1.19
Science & Technology
First Results from Penn's Balloon-Borne Telescope BLAST: Extragalactic Survey Reveals Half the Universe's Starlight
PHILADELPHIA –- After two years spent analyzing data from BLAST, the Balloon-borne Large-Aperture Sub-millimeter Telescope, physicists are releasing the first results.
Penn Biologists Discover How "Silent" Mutations Influence Protein Production
PHILADELPHIA -– Biologists at the University of Pennsylvania have revealed a hidden code that determines the expression level of a gene, providing a way to distinguish efficient genes from inefficient ones.
Visual Learners Convert Words to Pictures in the Brain And Vice Versa, Says Penn Psychology Study
PHILADELPHIA –- A University of Pennsylvania psychology study, using functional magnetic resonance imaging technology to scan the brain, reveals that people who consider themselves visual learners, as opposed to verbal learners, have a tendency to convert linguistically presented information into a visual mental representation.
Frederick A. Murphy Honored With $100,000 Penn Vet World Leadership Award
PHILADELPHIA –- Frederick A. Murphy has been selected as the 2009 recipient of the Penn Vet World Leadership Award. Murphy is the James W. McLaughlin Professor in Residence, Department of Pathology at the University of Texas Medical Branch at Galveston.
Penn Research Team Tests Bedside Monitoring of Brain Blood Flow and Metabolism in Stroke Victims
PHILADELPHIA – A University of Pennsylvania team has completed the first successful demonstration of a noninvasive optical device to monitor cerebral blood flow in patients with acute stroke, a leading cause of disability and death.
Penn Evolutionary Biologist and Computer Scientist Awarded Sloan Research Fellowships
PHILADELPHIA -– Joshua Plotkin, an evolutionary biologist at the University of Pennsylvania, and Steve Zdancewic, associate professor of computer and information science at Penn, have been named Alfred P. Sloan Research Fellows for 2009.
In the News
Gizmodo
Blue pigment in 1,000-year-old teeth links women to the production of medieval manuscripts
The Libraries’ Nicholas Herman offered commentary on a study that used bio-archaeology to identify ultramarine in the dental tartar of an 11th-century woman in rural Germany. “Only by looking very closely at new kinds of evidence can we begin to discover the true importance of female artisans,” said Herman.
FULL STORY →
Technical.ly Philly
For a glimpse into the future, look at aerial robotics
An event about aerial robotics with the School of Engineering and Applied Science’s dean Vijay Kumar is featured.
FULL STORY →
Philadelphia Inquirer
Are bigger brains smarter? Barely, says study led by Penn scholar
A new study co-led by the Wharton School’s Gideon Nave and the School of Arts and Sciences’ Joseph Kable found that brain size has a slight, but ultimately insignificant, correlation to intelligence.
FULL STORY →
WHYY (Philadelphia)
PGW plan for liquified natural gas facility in Southwest Philadelphia clears hurdle
Christina Simeone of the Kleinman Center for Energy Policy discussed the possible environmental impact of the creation of a new liquified natural gas (LNG) facility in Southwest Philadelphia. “The environmental benefit will happen if LNG displaces diesel or fuel oil,” she said. “But it’s just not clear until there’s a client base who is going to be the end user of this gas.”
FULL STORY →
Popular Science
Cell phones pose plenty of risks, but none of them are cancer
Reviewing the results of a study exploring the relationship between cell phones and cancer, Kenneth Foster of the School of Engineering and Applied Science remains unconvinced of potential dangers. “Health agencies are saying that if there’s something there, it’s probably so small that there’s not likely to be a large effect on the population,” Foster said.
FULL STORY →
NBC News
After a stressful election, experts warn blockchain is not the answer
Matt Blaze of the School of Engineering and Applied Science weighed in on blockchain voting. “The charlatans pushing for blockchain elections and online voting are doing the equivalent of advocating a healthcare policy that assumes we’re about to cure cancer,” Blaze tweeted. “Maybe we will, but best not to bet on it.”
FULL STORY →
LiveScience.com
The House science committee is back in Democrats’ control: What that means for science
PIK Professor Jonathan Moreno said that the new leaders of the House Committee on Science, Space, and Technology will need to focus on making sure that “the agencies that are responsible for worrying about climate and the environment are doing their jobs.”
FULL STORY →
Philadelphia Inquirer
Penn physicists win $3 million Breakthrough Prize
The School of Arts and Sciences’ Charles Kane and Eugene Mele have been awarded the 2019 Breakthrough Prize in Fundamental Physics for their work developing a two-dimensional topological insulator, which forces electrons to travel in an orderly fashion. The material could some day be used to improve energy efficiency.
FULL STORY →
Smithsonian Magazine
Scientists break the rules of reproduction by breeding mice from single-sex parents
The Perelman School of Medicine’s Marisa Bartolomei offered commentary on same-sex reproductive experiments, which have proven easier in bimaternal than bipaternal pairings.
FULL STORY →
Philadelphia Inquirer
Guess what these young dinosaurs ate when their parents weren’t looking
Peter Dodson of the School of Veterinary Medicine and the School of Arts and Sciences offered commentary on young dinosaurs’ ability to independently forage for vegetation. “It seems like a pretty fair bet that there wasn’t parental care,” said Dodson.
FULL STORY →