4/22
Science & Technology
Penn's John Farrar, Elliot Hersh and Rosemary Polomano to Receive 2016 One Health Award
John T. Farrar of the Perelman School of Medicine, Elliot V.
Meet Piccolissimo: The World’s Smallest Self-powered Controllable Flying Vehicle
Technology tends to move toward the bigger and better, cramming more and more features into a given product. But sometimes, less is more.
Penn and Michigan Researchers Discover New Rules for Quasicrystals
Crystals are defined by their repeating, symmetrical patterns and long-range order. Unlike amorphous materials, in which atoms are randomly packed together, the atoms in a crystal are arranged in a predictable way. Quasicrystals are an exotic exception to this rule.
Penn to Celebrate Ribbon Cutting for New Innovation Hub, Pennovation Center
University of Pennsylvania President Amy Gutmann and David L. Cohen, chair of Penn’s Board of Trustees, invite Penn students, faculty, staff, alumni, trustees and friends, as well as the region’s business and tech community, to a ribbon-cutting and grand opening ceremony from 12:30 to 4 p.m. on Friday, Oct. 28.
AI Predicts Human Rights Trial Outcomes, According to Penn, UCL, Sheffield Study
Artificial intelligence methods developed by researchers at the University of Pennsylvania, University College London and the University of Sheffield accurately predicted the results of judicial decisions from the European Court of Hu
Penn’s Genomics Curriculum Makes the Latest Science Accessible to High Schoolers
By Patrick Ammerman A new University of Pennsylvania effort is bringing genomics into high school classrooms through a free online resource. The goal is to make it easier for science teachers to incorporate the latest advances in science into their curricula.
Penn Study Identifies New Mechanism of RNA Degradation in Plants
The totality of RNA molecules in an organism at any one time is the product of a delicate dance. Genes must be “turned on,” or expressed, in order to turn DNA into RNA and then that RNA into proteins that accomplish an organism’s physiological needs. But, just as important, those RNA transcripts must be cleared away once they are no longer required.
Penn Sociologist Links Unstable, Unpredictable Schedules to Health Problems
For people who work in the service sector, unpredictable, unstable schedules have a range of negative consequences, including psychological stress and poor health, according to a new working paper from the University of Pennsylvania and the University of California, Berkeley.
Penn Mathematicians Win $10 Million Grant to Prove Homological Mirror Symmetry
By Patrick Ammerman
Penn Dental Professor Shuying Yang Explores Bone Development and Therapies
Shuying (Sheri) Yang, a new associate professor in the University of Pennsylvania School of Dental Medicine’s Department of Anatomy & Cell Biology, began her career as a medical student, the fulfillment of a childhood dream.
In the News
Here’s why experts don’t think cloud seeding played a role in Dubai’s downpour
Michael Mann of the School of Arts & Sciences says that many people blaming cloud seeding for Dubai storms are climate change deniers trying to divert attention from what’s really happening.
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Can we stop AI hallucinations? And do we even want to?
Chris Callison-Burch of the School of Engineering and Applied Science says that auto-regressive generation can make it difficult for language learning models to perform fact-based or symbolic reasoning.
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“Record-shattering” heat wave in Antarctica — yep, climate change is the culprit
Michael Mann of the School of Arts & Sciences says that persistent summer weather extremes like heat waves are becoming more common as people continue to warm the planet with carbon pollution.
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How the solar eclipse will affect solar panels and the grid
Benjamin Lee of the School of Engineering and Applied Science says that the electrical grid will have to figure out how to match supply and demand during brief windows where the energy source goes away.
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Scientists struggle to explain ‘really weird’ spike in world temperatures
Michael Mann of the School of Arts & Sciences says that tendencies to exaggerate climate science in favor of “doomist” narratives helps no one except the fossil fuel industry.
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Spring is here very early. That’s not good
Michael Mann of the School of Arts & Sciences says that plant-flowering, tree-leafing, and egg-hatching are all markers associated with spring that are happening sooner.
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Can your personal medical devices be recycled?
A lab at the School of Engineering and Applied Science led the development of a COVID test made from bacterial cellulose, an organic compound.
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Could Florida electric bills go up because of a fuel made from manure?
Danny Cullenward of the Kleinman Center for Energy Policy at the Weitzman School of Design says that federal and California state subsidies have led to a gold rush of companies trying to get into the business of renewable natural gas around the country.
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Pa. environmental, religious and other groups criticize Shapiro plan for ignoring climate change
A study by the Kleinman Center for Energy Policy at the Weitzman School of Design found that Pennsylvania would benefit overall from joining the Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative.
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Why don’t we just ban fossil fuels?
Joseph Romm of the School of Arts & Sciences says that stronger action against fossil fuels is essential to save the planet.
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