Science & Technology

PHILADELPHIA — A protein’s function depends on both the chains of molecules it is made of and the way those chains are folded. And while figuring out the former is relatively easy, the latter represents a huge challenge with serious implications because many diseases are the result of misfolded proteins.

PHILADELPHIA -- Researchers at the University of Pennsylvania’s Perelman School of Medicine are suggesting that a prophylactic treatment option increasingly offered to breast cancer patients has only a slight benefit, and the modest gains to life expectancy the treatment provides may actually be offset by decreases in quality of life for many patients.

Dear Benny: I’ve been told that someplace on campus there is an observatory used for stargazing. If this is true, I’d like to know what sort of equipment it has. Also, can anyone visit? —Star Struck Dear Star Struck:

Many imaging technologies and their contrast agents — chemicals used during scans to help detect tumors and other problems — involve exposure to radiation or heavy metals, which present potential health risks to patients and limit the ways they can be applied.

PHILADELPHIA — The American Physical Society has elected five University of Pennsylvania faculty members to its 2011 APS Fellowship class. They are Mark Devlin, Alan “Charlie” Johnson, Joshua Klein, Feng Gai and Howard Hu.

PHILADELPHIA — Long the bane of picky eaters everywhere, broccoli’s taste is not just a matter of having a cultured palate; some people can easily taste a bitter compound in the vegetable that others have difficulty detecting. Now a team of Penn researchers has helped uncover the evolutionary history of one of the genes responsible for this trait.

PHILADELPHIA — Earthquakes are some of the most daunting natural disasters that scientists try to analyze. Though the earth’s major fault lines are well known, there is little scientists can do to predict when an earthquake will occur or how strong it will be.

PHILADELPHIA - A team of researchers co-led by the University of Pennsylvania has developed and tested a new high-resolution, ultra-thin device capable of recording brain activity from the cortical surface without having to use penetrating electrodes.

PHILADELPHIA — Vision is amazing because it seems so mundane. Peoples’ eyes, nerves and brains translate light into electrochemical signals and then into an experience of the world around them.