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Inspiring interest in water quality at Cobbs Creek
Two people in waders in Cobbs Creek getting water samples.

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Inspiring interest in water quality at Cobbs Creek

The Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection has for decades designated Cobbs Creek in West Philadelphia an “impaired stream,” meaning it fails to meet at least one water quality standard, but lacks the data to identify the specific causes, says Jon Hawkings, assistant professor of earth and environmental science.

4 min. read

A world shaped by water and access
Three people test water below a sand dam.

Griffin Pitt, right, works with two other student researchers to test the conductivity, total dissolved solids, salinity, and temperature of water below a sand dam in Kenya.

(Image: Courtesy of Griffin Pitt)

A world shaped by water and access

Griffin Pitt’s upbringing made her passionate about water access and pollution, and Penn has given her the opportunity to explore these issues back home in North Carolina and abroad.

3 min.

A built-in ‘off switch’ to stop persistent pain

Collaborative research on the neural basis of chronic pain led by neuroscientist J. Nicholas Betley finds that a critical hub in the brainstem, has a built-in “off switch” to stop persistent pain signals from reaching the rest of the brain. Their findings could help clinicians better understand chronic pain. (Pictured) Flurorescence imaging reveals hunger neurons in the arcuate nucleus of the hypothalamus labeled in maroon with nuclei shown in blue.

(Image: J. Nicholas Betley)

A built-in ‘off switch’ to stop persistent pain

J. Nicholas Betley has led collaborative research seeking the neural basis of long-term sustained pain and finds that a critical hub in the brainstem holds a mechanism for stopping pain signals from reaching the rest of the brain. Their findings could help clinicians better understand chronic pain and lead to new, more efficacious treatments.

4 min. read

Students test one way to combat extreme heat in Philadelphia
Nafisa Bangura (left) and Angelica Dadda (right) doing hands-on experimental work in the Composto Lab.

Nafisa Bangura (left) and Angelica Dadda (right) examine CoolSeal-treated asphalt bricks in the Composto Lab to better understand how this coating behaves in controlled environments.

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Students test one way to combat extreme heat in Philadelphia

Third-year students Nafisa Bangura and Angelica Dadda expanded upon a multidisciplinary research endeavor to evaluate a reflective pavement coating as a tool to mitigate extreme heat. Their work may inform policy efforts to improve urban heat resilience.

4 min. read

Does early-life cellular activity influence cancer and aging?
Artist rendering of chromosome structure with telomeres highlighted at the ends.

Mia Levine and Michael Lampson’s research examines how telomere length is inherited, and how this can inform future genetic research in how cancer develops.

(Image: Courtesy of Getty/nopparit)

Does early-life cellular activity influence cancer and aging?

New research from Michael Lampson and Mia T. Levine in the School of Arts & Sciences offers insight into how telomeres—protective chromosomal caps linked to aging and cancer in mammals—are inherited. Their finding that telomeres become longer or shorter during early embryonic development opens new avenues for research.

3 min. read

A summer in the tick trenches
A person in PPE holding blue painters tape covered in several ticks.

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A summer in the tick trenches

With the help of five Penn undergrads, biology professor Dustin Brisson’s research group collected 9,000 tick specimens this summer to understand how seasonal activity patterns of these arachnids affects human pathogens and what role a changing climate might play.

Kristina Linnea García

2 min. read

How tumor mechanics and tiny messengers could shape the future of cancer research

How tumor mechanics and tiny messengers could shape the future of cancer research

A literature review co-written by Penn Engineering Ph.D. student Kshitiz Parihar and Ravi Radhakrishnan, professor in bioengineering and chemical biomolecular engineering, highlights the hidden connections between tumor mechanics and extracellular vesicles (EVs), tiny packages of proteins and genetic material secreted by cells. EVs carry cargo like proteins and RNA between cells, influencing how tumors grow, how the immune system responds, and even how cancers spread to other parts of the body.

What stiffening lung tissue reveals about the earliest stages of fibrosis
Donia Ahmed prepares tissue for imaging.

Image: Courtesy of Penn Engineering Today

What stiffening lung tissue reveals about the earliest stages of fibrosis

A Penn Engineering team has targeted the lung’s extracellular matrix to better understand early fibrosis by triggering the formation of special chemical bonds that increase tissue stiffness in specific locations, mimicking the first physical changes that may lead to lung fibrosis.

Melissa Pappas

2 min. read