11/15
Science & Technology
Three from Penn receive NIH Director Award
Three from Penn receive NIH Director Award
Kevin B. Johnson, Jina Ko, and Sheila Shanmugan awarded NIH Common Fund’s High-Risk, High-Reward Research program.
How the hippocampus distinguishes true and false memories
How the hippocampus distinguishes true and false memories
Researchers in the School of Arts & Sciences have shown for the first time that electrical signals in the hippocampus differ immediately before recollection of true and false memories.
Center for Innovation & Precision Dentistry positions Penn as a leader in engineering health
Center for Innovation & Precision Dentistry positions Penn as a leader in engineering health
In the two years since the cross-disciplinary research partnership was founded, CiPD has introduced microrobots that clean teeth, a new understanding of bacterial physics in tooth decay, and promising futures for lipid nanoparticles in oral cancer treatment.
Decoding acoustic objects
Decoding acoustic objects
Third-year student Lily Wei spent the summer conducting research in the lab of Vijay Balasubramanian using algorithms to propose how the brain may recognize acoustic objects.
The crisis of climate-driven extinction
The crisis of climate-driven extinction
In a session moderated by Simon Richter, panelists Erol Akçay, Michael Mann, and Zinta Zommers discussed the impact of climate change on efforts to conserve biological diversity.
Removing the barrier surrounding solid tumors clears path for T cells
Removing the barrier surrounding solid tumors clears path for T cells
Penn researchers uncover a new way to target solid tumors. Using CAR T cells to remove cancer-associated fibroblasts surrounding pancreatic tumors allows T cells to infiltrate and attack the tumor cells.
A suit of armor for cancer-fighting cells
A suit of armor for cancer-fighting cells
New research from the University of Pennsylvania offers a safer path for CAR T cell immunotherapy.
Engineering changemakers: Honoring Cora Ingrum and Donna Hampton
Engineering changemakers: Honoring Cora Ingrum and Donna Hampton
Sharing a legacy of leadership and decades of service in Penn Engineering’s Office of Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion, Cora Ingrum and Donna Hampton had a transformative impact on academic life at the school.
Biophysics summer school in Crete
Biophysics summer school in Crete
Eleni Katifori and Arnold Mathijssen spent a week in Crete, introducing students from Penn and other institutes to various topics and ideas in active biophysics research.
Genetic switch turns tumor suppressor into oncogene in colorectal cancer
Genetic switch turns tumor suppressor into oncogene in colorectal cancer
Researchers from the School of Veterinary Medicine have shown that an enzyme that suppresses early-stage colorectal cancer switches to become an oncogene as the cancer progresses.
In the News
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.
FULL STORY →
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.
FULL STORY →
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.
FULL STORY →
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.
FULL STORY →
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.
FULL STORY →
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.
FULL STORY →
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.
FULL STORY →
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.
FULL STORY →
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.
FULL STORY →
The Independent
Climate scientists fear Trump will destroy progress in his second term – and the outcome could be ‘grim’
Michael Mann of the School of Arts & Sciences says that a second Trump term and the implementation of Project 2025 represents the end of climate action in this decade.
FULL STORY →