11/15
Science & Technology
‘Tully Monster’ Mystery Is Far From Solved, Penn-led Group Argues
Last year, headlines in The New York Times, The Atlantic, Scient
Penn/Wistar Study Finds ‘Sweet Spot’ Where Tissue Stiffness Drives Cancer’s Spread
In order for cancer to spread, malignant cells must break away from a tumor and through the tough netting of extracellular matrix, or ECM, that surrounds it. To fit through the holes in this net, those cancerous cells must elongate into a torpedo-like shape.
Using nanotechnology to expand health care access
A team is using commercially available nanotechnology to develop a low-cost, handheld diagnostic device that can monitor HIV. This device would increase access to high-quality treatment of HIV in developing countries and lower the cost of health care in the U.S.
CHOP/Penn/Boston Children’s Study: Low Blood Sugar No Benefit to Critically Ill Children
Critically ill infants and children do not gain extra benefit from lower blood-sugar levels, compared to higher levels within the usual care range, according to research from the Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia, the University of Pennsylvania
Plant-made Hemophilia Therapy Shows Promise, Penn Study Finds
People with hemophilia require regular infusions of clotting factor to prevent them from experiencing uncontrolled bleeding. But a significant fraction develop antibodies against the clotting factor, essentially experiencing an allergic reaction to the very treatment that can prolong their lives.
Penn Researchers Are Among the First to Grow a Versatile Two-dimensional Material
University of Pennsylvania researchers are now among the first to produce a single, three-atom-thick layer of a unique two-dimensional material called tungsten ditelluride. Their findings have been published in 2-D Materials.
Penn chemists work towards controlling heat energy on a molecular level
Chemists at the University of Pennsylvania are expanding a new model that could be the first step towards better harnessing heat energy to power nanoscale devices.
Penn Engineers Demonstrate a ‘Hybrid Nanomanufacturing’ System
Nanoscale structures have properties that can’t be achieved in any other way, stemming from precise control over the structure’s composition and geometry. Unfortunately, simultaneously achieving high levels of control of both characteristics can be challenging.
Penn’s Annual Physics Demonstration Show Engages High School Students in Science
On Jan. 10, about 250 Philadelphia area high school students filled a lecture hall to watch the 20th Annual Physics Demonstration Show at the University of Pennsylvania.
Penn Study: Bacteria in the Cervix May be Key to Understanding Premature Birth
Depending on the specific type, bacteria in a woman’s vagina and cervix may increase the risk of premature birth or protect against it, according to new research from the Perelman School of Medicine at the University of Pennsylvania.
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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