11/15
Science & Technology
Penn Researchers Find New Way to Transform Natural Gas and Volatile Hydrocarbons to More Useful Chemicals
In a new paper published in Nature Chemistry, researchers at the University of Pennsylvania report a new method to convert hydrocarbons to alkenes, which are building blocks to po
Penn Student Design to Reach New Heights in Space Aboard the ISS
by Erica Andersen
Diabetes Causes Shift in Oral Microbiome That Fosters Periodontitis, Penn Study Finds
A new study led by University of Pennsylvania researchers has found that the oral microbiome is affected by diabetes, causing a shift to increase its pathogenicity.
‘Atlas’ Offers Audit of Biodiversity Conservation Achievements and Challenges
Cities are on a collision course with nature.
Brain Training Has No Effect on Decision-making or Cognitive Function, Penn Researchers Report
During the last decade, commercial brain-training programs have risen in popularity, offering people the hope of improving their cognitive abilities through the routine performance of various “brain games” that tap cognitive functions such as memory, attention and cognitive flexibility.
Penn Researchers Engineer Macrophages to Engulf Cancer Cells in Solid Tumors
One reason cancer is so difficult to treat is that it avoids detection by the body. Agents of the immune system are constantly checking the surfaces of cells for chemical signals that say they belong, but cancer cells express the same chemical signals as healthy ones. Without a way for the immune system to tell the difference, little stands in the way of cancer taking over.
Penn Interactive Map Shows Community Traits Built from More than 37 Billion Tweets
It’s no secret that communities across the United States differ greatly. Researchers from the University of Pennsylvania’s World Well-Being Project sought a simple way to capture, explore and share such differences on a large scale.
Teaching Robots to ‘Feel with Their Eyes’
An engineering Ph.D. student is leading a project that builds up a database of surfaces so that robots may better identify what objects are made of and how to handle them.
Penn Professors Lead Call for Ethical Framework for New 'Mind Control' Technologies
As interventions for mental illnesses and neurological disorders are becoming increasingly powerful, an interdisciplinary group of researchers from the University of Pennsylvania, American University and Duke University are calling for new safeguards to guide treatments and protect patients.
Penn Collaboration Produces Surprising Insights Into the White Spots on Butterfly Wings
A collaboration between biologists and materials scientists at the University of Pennsylvania is yielding new insights into the wings of the “skipper butterfly” in the Costa Rican rainforest. What they learn could lead to technological advancements in systems ranging from power-efficient computer displays to sensors to energy efficient buildings, windows and vehicles.
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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