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Science & Technology
Penn Vet students helping animals and their owners in Thailand
Penn Vet students helping animals and their owners in Thailand
This summer, 14 students from the School of Veterinary Medicine traveled to Thailand to spay and neuter cats and dogs for owners who would otherwise be unable to afford the procedures.
Closing the carbon cycle with green propane production
Closing the carbon cycle with green propane production
Researchers from Penn have helped develop a new carbon-capture solution for a cleaner, more energy-dense fuel source.
Penn Engineering’s Michael Posa on robots in the real world
Penn Engineering’s Michael Posa on robots in the real world
With funding from the National Science Foundation’s CAREER Award, Posa is working on a new teaching method where robots interact with objects in the real world to build real-world intelligence via small data sets.
QR code for cancer cells
Researchers from Penn Engineering have created a new synthetic biology approach to uncover why some cells become resistant to anti-cancer therapies.
How machine learning could aid compatibility in kidney transplantation
How machine learning could aid compatibility in kidney transplantation
Through the PURM internship program, undergraduate students are further researching an algorithm developed to group kidney donor-recipient pairs into low-risk and high-risk groups for graft survival.
Could the age of the universe be twice as old as current estimates suggest?
Could the age of the universe be twice as old as current estimates suggest?
Penn Professors Vijay Balasubramanian and Mark Devlin offer a broader understanding of a recent paper’s claim that the universe could be 26.7 billion years old.
Nudge Cartography: Building a map to navigate behavioral research
Nudge Cartography: Building a map to navigate behavioral research
Ph.D. candidate Linnea Gandhi of the Wharton School and research assistant Anoushka Kiyawat discuss the development of their team’s innovative research tool.
Could we breed cows that emit less methane?
Could we breed cows that emit less methane?
In a new study, researchers from the School of Veterinary Medicine identified attributes of low-methane-emitting dairy cows that could be used as targets for selective breeding.
‘Topping off’ Amy Gutmann Hall
‘Topping off’ Amy Gutmann Hall
Following tradition, members of the University community celebrated the placement of the final wood panel on Penn Engineering’s new data science building.
Artificial intelligence is leveling up the fight against infectious diseases
Artificial intelligence is leveling up the fight against infectious diseases
In a new review, Presidential Assistant Professor Cesar de la Fuente and co-authors assess the progress, limitations, and promise of research in AI and infectious diseases.
In the News
Philadelphia Business Journal
As One uCity Square nears capacity, developer plots surrounding innovation campus and hotel addition
David Meaney of the School of Engineering and Applied Science is quoted on a building project that will mark the first time Penn Engineering and Penn Medicine will have operations under the same roof.
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Salon.com
Climate change “undoubtedly” played a role in Libyan floods that killed over 11,000 people: experts
Michael Mann of the School of Arts & Sciences says that human-caused climate change is favoring stalled weather systems that remain in place for longer periods of time, leading to more persistent heat and flooding events.
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Salon.com
Humans are dangerously pushing the limits of our planet in ways other than climate change
Michael Mann of the School of Arts & Sciences says that dangerous extreme weather events will only get worse if we continue to burn fossil fuels and generate carbon pollution.
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USA Today
How close is Earth to becoming unlivable? Humans push planet to brink, study warns
Michael Mann of the School of Arts & Sciences says that humanity is coming up against the limits of environmental sustainability and must take immediate action.
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Associated Press
California lawmakers approve the nation’s most sweeping emissions disclosure rules for big business
Danny Cullenward of the Kleinman Center for Energy Policy at the Weitzman School of Design says that California’s new emissions disclosure bill could lead to similar proposals in other states.
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Bloomberg
Microsoft sees low risk for customers in AI copyright lawsuits
Chris Callison-Burch of the School of Engineering and Applied Science says that Microsoft’s indemnification commitment for AI end-users is a good move for PR and reassurance.
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NBC News
Here’s why Hurricane Lee is alarming even if it doesn’t make landfall
Michael Mann of the School of Arts & Sciences says that rapid storm intensification is alarming because it means government officials and communities have less time to prepare and face more uncertainty in evacuation planning.
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Wired
Big batteries are booming. So are fears they’ll catch fire
Sanya Carley of the Kleinman Center for Energy Policy at the Weitzman School of Design says that people will fixate on even rare battery fires and explosions, connecting them to new infrastructure proposed in their community.
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WHYY (Philadelphia)
PBS is coming to Philly to talk climate, community empowerment at Penn
The Penn Center for Science, Sustainability, and the Media will convene with PBS, WHYY, community leaders, science communicators, journalists, and leading scientists at an upcoming Philadelphia panel to discuss the value of storytelling to educate about climate change.
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Philadelphia Inquirer
Notes of jasmine? Hints of citrus? Computers can be trained to smell like a human, say scientists at Philly’s Monell Center
A study by Joel Mainland of the Perelman School of Medicine and colleagues used an artificial intelligence tool to predict the smells of new, lab-made chemicals by mapping the smells of known chemical substances.
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