10.20
Science & Technology
Engineering a polymer network to act as active camouflage on demand
Engineering a polymer network to act as active camouflage on demand
Artificial chromatophores, which consist of membranes stretched over circular cavities attached to pneumatic pumps, allow surfaces squid-like active camouflage capabilities.
Smart dental implants
Smart dental implants
Geelsu Hwang of the School of Dental Medicine and colleagues are developing a smart dental implant that resists bacterial growth and generates its own electricity through chewing and brushing to power a tissue-rejuvenating light.
Versatile ‘chemoproteomic probes’ for activity-based protein profiling
A new study uses organohydrazine probes to map chemical reactivty across the proteome, allowing for a diverse classes of proteins and biological pathways to be studied.
What do variants and vaccines mean for COVID-19’s ‘new normal’?
The first of this fall’s Perry World House ‘The World Today’ series featured a conversation on the future of the pandemic with experts in vaccines, viruses, and public health.
Xunjing Wu on a mid-career switch to computer science
Xunjing Wu on a mid-career switch to computer science
Penn’s Online Master of Computer and Information Technology degree allows professionals like Wu the opportunity to switch careers without restarting their education from the beginning.
Interact, adapt, repeat: A summer studying coevolution
Interact, adapt, repeat: A summer studying coevolution
Sophomores Linda Wu and Nova Meng spent the summer studying coevolution among plants, mutualistic bacteria, and parasitic nematodes in Corlett Wood’s biology lab.
Evolutionary ‘arms race’ may help keep cell division honest
Evolutionary ‘arms race’ may help keep cell division honest
Research from the lab of Michael Lampson in the School of Arts & Sciences suggests that certain proteins may have evolved to reduce the likelihood of chromosomes “cheating” to bias their chance of winding up in an egg during the cell-division process meiosis.
Atomically-thin, twisted graphene has unique properties
Researchers describe how electrons move through two-dimensional layered graphene, findings that could lead to advances in the design of future quantum computing platforms.
How schools of ‘microswimmers’ can increase their cargo capacity
Penn researchers describe how groups of microscopic, self-propelled droplets can transport more material through narrow channels using a process called collective hydrodynamic entrainment.
Forging healthy bonds with canine companions
Forging healthy bonds with canine companions
School of Veterinary Medicine postdoc Lauren Powell’s research illuminates how the personalities of both dogs and their owners influence the pairs’ ability to overcome behavioral challenges.
In the News
ABC News
Philadelphia doctor develops rapid COVID test with results on smartphone
A team of researchers led by Ping Wang of the Perelman School of Medicine is developing a more accurate rapid test for COVID-19 that uses smart phone cameras. “The PCR is great. It's sensitive, but at the same time it's only residing in the core laboratories,” she said. “So, you can't really do PCR at home for most settings.”
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The Washington Post
Facebook is like chairs. No, telephones. No, cars. No …
Zachary Loeb, a doctoral candidate in the School of Arts & Sciences, spoke about Facebook’s attempts to compare the platform to simpler, less threatening technologies. “There used to be this utopian aura where they had been trying to act as though they were the latest in the stream of these transformative [communication] technologies,” he said.
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The Scientist
Signaling dynamics fine-tune gene expressiong
Lukasz Bugaj of the School of Engineering & Applied Science comments on a systematic and quantitative look at how gene information is transmitted and what can influence the amount of expression.
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Wired
Now that machines can learn, can they unlearn?
Aaron Roth of the School of Engineering and Applied Science spoke about his research on machine unlearning, which seeks to answer the question, “Can we remove all influence of someone’s data when they ask to delete it but avoid the full cost of retraining from scratch?”
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Philadelphia Business Journal
Penn spinout Cogwear gets funding to develop ‘anxiety thermometer’ headband
Cogwear, a startup based at the Penn Center for Innovation and founded by PIK Professor Michael Platt and former postdoc Arjun Ramakrishnan, is developing a wearable device that monitors mental health.
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Philadelphia Inquirer
Prizewinning photo by Penn biologist called metaphor for ‘spiraling crisis’ in the ocean
Kristen Brown, a postdoc in the lab of Katie Barott at the School of Arts & Sciences, won a contest with a photo she took while researching coral reefs.
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Forbes
COVID’s forgotten hero: The untold story of the scientist whose breakthrough made the vaccines possible
Vaccine technology developed by Drew Weissman and Katalin Karikó of the Perelman School of Medicine relies on a lipid delivery system created by Ian MacLachlan, a Canadian scientist.
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Discover Magazine
We’re not alone: Animals suffer from mental health issues too
Carlo Siracusa of the School of Veterinary Medicine said, that while dogs certainly experience mental health issues like anxiety, their experiences differ from humans’ because they can’t plan for the future. “They’re not worrying if their buddies at the dog park are making fun of them,” he said. “Dogs aren’t obsessed in their thoughts like humans—as far as we know. They’re unlikely to be depressed in human terms.”
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Salon.com
Your dog has a rich interior life it's not telling you about
James Serpell of the School of Veterinary Medicine spoke about how dogs interact with and interpret the world around them, from barking to licking to sniffing. “While we derive most of the information about the world around us through our eyes and ears, dogs can access an additional layer of information via their noses that we are essentially ‘blind’ to,” he said.
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USA Today
Fact check: 62-mile-wide mega comet unlikely to hit Earth, will just pass by it in 2031
Pedro Bernardinelli and Gary Bernstein of the School of Arts & Sciences spoke about the giant comet they recently discovered. “There is no possibility of this thing getting any closer to Earth than Saturn gets,” said Bernstein.
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