the time it takes to synthesize cationic lipids, a key component. Now, Michael Mitchell and his team at the School of Engineering and Applied Science have developed a faster way to make cationic lipids that are also more versatile, able to carry different kinds of treatments to target specific organs.(Image: iStock / Dr_Microbe) Penn pioneers a ‘one-pot platform’ to promptly produce mRNA delivery particles New lipid platform enables rapid synthesis of molecules that can shuttle therapeutics for a range of diseases with a high degree of organ specificity.
Social media use is associated with more frequent vaccination Image: iStock/Anton Vierietin Social media use is associated with more frequent vaccination Researchers from the Annenberg Public Policy Center found that more social media use actually correlates with more vaccination, but the reasons differ between Democrats and Republicans.
A first, physical system to learn nonlinear tasks without a traditional computer processor University of Pennsylvania physics and engineering researchers have created a contrastive local learning network, an analog system that is fast, low-power, scalable, and able to learn nonlinear tasks.(Image: Erica Moser) A first, physical system to learn nonlinear tasks without a traditional computer processor Physics and engineering researchers created a contrastive local learning network that is fast, low-power, and scalable.
Uncovering the drivers of a million-year-old glacial transition (Image: iStock/Nigel Jarvis) Uncovering the drivers of a million-year-old glacial transition Driving a climate model forward and backward in time, Mann Research Group scientists found strong path dependence in the evolution of Plio-Pleistocene glaciations.
Looking to AI to solve antibiotic resistance nocred Looking to AI to solve antibiotic resistance Researchers across Penn have developed an artificial intelligence tool for mining genetic elements from ancient molecules to discover new antibiotics.
New insights on cellular clones and inflammation in bones Hajishengallis, an expert in the immune mechanisms behind the gum disease periodontitis, worked with an international team to show that the innate immune system--typically thought to lack immune memory--can in fact be trained to "remember" past threats. New insights on cellular clones and inflammation in bones Research led by George Hajishengallis of Penn Dental sheds light on an aging-related condition that drives inflammation in older populations.
How deadly parasites choose to be male Penn Vet researchers developed the Cryptosporidium single-cell atlas, revealing which genes are expressed at which points across the parasite’s life cycle. On the left, the atlas shows parasites replicating asexually in green, with males in blue and females in pink. On the right, micrographs of the stages are shown, with their nuclei highlighted in green.(Image: Boris Striepen) How deadly parasites choose to be male Penn Vet researchers reveal the gene expression across the life cycle of Cryptosporidium and identify the determinant of maleness.
How much gossip is needed to foster social cooperation? (Image: iStock/AndreyPopov) How much gossip is needed to foster social cooperation? Researchers Mari Kawakatsu, Taylor A. Kessinger, and Joshua B. Plotkin in Penn’s Department of Biology developed a model incorporating two forms of gossip to study indirect reciprocity.
Organ transplant drug may slow Alzheimer’s disease progression in individuals with seizures Image: iStock/Dr_Microbe Organ transplant drug may slow Alzheimer’s disease progression in individuals with seizures A new study from a team at Penn Medicine finds that inhibiting neuron excitability slows the cognitive effects of Alzheimer’s disease.