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Science & Technology
Skid Row Cancer Study Has Implications for Treatment Today, Penn Researcher Says
An ethically dubious medical research study from the 1950s and 60s, known as the “Bowery series,” foreshadowed and shared commonalities with prostate cancer screening and treatment measures as they are carried out today, argues University of Pennsylvania physician and historian Robert Aronowitz in two ne
Nano/Bio Interface Center at Penn to Host Annual NanoDay
On Wednesday, Oct. 23, the University of Pennsylvania’s Nano/Bio Interface Center will host its annual NanoDay@Penn. This public education and outreach event will feature a series of talks, demonstrations and exhibits dealing with nanotechnology, a rapidly expanding scientific discipline that involves the manipulation of matter on the atomic and molecular scale.
Penn Science Café: Dogs Leading the Fight Against Cancer
The University of Pennsylvania’s Nicola Mason, an assistant professor of medicine and pathobiology in the School of Veterinary Medicine, studies the immune systems of dogs, which happen to share many traits with those of humans.
Penn Researchers Take First Step Toward a Macular Dystrophy Gene Therapy
Vitelliform macular dystrophy, also known as Best disease, is one of a group of vision-robbing conditions called bestrophinopathies that affect children and young adults. Caused by inherited mutations in the BEST1 gene, these diseases cause severe declines in central vision as patients age.
New Network and Data Sciences Center to Open at Penn
The University of Pennsylvania is launching a new, interdisciplinary research effort to study and solve problems using the tools of the digital age: The Warren Center for Network & Data Sciences.
Penn Engineering Intro Class Gets a Power Boost
As computers become more enmeshed in everyday life, both their software and hardware are becoming accessible to the average person. Whereas do-it-yourself enthusiasts of earlier generations tackled birdhouses and AM radios, this generation is making its own robots, 3-D printers and cell phone accessories.
Penn Vet’s New Bolton Center and Center for Dairy Excellence Form Partnership
The University of Pennsylvania School of Veterinary Medicine’s New Bolton Center and the Center for Dairy Excellence have signed a memorandum of understanding to formally recognize their partnership to h
Investigating Skeletal Muscle Healing, Penn's Rakesh Goli Finds a Love for Research
Rakesh Goli is leaning toward a career in medicine. But the excitement of scientific research also appeals, leaving him unsure of whether he wants to commit to a future spent exclusively in the clinic. Fortunately, the University of Pennsylvania sophomore doesn’t have to make up his mind just yet.
Penn Scientists Celebrate Role in Higgs Discovery That Led to Nobel Prize
The Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences today awarded the Nobel Prize in physics to theorists Peter Higgs and Francois Englert to recognize their work developing the theory of what is now known as the Higgs field, which gives elementary particles mass.
Penn Celebrates Opening of Krishna P. Singh Center for Nanotechnology
The University of Pennsylvania will officially open the region’s premier facility for advanced research, education, and innovative public/private partnerships in nanotechnology on October 4.
In the News
Associated Press
Here’s why experts don’t think cloud seeding played a role in Dubai’s downpour
Michael Mann of the School of Arts & Sciences says that many people blaming cloud seeding for Dubai storms are climate change deniers trying to divert attention from what’s really happening.
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Big Think
Can we stop AI hallucinations? And do we even want to?
Chris Callison-Burch of the School of Engineering and Applied Science says that auto-regressive generation can make it difficult for language learning models to perform fact-based or symbolic reasoning.
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Salon.com
“Record-shattering” heat wave in Antarctica — yep, climate change is the culprit
Michael Mann of the School of Arts & Sciences says that persistent summer weather extremes like heat waves are becoming more common as people continue to warm the planet with carbon pollution.
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CNET
How the solar eclipse will affect solar panels and the grid
Benjamin Lee of the School of Engineering and Applied Science says that the electrical grid will have to figure out how to match supply and demand during brief windows where the energy source goes away.
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Sydney Morning Herald (Australia)
Scientists struggle to explain ‘really weird’ spike in world temperatures
Michael Mann of the School of Arts & Sciences says that tendencies to exaggerate climate science in favor of “doomist” narratives helps no one except the fossil fuel industry.
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Vox.com
Spring is here very early. That’s not good
Michael Mann of the School of Arts & Sciences says that plant-flowering, tree-leafing, and egg-hatching are all markers associated with spring that are happening sooner.
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The New York Times
Can your personal medical devices be recycled?
A lab at the School of Engineering and Applied Science led the development of a COVID test made from bacterial cellulose, an organic compound.
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Tampa Bay Times
Could Florida electric bills go up because of a fuel made from manure?
Danny Cullenward of the Kleinman Center for Energy Policy at the Weitzman School of Design says that federal and California state subsidies have led to a gold rush of companies trying to get into the business of renewable natural gas around the country.
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The New York Times
Why don’t we just ban fossil fuels?
Joseph Romm of the School of Arts & Sciences says that stronger action against fossil fuels is essential to save the planet.
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CNBC
Students can soon major in AI at this Ivy League university—it’ll prepare them for ‘jobs that don’t yet exist’
The Raj and Neera Singh Program in Artificial Intelligence at Penn will be the first AI undergraduate engineering major at an Ivy League school, led by George Pappas of the School of Engineering and Applied Science.
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