11/15
Science & Technology
How common is common sense?
How common is common sense?
Researchers from Penn develop a framework for quantifying common sense, findings address a critical gap in how knowledge is understood.
Breaching the blood-brain barrier
Breaching the blood-brain barrier
A team of researchers in the School of Engineering and Applied Sciences has devised a method to deliver mRNA into the brain using lipid nanoparticles, potentially advancing treatments for Alzheimer’s disease and seizures.
Climate change and atmospheric dynamics unveil future weather extremes
Climate change and atmospheric dynamics unveil future weather extremes
A collaborative team of researchers led by Michael Mann of the School of Arts & Sciences have found the interplay of natural systems and human-induced climate change are setting the stage for more frequent and severe weather events.
Penn alum named 2024 Churchill Scholar
Penn alum named 2024 Churchill Scholar
Xander Uyttendaele, a 2023 graduate, is among 16 selected nationwide to receive the scholarship.
A path to achieve a net-zero greenhouse gas economy
A path to achieve a net-zero greenhouse gas economy
A new report co-authored by scientists at Penn’s Kleinman Center and Penn Engineering charts a path for the U.S. to achieve a net-zero greenhouse gas economy by 2050.
In hot water: Coral resilience in the face of climate change
In hot water: Coral resilience in the face of climate change
Over a decade, researchers from Penn studied coral species in Hawaii to better understand their adaptability to the effects of climate change.
More than skin deep: A molecular and mechanistic look at pigmentation variation
More than skin deep: A molecular and mechanistic look at pigmentation variation
A new collaborative study offers a better understanding of genes and variants responsible for skin color, providing insights into human evolution and local adaptation.
Shu Yang manipulates materials to create climate change-fighting inventions
Shu Yang manipulates materials to create climate change-fighting inventions
The Joseph Bordogna Professor and chair of Materials Science and Engineering has introduced simple yet effective technologies, including kirigami-inspired structures that aid in breast reconstruction, to the manipulation of knots to create stronger sutures.
How Penn Medicine is changing the world with mRNA
How Penn Medicine is changing the world with mRNA
Vaccines are just the beginning of the potential for messenger RNA, the Nobel Prize-winning technology.
Dark Energy Survey uncovers clues to universe’s complexity
Dark Energy Survey uncovers clues to universe’s complexity
The decade-long effort reveals findings consistent with standard cosmological models, but open to more complex interpretations.
In the News
WHYY (Philadelphia)
Climate policy under a second Trump presidency
Michael Mann of the School of Arts & Sciences discusses how much a president can do or undo when it comes to environmental policy.
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Interesting Engineering
Superhuman vision lets robots see through walls, smoke with new LiDAR-like eyes
Mingmin Zhao of the School of Engineering and Applied Science and colleagues are using radio signals to allow robots to “see” beyond traditional sensor limits.
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Technical.ly Philly
A sneak peek inside Penn Engineering’s new $137.5M mass timber building
Amy Gutmann Hall aims to be Philadelphia’s next big hub for AI and innovation while setting a new standard for architectural sustainability.
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Salon.com
Exxon CEO wants Trump to stay in Paris climate accord
Michael Mann of the School of Arts & Sciences voices his concern about the possibility that the U.S. could become a petrostate.
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Associated Press
Amid Earth’s heat records, scientists report another bump upward in annual carbon emissions
Michael Mann of the School of Arts & Sciences says that total carbon emissions including fossil fuel pollution and land use changes such as deforestation are basically flat because land emissions are declining.
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The Wall Street Journal
How can we remove carbon from the air? Here are a few ideas
Jennifer Wilcox of the School of Engineering and Applied Science and Kleinman Center for Energy Policy at the Weitzman School of Design says that the carbon-removal potential of forestation can’t always be reliably measured in terms of how much removal and for how long.
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Associated Press
California air regulators approve changes to climate program that could raise gas prices
Danny Cullenward of the Kleinman Center for Energy Policy at the Weitzman School of Design says that many things being credited in California’s new climate program don’t help the climate.
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Times of India
Self shocks turn crystal to glass at ultralow power density: Study
A collaborative study by researchers from the School of Engineering and Applied Science has shed new light on amorphization, the transition from a crystalline to a glassy state at the nanoscale.
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Interesting Engineering
U.S. achieves billion-fold power-saving semiconductor tech; could challenge China
A collaborative effort by Ritesh Agarwal of the School of Engineering and Applied Science and colleagues has made phase-change memory more energy efficient and could unlock a future revolution in data storage.
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The Independent
Climate scientists fear Trump will destroy progress in his second term – and the outcome could be ‘grim’
Michael Mann of the School of Arts & Sciences says that a second Trump term and the implementation of Project 2025 represents the end of climate action in this decade.
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