Science & Technology

PHILADELPHIA –- For centuries, engineers have bent and torn metals to test their strength and ductility. Now, materials scientists at the University of Pennsylvania School of Engineering and Applied Science are studying the same metals but at nanoscale sizes in the form of wires a thousand times thinner than a human hair.

PHILADELPHIA -- Biologists at the University of Pennsylvania and Harvard University have examined the complete genomes of viruses that infect the bacteria E. coli, P. aeruginosa and L. lactis and have found that many of these viral genomes exhibit codon bias, the tendency to preferentially encode a protein with a particular spelling.

PHILADELPHIA -– A new study from the University of Pennsylvania points to increased health risks for women owing to their higher level of discomfort about being weighed in public. The study showed that college-age females, more than their male counterparts, experience high degrees of discomfort at the prospect of being weighed in the presence of others.

PHILADELPHIA -- The University of Pennsylvania has selected the architectural design firm Weiss/Manfredi along with M+W Zander, an engineering and construction firm that specializes in projects with a scientific focus, to design the Krishna P. Singh Center for Nanotechnology.

PHILADELPHIA -– Sarah Tishkoff, a leading global expert in human genetics, has been named the sixth Penn Integrates Knowledge University Professor at the University of Pennsylvania.The announcement was made today by Penn President Amy Gutmann and Provost Ronald Daniels.

PHILADELPHIA –- University of Pennsylvania engineers and physicians have developed a carbon nanopipette thousands of times thinner than a human hair that measures electric current and delivers fluids into cells. Researchers developed this tiny carbon-based tool to probe cells with minimal intrusion and inject fluids without damaging or inhibiting cell growth.

PHILADELPHIA— Researchers with the University of Pennsylvania School of Veterinary Medicine have demonstrated the process by which the cancer-causing chemical dioxin attacks the cellular machinery, disrupts normal cellular function and ultimately promotes tumor progression.

PHILADELPHIA -– A study led by a University of Pennsylvania biologist in the tick-infested woods of the Hudson Valley is challenging the widely held belief that mice are the main animal reservoir for Lyme disease in the U.S.

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.

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