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Lifesaving breakthrough in bacterial behavior
Artist's rendering of bacteria moving through a nanofabricated tube.

(Pictured) An artist’s depiction of a single cell moving through the nanofabricated mictostrucures biophysicist Arnold Mathijssen’s team used to study E. coli.

(Image: Courtesy of Ruoshui Liu/Cylos Studio)

Lifesaving breakthrough in bacterial behavior

Bacteria can actively swim upstream, leading to severe infections in places like the urinary tract and respiratory system and contamination of medical devices like catheters. Biophysicist Arnold Mathijssen and colleagues have uncovered how and why this happens, revealing that E. coli actually “thrives under pressure.” Their findings point to new strategies for designing safer, more effective biomedical tools and treatments.

3 min. read

Weighing sustainability of real vs. fake Christmas trees
A person putting ornaments on an artificial Christmas tree.

Image: Dmytro Betsenko via Getty Images

Weighing sustainability of real vs. fake Christmas trees

Engineering professor Lorena Grundy says people looking to make a sustainable decision should consider how many years they would use an artificial tree, how they plan to dispose of a real tree, and how the tree was transported.

2 min. read

How one molecule keeps plants youthful
flowering acacia plant.

Image: Courtesy of Omnia.

How one molecule keeps plants youthful

In a career-defining paper, Scott Poethig, a biologist at the School of Arts & Sciences, has discovered that a single molecular switch can freeze plants in their juvenile state.

Marilyn Perkins

2 min. read

One School, many schools of thought
Mark Trodden.

School of Arts & Sciences dean Mark Trodden joins faculty in discussion for Omnia’s latest podcast series.

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One School, many schools of thought

A special edition of the Penn Arts & Sciences “Ampersand” podcast features Dean Mark Trodden in conversation with SAS faculty from different disciplines.

Alex Schein

2 min. read

Evolution at a molecular level

Biologist Mia Levine and colleagues have demonstrated how a pair of essential protein partners undergo rapid evolutionary change to counter fast-evolving parasitic DNA while maintaining core cellular functions. The work presents novel insight into how evolution works at the molecular level.

(Image: Getty images/Joao Paulo Burini)

Evolution at a molecular level

Research led by Mia Levine shows how a vital DNA protection protein complex adapts to new threats without compromising essential functions.

3 min. read

An ‘illuminating’ design sheds light on cholesterol
A researcher scribbles an organic molecule

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An ‘illuminating’ design sheds light on cholesterol

High levels of cholesterol are linked to heart disease, stroke, and many other health problems. However, this complex and vital fatty, water insoluble molecule—a lipid—is found in every cell of the body and is not all bad news. It also regulates crucial processes that science has yet to map.

3 min. read

The human side of clean energy

The human side of clean energy

In their new book “Power Lines: The Human Costs of American Energy in Transition,” Sanya Carley and David Konisky ask what happens to the people left behind in America’s energy transition.

From Kleinman Center for Energy Policy

2 min. read

Understanding the climate record through objects
Melissa Charenko stands in front of art in her office.

In her office, Melissa Charenko has paintings by artist Jill Pelto that depict the kind of climate proxies Charenko writes about in her new book, such as sediment cores containing pollen grains.

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Understanding the climate record through objects

Melissa Charenko’s new book shares the history of how 20th-century scientists used climate “proxies”—such as tree rings and fossil pollen—to understand past climates, which has implications for future climate action.

3 min. read

Letting the sunshine in and monitoring stormwater runoff
Tree saplings next to the solar panels.

Trees planted next to the solar panels are enhancing stormwater runoff infiltration.

(Image: The Water Center at Penn)

Letting the sunshine in and monitoring stormwater runoff

As the buzz around renewable energy grows louder, a research endeavor led by the Water Center at Penn exemplifies of how addressing energy demands goes hand-in-hand with tackling water challenges.

From the Environmental Innovations Initiative

2 min. read

A serendipitous find leads to lifesaving discoveries
Fluorescent imaging of glioblastoma under a microscope.

Image: Kyosuke Shishikura

A serendipitous find leads to lifesaving discoveries

A Penn-led team has revealed a how hydralazine, one of the world’s oldest blood pressure drugs and a mainstay treatment for preeclampsia, works at the molecular level. In doing so, they made a surprising discovery—it can also halt the growth of aggressive brain tumors.

3 min. read