11/15
Science & Technology
Creating atomic water filters
Creating atomic water filters
A vast majority of the earth’s water is salty, making it unfit for people to drink. Researchers are working on a technology that could potentially offer a new method of desalinating water that would be both fast and scalable.
Unraveling how stem cells from gum tissue accelerate wound healing
Unraveling how stem cells from gum tissue accelerate wound healing
Gum tissue stem cells heal twice as fast as skin, and researchers are determining their potential in accelerated wound healing research.
Bringing a ‘One Health’ perspective to global challenges
Bringing a ‘One Health’ perspective to global challenges
Universities, Penn included, have a major role to play in advancing global health, combining research and education across disciplines to find solutions to urgent worldwide challenges.
Agricultural sustainability project reached 20.9 million farmers across China
Agricultural sustainability project reached 20.9 million farmers across China
Increasing smallholder farmer efficiency while reducing their environmental impact are critical steps to ensuring a sustainable food source for the world’s growing population.
New gene therapy corrects a form of canine macular degeneration
New gene therapy corrects a form of canine macular degeneration
Researchers from the University of Pennsylvania have developed a gene therapy that successfully treats a form of macular degeneration in a canine model.
Building futures through LEGOs
Building futures through LEGOs
In the FIRST LEGO League tournament, middle school teams mentored by Penn Engineering students worked to design and build robots related to the theme of water.
5.5 million-year-old fossil turtle species sheds light on invasive modern relatives
A University of Pennsylvania paleontologist has described a 5.5 million-year-old fossil species of turtle from eastern Tennessee. It represents a new species of the genus Trachemys, commonly known as sliders, which are frequently kept as pets today.
Low-calorie diet enhances intestinal regeneration after injury
Dramatic calorie restriction, diets reduced by 40 percent of a normal calorie total, have long been known to extend health span, the duration of disease-free aging, in animal studies, and even to extend life span in most animal species examined.
A long time ago, from an explosion far, far away
An international team of astronomers, including Penn researchers, has confirmed the discovery of the most distant supernova ever detected, a huge cosmic explosion that took place 10.5 billion years ago.
New open-access data resource aims to bolster collaboration in global infectious disease research
Population-based epidemiological studies provide new opportunities for innovation and collaboration among researchers addressing pressing global-health concerns.
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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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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