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How children consider objects provides a peek into their behavior

How children consider objects provides a peek into their behavior

Young children gravitate toward objects with anthropomorphic features, an inclination that is not as strong in children with early signs of antisocial behavior, according to research from the lab of associate professor of psychology Rebecca Waller.

2 min. read

How investors misjudge market predictions based on quarterly earnings

How investors misjudge market predictions based on quarterly earnings

Research from Wharton finance professor Jessica Wachter shows that investors systematically overreact to repetitive earnings news and then correct that mistake in the months that follow. The cause is a behavioral phenomenon known as correlation neglect.

Uncovering predictors for post-surgical chronic opioid use

Uncovering predictors for post-surgical chronic opioid use

Penn Nursing researchers have identified several key predictors of whether patient will continue using opioids long after the typical recovery period from surgical procedures.

1 min. read

1 in 4 young people using psychotropic drugs are taking dangerous combinations
An adolescent holding a prescription pill.

Image: Chinnapong via Getty Images

1 in 4 young people using psychotropic drugs are taking dangerous combinations

A Penn Medicine study shows that the use of medicines to address mental health or behavioral conditions climbed from 2001 until 2020, but the increase has led to safety concerns.

Frank Otto

2 min. read

What makes an AI livestreamer seem real?

What makes an AI livestreamer seem real?

New research from Penn’s Annenberg School for Communication examines 15 months of livestreams from AI livestreamer Neuro-sama and proposes a new framework of what makes AI feel authentic.

Why students leave community college
Estefanie Aguilar Padilla conducting fieldwork at a community college.

Penn GSE doctoral student Estefanie Aguilar Padilla conducting fieldwork at a community college. 

(Image: Courtesy of Penn GSE)

Why students leave community college

At Penn’s Graduate School for Education, doctoral student Estefanie Aguilar Padilla’s work with associate professor Rachel Baker reveals why students walk away—and how colleges can help them stay.

From Penn GSE

2 min. read

Rewriting the rules of lung repair
Andy vaughan in his lab.

Associate professor of biomedical sciences Andy Vaughan.

nocred

Rewriting the rules of lung repair

Penn Vet’s Andrew Vaughan works to uncover why some lungs rebound and others have lasting damage, and how to change that.

Martin Hackett

2 min. read

Raindrop-formed ‘sandballs’ that erode hillsides tenfold
High-speed images of raindrops rolling on a sandy slope, forming peanut-shaped sandballs (top) and donut-shaped sandballs with hollow centers (bottom).

High-speed laboratory images capture two distinct “sandball” shapes formed when raindrops strike dry, sloped sand and roll downhill. (Top) Peanut-shaped sandballs, where grains coat the surface of a liquid core. (Bottom) Donut-shaped sandballs, which densify into rigid, wheel-like structures with a hollow center, enabling far more efficient sediment transport than splash erosion alone.

(Image: Daisuke Noto)

Raindrop-formed ‘sandballs’ that erode hillsides tenfold

Penn geophysicists and colleagues have uncovered Earth-sculpting processes that result from the formation of snowball-like aggregates they call “sandballs.” Their findings provide fundamental insights into erosion and will broaden scientific understandings of landscape change, soil loss, and agriculture.

3 min. read

Pink noise reduces REM sleep and may harm sleep quality
A person in bed taking earplugs out of a case.

Image: lisanna881 via Getty Images

Pink noise reduces REM sleep and may harm sleep quality

Penn Medicine researchers find that earplugs work better in protecting sleep from traffic noise, challenging the widespread use of ambient sound machines and apps marketed as sleep aids.

Eric Horvath

2 min. read