Research | Penn Today

Can surface fractures on Earth, Mars, and Europa predict habitability on other planets?

Geophysicist Douglas Jerolmack has used the mathematical framework developed for understanding fracture patterns on Earth to survey two-dimensional fracture networks across the solar system, which could offer insights into detecting potentially habitable environments on other planets.

Uncovering key brain circuit in the fight against cocaine use disorder

A new study published in Science Advances by Penn Nursing’s Heath Schmidt has identified a critical brain circuit that plays a pivotal role in regulating cocaine-seeking behavior.

These two personality traits make you instantly more attractive, say studies of over 4,000 people

A study by postdoc Natalia Kononov of the Wharton School suggests that kindness and helpfulness can make someone more attractive, regardless of the situation or relationship.

Innate immune training aggravates inflammatory bone loss

Researchers from the School of Dental Medicine and international collaborators from Germany have investigated the effects of training the innate immune system in experimental models of chronic inflammatory disease, periodontitis and arthritis.

Formerly anti-vax parents on how they changed their minds: ‘I really made a mistake’

According to surveys from the Annenberg Public Policy Center, the proportion of respondents who believe vaccines are unsafe grew from 9% in April 2021 to 16% in the fall of 2023.

Sage Fulco demonstrates the machine the group used to test the materials’ toughness.

How disorder toughens materials

A team of Penn engineers tested disordered materials and finds that without changing the material but simply altering the internal geometry, the mechanical metamaterial can increase toughness.

person's hand holding a phone with a news story visible

How news coverage distorts America’s leading causes of death

A new study from the Annenberg School for Communication shows how media coverage of sensational risks underemphasized chronic illnesses.

DeepSeek AI banned from all Pa. Treasury-issued devices

Researchers from Cisco and the School of Engineering and Applied Science found that DeepSeek’s AI model R1 failed to block malicious prompts in security tests, exposing major safety flaws.

Want to debunk conspiracy theories? Try AI

A collaborative study by Katy Milkman of the Wharton School found that stock analysts didn’t update their forecasts after making earnings estimates that were far outside the consensus.

New mRNA therapy could repair damaged lungs

Penn researchers have designed an organ-specific mRNA and lipid nanoparticle therapy which could lead to new targeted treatments for damaged organs.

Filters