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An arms race that plays out in a single genome
Illustration of Alice in Wonderland chasing the Red Queen

Like Alice furiously running to keep up with the Red Queen, but remaining in one place, two genetic elements in the fruit fly genome are engaged in an evolutionary arms race to simply keep the biological status quo, according to new research by Penn scientists. (Image: John Tenniel in Lewis Carroll’s Through the Looking Glass)

An arms race that plays out in a single genome

School of Arts & Sciences biologist Mia Levine and Cara Brand, a postdoc, shed light on an example of coevolution in fruit flies that has implications for human health.

Katherine Unger Baillie

Streamlining the health care supply chain
William and Luka pose in front of College Hall

William Danon and Luka Yancopoulos pose in front of College Hall in April 2022. They are co-founders of Grapevine and the winners of the 2022 President’s Innovation Prize. 

Streamlining the health care supply chain

William Danon and Luka Yancopoulos, winners of the 2022 President’s Innovation Prize, will offer a software solution to make the health care supply chain more efficient.
Frozen testicular tissue still viable after 20 years
Cross-section of testes tissue shows a variety of cells labeled pink and blue and sperm

After being transferred to an infertile mouse, testes tissue from a rat that had been frozen for more than two decades gave rise to sperm and germ cells. (Image: Eoin Whelan/PLOS Biology/CC-BY 4.0 https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0)

Frozen testicular tissue still viable after 20 years

Many pediatric cancer treatments, though lifesaving, can compromise future fertility. In a new study in rodents, researchers from the School of Veterinary Medicine showed that testicular tissue frozen for more than 20 years could give rise to sperm.

Katherine Unger Baillie

Symposium highlights range and reach of Penn Global research
Panelists sit on a stage at Perry World House, while another is on a Zoom screen behind them

The 2022 Launch Symposium at Perry World House brought together faculty from eight of Penn’s 12 schools to share presentations on their projects that span the globe.

Symposium highlights range and reach of Penn Global research

The Penn Global Research and Engagement Grant is supporting 21 faculty-led projects that span research, capacity-building, and development efforts across Africa, Latin America and the Caribbean, India, China, and beyond.

Kristen de Groot

Six from Penn elected to American Academy of Arts and Sciences in 2022
A grid of people that includes, in the top row, Dorothy Roberts, Drew Weissman, and Katalin Karikó, and in the bottom row, Yale Goodman, Nicholas Sambanis, and Diana Kotzin.

Six researchers and faculty affiliated with the Perelman School of Medicine, School of Arts & Sciences, Graduate School of Education, and Penn Law have been elected to the American Academy of Arts and Sciences in 2022. (Images: Courtesy of [counterclockwise from top left] Penn Law, Peggy Peterson/Penn Medicine, Penn Engineering, Nicholas Sambanis, Graduate School of Education)

Six from Penn elected to American Academy of Arts and Sciences in 2022

Faculty from the Perelman School of Medicine, School of Arts & Sciences, Graduate School of Education, and Law School join more 260 honorees recognized for contributions to academia, the arts, industry, public policy, and research.

Michele W. Berger

In the Galápagos, training community scientists to monitor water quality
Group poses in a tropical marine landscape holding a sign that reads Allianza para la Educaion e Investigacion en Galapagos

Under the umbrella of the Galápagos Education and Research Alliance, Penn Vet professor Daniel Beiting (far right) and others from Penn visited San Cristóbal Island in March, where they engaged students and scientists in water quality testing. (Image: Courtesy of Daniel Beiting)

In the Galápagos, training community scientists to monitor water quality

Both dense human populations and a plethora of wildlife can pose a challenge to marine and public health in the Galápagos Islands. With portable, user-friendly PCR technology, Penn faculty and students are training local scientists and school children to perform water quality research.

Katherine Unger Baillie

Regulating the regulators of the immune system
T cells labeled in fluorescent green patrol the vascular system, labeled in red

Regulating the regulators of the immune system

Research led by School of Veterinary Medicine scientists reveals a new layer of complexity with which the immune system finds a balance between controlling pathogens and protecting healthy tissue.

Katherine Unger Baillie

Social connections influence brain structure of rhesus macaques
Three adults rhesus macaques and two infants macaques sitting on a rock in a forest located on the island of Cayo Santiago.

A grooming chain of adult female rhesus macaques on Cayo Santiago, an island off the coast of Puerto Rico. Researchers in the Platt labs have studied this group of free-ranging nonhuman primates for more than a decade. This most recent work builds on previous research aimed at understanding the link between social connections and the brain. (Image: Lauren JN Brent)

Social connections influence brain structure of rhesus macaques

Researchers from Penn, Inserm, and elsewhere observed that the number of grooming partners an individual animal had predicted the size of brain areas associated with social decision-making and empathy.

Michele W. Berger

Lead toxicity risk factors in Philadelphia
a hand-held device is used to measure lead levels in a soil sample

Researchers used data on soil lead content to inform their analysis of the contributing factors to lead exposure risk around Philadelphia. Many samples were collected during Academically Based Community Service courses taught at Penn. (Image: Alex Schein)

Lead toxicity risk factors in Philadelphia

Two studies identify factors that correlate with high blood-lead levels in children, pointing to ongoing environmental justice issues that disproportionately fall on children of color and poorer communities in the city.

Katherine Unger Baillie

Solutions to mitigate climate change, from the IPCC
Side of a building. Some of the window spaces are covered with bars. Others are covered with plants and other options for greening the building.

Solutions to mitigate climate change, from the IPCC

The latest assessment offers both a harsh reality check and a path forward. Experts William Braham, Peter Psarras, and Michael Mann offer their thoughts.

Michele W. Berger