11/15
Science & Technology
How squid have evolved to see in dim ocean water
In a new paper published in Science, researchers at the University of Pennsylvania provided a detailed look into how self-assembled squid lenses have evolved to adjust for light distortion, which allows them to see clearly in the dim waters of the open ocean.
Penn Researchers Link Technologies and Rejection of Wife-beating Justifications
Women with technologies like computers and mobile phones in their homes are more likely to reject justifications for wife beating, according to new findings from Susan B.
Q&A: Penn Criminologist Richard Berk on the Future of Artificial Intelligence
Artificial intelligence has great potential to transform many facets of our society, from cars to health care to the way the criminal justice system uses information about arrest records.
Penn collaboration works to answer a fundamental nanotechnology question
Physicists have invented a new type of graphene-based sensor that could one day be used as a low-cost diagnostic system able to test for biomarker molecules, which are indicative of disease states.
Penn Engineering Students Use Cutting-edge Technology to Create Immersive Virtual Reality Worlds
When Charles Wang, a student at the University of Pennsylvania, was growing up, he wanted to be a video-game designer. As he headed to college, he came to believe he would have to trade in this goal for a more common profession.
Successful Guide Dogs Have ‘Tough Love’ Moms, Penn Study Finds
Much has been written of the pitfalls of being a helicopter parent, one who insulates children from adversity rather than encouraging their independence.
Penn Vet Researchers Contribute Expertise to Checklist for ‘One Health’ Studies
A growing body of scientific research is focused on One Health, the integration of knowledge concerning humans, animals and the environment. Yet there is no clear, unified definition of what a One Health study is or how such a study should be conducted.
Penn Astronomers Contribute to the Most Accurate Measurement of Dark Matter Structure in the Universe
For the past four years, as part of a project called the Dark Energy Survey, a team of scientists from around the globe has aimed one of the world’s most powerful digital cameras towards the sky with the hopes of answering fundamental questions about the universe.
Penn Engineers Identify Protein Implicated in 3-D Epigenetics of Brain Development
The vast majority of genetic mutations that are associated with disease occur at sites in the genome that aren’t genes. These sequences of DNA don’t code for proteins themselves, but provide an additional layer of instructions that determine if and when particular genes are expressed.
Penn Physicist’s Dark Energy Project Awarded $1 Million From the W.M. Keck Foundation
A collaboration between University of Pennsylvania and University of California, Berkeley, that is exploring a class of dark energy theories, called chameleon theories, has been awarded $1 million from the W.M.
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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