8.28
Science & Technology
Minding the gap between mass transit and ride-hailing apps
Minding the gap between mass transit and ride-hailing apps
With support from the Kleinman Center for Energy Policy, doctoral students Caitlin Gorback and Summer Dong are researching how services like Uber and Lyft are changing our transport habits, cities, and environments.
In search of signals from the early universe
In search of signals from the early universe
Penn astronomers are part of an international collaboration to construct the Simons Observatory, a new telescope that will search the skies in a quest to learn more about the formation of the universe.
Sun, sand, and medical rehab robots
Sun, sand, and medical rehab robots
As part of a new interdisciplinary Penn Global Seminar, 16 undergraduates traveled to Jamaica to test and refine robotic rehabilitation devices for patients in need.
An early start at research
An early start at research
As part of the Jumpstart for Juniors program through the Center for Undergraduate Research and Fellowships, rising seniors can spend the summer working with faculty on unique and fascinating projects.
Q&A with mathematician Tony Pantev
Q&A with mathematician Tony Pantev
Penn Today interviewed the math department’s incoming chair to learn about his longtime passion for geometry and his hopes for the future of contemporary math research.
Making insights into ancient marine ecosystems with 3D-printed shells
Making insights into ancient marine ecosystems with 3D-printed shells
If you’re a snail hoping to survive an encounter with a hungry fish, it helps to have a strong shell. Paleoecology doctoral student Erynn Johnson is using 3D printing to understand how predator-prey interactions may have played out hundreds of millions of years ago.
100th puppy
100th puppy
An 8-week-old black Labrador retriever is the 100th puppy to enter the Penn Vet Working Dog Center research-based training program.
Keeping parasites from sticking to mosquito guts could block disease transmission
Keeping parasites from sticking to mosquito guts could block disease transmission
Researchers at the School of Veterinary Medicine show how a new model for studying the way parasites known as kinetoplastids adhere to mosquitoes’ insides could illuminate strategies for curbing diseases.
Iron Man: The engineer who became a superhero
Iron Man: The engineer who became a superhero
A Q&A with Marc Miskin and James Pikul about the real-world tech and practical limitations that underly Tony Stark’s superpowered suit.
As molecular engineers, chemists create innovative tools for scientific research
As molecular engineers, chemists create innovative tools for scientific research
Ivan Dmochowski’s group brings together approaches from diverse fields in chemistry to build custom molecules for biologists and medical researchers.
In the News
WESA Radio (Pittsburgh)
Wheels, drones and Rescue Randy: DARPA robotics competition puts mine rescue to the test
A four-legged robot from the School of Engineering and Applied Science was among robots performing underwater search and rescue in a competition. “They're doing everything completely autonomously, so every step they take is kind of a minor victory for us,” said C. J. Taylor. “We always feel that we could do better. We learn so much from each of these events and that gives us new ideas about things that we want to try.”
FULL STORY →
Penn Live
Wildlife diseases in Pennsylvania targeted by $10 million Game Commission-Penn partnership
Julie Ellis and Lisa Murphy of the School of Veterinary Medicine commented on a new collaboration between Penn Vet and the Pennsylvania Game Commission: the Pennsylvania Wildlife Futures Program, based at New Bolton Center.
FULL STORY →
Axios
Looking to AI to understand how we learn
PIK Professor Konrad Kording said, “There is a big undercurrent in neuroscience [saying] we should go back to neural networks,” which rely on technology that allows machines to learn from their mistakes.
FULL STORY →
Philadelphia Inquirer
‘Why not fly over it?’ Uber picks New Jersey firms in ambitious bid to beat traffic congestion
Rahul Mangharam of the School of Engineering and Applied Science commented on Uber’s new air taxi venture. “It’s going to be a very congested sky,” he said. “You want to make sure that each flight plan is safe by design, and that even if they do mess up for some reason, they have a fallback option.”
FULL STORY →
The New York Times
A feisty Google adversary tests how much people care about privacy
Joseph Turow of the Annenberg School for Communication commented on DuckDuckGo, a privacy-focused search engine. “I’m almost embarrassed to say that I don’t use it more than I do,” he said. “There is something in my head that tells me I’ll get a better search from Google, even when I don’t know if that is demonstrably correct or not.”
FULL STORY →
Wired
Twitter and Instagram unveil new ways to combat hate—again
Jessa Lingel of the Annenberg School for Communication said “we need humans” to help parse what is and isn’t offensive language based on context. “The tech just isn’t there yet.”
FULL STORY →
Gizmodo
This freaky robotic fish is powered by ‘blood’
James Pikul of the School of Engineering and Applied Science co-authored a study in which researchers developed a soft, robotic lionfish powered by a blood-like compound. “This robot blood is our first demonstration of storing energy in a fluid that is normally only used for actuation,” he said.
FULL STORY →
Scientific American
How the mind emerges from the brain’s complex networks
Danielle Bassett of the School of Engineering and Applied Science co-authored an article about network neuroscience, which allows us to see the origins of mental activity in the brain. One day, they write, “a neuroscientist who knew all the principles of brain function and everything about someone’s brain could predict that person’s mental conditions—the future, as well as the past, would be present inside the person’s mind.”
FULL STORY →
Scientific American
Domestication made dogs’ facial anatomy more fetching to humans
James Serpell of the School of Veterinary Medicine said humans may have bred dogs to appear more infantile over time. “We are innately predisposed to respond with a kind of nurturing behavior towards certain physical characteristics,” he said. “Over time, [humans selected] for traits that satisfy that parental nurturing response.”
FULL STORY →
The Guardian
Reversible superglue proves strong enough to hold average man
Shu Yang and colleagues from the School of Engineering and Applied Science have developed a new glue from hydrogel, inspired by snail slime. “The mucus [snails] produce is a viscous liquid, but when it dries they become firmly stuck,” said Yang.
FULL STORY →