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Science & Technology
A Partnership for Global Security: Penn Professor Among Six Experts to Outline Plan for Worldwide Biosecurity
PHILADELPHIA -- Harvey Rubin, director of the University of Pennsylvanias Institute for Strategic Threat Analysis and Response, is among six internationally recognized experts who have authored a five-point roadmap for the global community to enhance worldwide biosecurity.
Penn Engineering to Receive Multi-Million-Dollar Design Technology Package from PACE Consortium
PHILADELPHIA - The School of Engineering and Applied Science at the University of Pennsylvania will receive an in-kind hardware and software contribution totaling approximately $70 million in commercial value from Partners for the Advancement of Collaborative Engineering Education, or PACE, a consortium comprised of General Motors, EDS, Hewlett Packard, Siemens PLM Software, Sun Microsystems a
Robert W. Carpick Named Director of Penn's Nanotechnology Institute
Robert W. Carpick has been appointed Penn Director of the Nanotechnology Institute. Carpick is an associate professor in the Department of Mechanical Engineering and Applied Mechanics and holds a secondary appointment in the Department of Materials Science and Engineering.
Three University of Pennsylvania Professors Named 2007 AAAS Fellows
PHILADELPHIA - Three faculty members of the University of Pennsylvania have been named Fellows of the American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS).
Penn Veterinarian Completes NIH Collaboration in First-Ever Sequencing of Domestic Cat Genome
PHILADELPHIA - A multi-center, National Institutes of Health-funded report that appears in the scientific journal Genome Research details the first assembly, annotation and comparative analysis of the domestic cat genome, Felis catus. A University of Pennsylvania researcher is on the team.
Penn's Autonomous Car "Little Ben" Advances to the Finals of the DARPA Urban Challenge
PHILADELPHIA - "Little Ben," the autonomous vehicle engineered by University of Pennsylvania and Lehigh University faculty and students to drive itself, has advanced to the finals of the 2007 DARPA Urban Challenge.
“Heftier” Atoms Reduce Friction at the Nanoscale, Study Led By Penn Researcher Reveals
PHILADELPHIA - A research team led by a University of Pennsylvania mechanical engineer has discovered that friction between two sliding bodies can be reduced at the molecular, or nanoscale, level by changing the mass of the atoms at the surface. Heavier atoms vibrate at a lower frequency, reducing energy lost during sliding.
Penn Scientists Share $2 Million to Develop Tool to Study Proteins at Work in Living Cells
PHILADELPHIA - Researchers at the University of Pennsylvania will share in a three-year grant worth approximately $2 million to develop technology to identify, in real time, proteins at work inside living cells. Partnering with Anima Cell Metrology Inc., the resulting technology will be used in basic science research and in the development of drugs and novel medical treatments.
Penn Researchers Pinpoint the Brain Waves That Distinguish False Memories From Real Ones
PHILADELPHIA - For the first time, researchers at the University of Pennsylvania are able to pinpoint brain waves that distinguish true from false memories, providing a better understanding of how memory works and creating a new strategy to help epilepsy patients retain cognitive function.
It's A Small World After All: NanoDay 2007 @ Penn
WHO: Faculty from the Nano/Bio Interface Center of the University of Pennsylvania sponsor a day of nanotechnology education and outreach for the Penn community, as well as regional high schools and neighbors.
In the News
“PBS NewsHour”
An 11-year-old changed election results on a replica Florida state website in under 10 minutes
The School of Engineering and Applied Science’s Matt Blaze discussed a hacking experiment, saying it was “not surprising that these precocious, bright kids would be able to do it because the websites that are on the internet are vulnerable…. What was interesting is just how utterly quickly they were able to do it.”
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Wired.co.uk
Why people can't resist the viral lure of the Kiki Challenge
Damon Centola of the Annenberg School for Communication explained the phenomenon of dangerous viral challenges: “Slightly dangerous or slightly risky challenges may have the best combination of high-enough riskiness to make it easy to create emotional excitement about participating, but low-enough risk that they can spread with only moderate levels of social reinforcement.”
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Reuters
Viral content-vaccine scandal test Beijing’s grip on information control
The Annenberg School for Communication’s Kecheng Fang discussed the Chinese government’s failed attempts to suppress discourse about current events on WeChat, a popular messaging platform. “This is a guerrilla war. The government cannot tackle it just like it does traditional media,” said Fang.
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The New York Times
Worker ants: You could have been queens
The Perelman School’s Roberto Bonasio discussed the difficulties of studying insulin signaling in ants. The relevant genes, said Bonasio, are involved in numerous bodily functions, making it tough to isolate their role in differentiating queens from workers.
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The Washington Post
Testosterone boost feeds U.S. men’s hunger for luxury products, study indicates
Researchers at the Wharton School found that men who were given doses of testosterone expressed more interest in high-status goods. However, the study authors also noted that “status signals are not universal” and that results may vary between cultures.
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Technical.ly Philly
The Drone From This Penn Spinout Can Fly Inside Mines Without Maps or GPS
Exyn Technologies will be sending out a drone to explore a Latin American mine using only its own onboard sensors. The startup, which originated in Penn’s GRASP lab, was cofounded by Dean Vijay Kumar of the School of Engineering and Applied Science.
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Philadelphia Inquirer
Penn Makes Third Big Biotech Bet, Helping to Raise $53M for Carisma
Cancer-fighting biotech company Carisma Therapeutics Inc. is the latest addition to Penn’s recently-announced investment plan. Roy Rosin, CIO at Penn Medicine, said, “Penn’s commitment is pretty exciting for this region.”
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Philadelphia Inquirer
Penn Invests $50 million in Biotech in a Bold Bid to Build Philly’s Innovation Cluster
Kevin B. Mahoney of the Perelman School of Medicine and UPHS confirmed Penn’s plans to invest in biotech companies, with long-range goals “to create jobs, synergy and an innovation cluster around Penn technology and spin outs.”
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Philadelphia Inquirer
Philly’s First Maker Faire: A Summer Carnival of Innovation
The School of Engineering and Applied Science’s Dean Vijay Kumar, Dan Koditschek, and Mark Yim were participants in Sunday’s Maker Faire, hosted at Pennovation.
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Nature
Microsoft’s Purchase of GitHub Leaves Some Scientists Uneasy
Post-doc Daniel Himmelstein of the Perelman School of Medicine discussed problematic elements of GitHub’s model. “Regardless of the Microsoft acquisition, GitHub, as a centralized and closed company, possesses a dangerous level of control over the open-source ecosystem,” said Himmelstein.
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