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Science & Technology
New engineering approaches to address unmet oral health needs
New engineering approaches to address unmet oral health needs
With a new NIH training grant, awards, and new faculty and publications, the recently launched Center for Innovation & Precision Dentistry is leveraging technological advancements to improve oral health.
Decoding how the brain accurately depicts ever-changing visual landscapes
A collaborative study finds that deeper regions of the brain encode visual information more slowly, enabling the brain to identify fast-moving objects and images more accurately and persistently.
On the hunt for new exoplanets
A state-of-the-art instrument called NEID, from the Tohono O’odham word meaning “to see,” has officially started its scientific mission: discovering new planets outside of the solar system.
A new metric for designing safer streets
A new metric for designing safer streets
Penn researchers demonstrate how biometric data can help city planners more proactively design and evaluate the safety of urban infrastructure for bicyclists and pedestrians.
The search for the culprit behind songbird deaths
The search for the culprit behind songbird deaths
Across the United States, songbirds are dying from a mysterious condition. Working with long-established partners, researchers at the School of Veterinary Medicine are striving for a diagnosis.
The pioneering career of Norman Badler
The pioneering career of Norman Badler
The computer and information sciences professor retired in June. He chats about his recent ACM SIGGRAPH election and his expansive computer graphics path.
A COVID vaccine for kids
A COVID vaccine for kids
Jeff Gerber, who is heading the clinical trial of the Moderna vaccine in kids under 12 at CHOP, speaks with Penn Today about the trial and why getting children vaccinated is so essential.
High-ranking hyena mothers pass their social networks to their cubs
High-ranking hyena mothers pass their social networks to their cubs
Using 27 years of detailed data on hyena social interactions, a team led by Penn biologists nailed down a pattern of social network inheritance and its implications for social structure, rank, and survival.
Digging into the government report on UFOs
Digging into the government report on UFOs
In a Q&A, historian of science Kate Dorsch illuminates the history behind reporting and investigating UFO sightings and contextualizes the new government report on such phenomena.
New grant aims to broaden participation in cutting-edge materials research
New grant aims to broaden participation in cutting-edge materials research
As one of eight teams to be awarded National Science Foundation funding, a partnership between Penn and the University of Puerto Rico will continue its long-running collaboration focused on innovative research and STEM career pathway support.
In the News
NPR
More retailers are using AI. What does this mean for privacy?
Joseph Turow of the Annenberg School for Communication weighed in on how machine learning and automation are shaping the job market and consumer privacy.
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Psychology Today
Hyenas inherit their moms’ social connections
Erol Akçay of the School of Arts & Sciences and former postdoc Amiyaal Ilany discussed their research on hyena’s social networks. “We show that a simple process—social inheritance—is important to understanding network structure and dynamics,” said Akçay.
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WESA Radio (Pittsburgh)
More than 1,000 cases of mysterious bird disease reported in Pennsylvania
Scott Weber of the School of Veterinary Medicine and Penn’s Wildlife Futures Program said wildlife veterinarians are concerned about the numerous reports of sick or dead songbirds in the Mid-Atlantic region. “It does seem to be spreading through the U.S. pretty quickly, and spreading to a fairly wide geographical area,” he said.
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NPR
A mysterious illness is killing Mid-Atlantic songbirds
Lisa Murphy of the School of Veterinary Medicine spoke about the Wildlife Futures Program’s research on the illness killing songbirds in the Mid-Atlantic region. "I think what's especially challenging about this is that it's not localized ... to one specific geographic area [and] it's not localized to one particular bird species,” she said.
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U.S. News & World Report
‘Transmitted down the leash:’ Anxious owners, anxious dogs
James Serpell of the School of Veterinary Medicine spoke about the reciprocal relationship between pets’ and their owners’ feelings. “You can think of many contexts in which having an animal that can anticipate your thoughts is wonderful, in terms of training or performing tasks for people,” he said. “But in the context of an owner who's experiencing a lot of anxiety, you can see the disadvantage.”
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The New York Times
The hills are alive with the flows of physics
In the lab of Douglas Jerolmack, researchers led by doctoral candidate Nakul Deshpande of the School of Arts & Sciences explored how landscapes gradually move over time.
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MIT Technology Review
These creepy fake humans herald a new age in AI
Aaron Roth of the School of Engineering and Applied Science spoke about synthetic data and privacy concerns. “Just because the data is ‘synthetic’ and does not directly correspond to real user data does not mean that it does not encode sensitive information about real people,” he said.
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6ABC.com
Cyberattack temporarily shuts down JBS meat processing plants, including one in Montgomery County
Gary Althouse of the School of Veterinary Medicine commented on a ransomware attack that targeted one of the largest suppliers of beef, pork, and chicken in the U.S. “With food production, computerized systems are used in most aspects of it. We need to identify where these vulnerabilities are," he said.
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Philadelphia Inquirer
These Penn scientists discovered how the brain engages in imagination
Joseph Kable of the School of Arts & Sciences and alumni Arthur Lee and Trishala Parthasarathi used MRI brain scans to study the neuroscience of imagination.
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Scientific American
A better way to cool ourselves
Dorit Aviv of the Stuart Weitzman School of Design and international collaborators wrote an opinion piece about their work developing a healthier and more sustainable alternative to air conditioning.
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