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Michele W. Berger
Senior Science News Officer
mwberger@upenn.edu
Sociology
Overturning Roe disproportionately burdens marginalized groups
Overturning Roe disproportionately burdens marginalized groups
For low-income people and people of color, lack of access to safe abortions in the U.S. will have a range of health and financial ramifications, compounding factors like poverty and systemic racism.
How historical racism influences modern poverty and racial inequality
How historical racism influences modern poverty and racial inequality
Sociologist Regina Baker finds that Black people in southern U.S. states with significant institutionalized historical racial practices experience worse poverty today. These states also have a wider poverty gap between Black and white populations.
Following the trail of Elizabeth Thomas, fossil hunter
Following the trail of Elizabeth Thomas, fossil hunter
Claire Conklin Sabel, a doctoral student in Penn’s History and Sociology of Science department, uncovers the findings of 18th-century amateur naturalist Elizabeth Thomas, along with illustrator Alix Pentecost-Farren, who brings Thomas’ work to life.
Cosmic Writers brings free creative writing education to school-aged children
Cosmic Writers brings free creative writing education to school-aged children
May graduates Rowana Miller and Manoj Simha lead Cosmic Writers, a project supported by President’s Engagement Prize that provides free creative writing instruction to K-12 students virtually throughout the world.
COVID mortality age patterns changed significantly during pandemic
COVID mortality age patterns changed significantly during pandemic
Between March 2020 and October 2021, death rates from the virus decreased for those 80 and older and increased for those 25 to 54, results that held across racial and ethnic groups.
35th annual Women of Color at Penn award
35th annual Women of Color at Penn award
The Women of Color at Penn held their 35th annual award ceremony with a virtual celebration hosted by the African American Resource Center. This year’s awards honored six women who have fostered and supported community.
The pandemic’s psychological scars
The pandemic’s psychological scars
It’s been a long and uncertain road, with some groups shouldering a disproportionately greater burden of mental anguish from COVID-19. Yet now there’s a glimmer of hope. Has the page finally turned?
Hostility among friends can come from surprising places
Hostility among friends can come from surprising places
Sherelle Ferguson, and Annette Lareau, Edmund J. and Louise W. Kahn Professor in the Social Sciences, find that “hostile ignorance” can come from surprising places.
Improving college access for Philadelphia’s Latinx community
Improving college access for Philadelphia’s Latinx community
A collaboration between Penn and the nonprofit Centro de Cultura Arte Trabajo y Educación aims to enhance a thriving post-secondary success program, create mentoring opportunities, and more.
Lance Freeman appointed Penn Integrates Knowledge University Professor
Lance Freeman appointed Penn Integrates Knowledge University Professor
Interim President Wendell Pritchett and Interim Provost Beth Winkelstein announce the appointment of Lance Freeman as the University of Pennsylvania’s 29th Penn Integrates Knowledge University Professor.
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In the News
Neuroscience
Both nature and nurture contribute to signatures of socioeconomic status in the brain
Gideon Nave of the Wharton School and Martha Farah of the School of Arts & Sciences are quoted on their work that found evidence that both genetics and environmental influences contribute to the impact of socioeconomic status in a complex interplay with effects that span a variety of brain regions.
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NPR
Need to break up with someone? Baboons have found a good way to do it, study finds
Robert Seyfarth of the School of Arts & Sciences spoke about how and why groups of primates “break up” and warned not to project that information onto human relationships. "You always find somebody who says, yeah, the baboons are showing us that you shouldn't have a despotic breakup and it's bad to just dump somebody and walk off," he said. "But I guess I'm not going to go into that territory."
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NPR
Is there really a truck drive shortage?
Steve Viscelli of the School of Arts & Sciences spoke about the tough working conditions faced by long-haul truckers. "We have millions of people who have been trained to be heavy duty truck drivers who are currently not working as heavy duty truck drivers because the entry-level jobs are terrible," he said.
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Scientific American
What monkeys can teach humans about resilience after disaster
PIK Professor Michael Platt and Camille Testard, a Ph.D. student in the Perelman School of Medicine, spoke about their research on how rhesus macaques in Puerto Rico adapted in the wake of Hurricane Maria. “We see this massive surge in the time they spend in proximity to other partners, and their social tolerance increasing toward many different partners,” said Testard. “We saw active building of relationships with individuals that they didn’t really interact with before.”
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Philadelphia Inquirer
What will sex, dating, and marriage look like on the other side of the pandemic?
Frank Furstenburg of the School of Arts & Sciences spoke about the pandemic’s impact on families and relationships. “I would be very surprised if we don’t see a sharp drop in fertility, and similarly a considerable decrease in cohabitation because the ability to experiment and form relationships has been severely curtailed,” he said.
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Associated Press
US births fall, and virus could drive them down more
Hans-Peter Kohler of the School of Arts & Sciences commented on the possibility of a further decline in birth rates due to the coronavirus. The question isn’t whether or not there will be decline, but rather if the decline will be lasting, he said.
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