11/15
Science & Technology
Frigid polar oceans, not coral reefs, are hot spots for formations of fish species
Frigid polar oceans, not coral reefs, are hot spots for formations of fish species
Tropical waters contain a dazzling diversity of fish species compared to colder ocean areas. Yet a new study paradoxically indicates that the colder waters are home to the highest species formation rates.
Using statistics to uncover the truth about individual cells
Using statistics to uncover the truth about individual cells
Researchers at Penn have developed a better method for interpreting data from single-cell RNA sequencing technologies.
ModLab’s ‘SMORES’ are expanding robot autonomy
ModLab’s ‘SMORES’ are expanding robot autonomy
A self-assembling modular robot for extreme shapeshifting (SMORES) is designed to experience environmental features and modify its movement and function in response, bringing a new level of autonomy to the world of robotics.
Making complex 3-D surfaces with 2-D sheets
Making complex 3-D surfaces with 2-D sheets
Using liquid crystal elastomer, researchers are able to transform 2-dimensional rubber-like sheets into malleable, three-dimensional shapes, with a precise amount of control for various shape sequences.
Looking to the stars
Looking to the stars
This year's Simons Observatory Collaboration conference included a community star party that consisted of a panel, a mixer with astronomers, and stargazing.
Sharing space to support ‘better science’
Sharing space to support ‘better science’
Across disciplines, Penn researchers in the Computational Neuroscience Initiative put their heads together to better understand the brain.
Harnessing DNA tricks to boost nanosensors
Harnessing DNA tricks to boost nanosensors
Researchers have found a way to increase the sensitivity of graphene sensors using a trick of DNA engineering. The sensors might one day be used to monitor and treat HIV.
Fine arts professor marries art and science on the Schuylkill River banks
Fine arts professor marries art and science on the Schuylkill River banks
Fine Arts lecturer Deirdre Murphy answered a call for artists for Penn's Ecotopian Toolkit project with a piece based on the migratory patterns of birds on the Schuylkill River, right in her backyard.
Cowboys and neurons: HBO’s Westworld asks tough questions about artificial intelligence
Cowboys and neurons: HBO’s Westworld asks tough questions about artificial intelligence
A professor at Penn's Institute for Biomedical Informatics explores the possibility of an intelligent robotic being, what rights it may be entitled to, and how it might coexist with humans.
Digital humanities ‘summer camp’ comes to Penn
Digital humanities ‘summer camp’ comes to Penn
The Price Lab for Digital Humanities and the Penn Libraries hosted HILT, an annual national training institute that brings together professionals from a number of disciplines.
In the News
Scientific American
Grumpy voters want better stories. Not statistics
In a Q&A, PIK Professor Duncan Watts says that U.S. voters ignored Democratic policy in favor of Republican storytelling.
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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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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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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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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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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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