10.20
Science & Technology
Engineers create faster and cheaper COVID-19 testing with pencil lead
Engineers create faster and cheaper COVID-19 testing with pencil lead
A new electrochemical COVID-19 test addresses the challenges of cost, time, and accuracy and uses electrodes made from graphite.
Four things to know about the latest IPCC climate report
Four things to know about the latest IPCC climate report
The assessment describes ‘unequivocal’ human influence that no doubt caused ‘widespread and rapid changes’ to the atmosphere, oceans, and more. Professors Mark Alan Hughes and Michael Weisberg discuss the findings, plus how we can avoid passing the point of no return.
Penn Engineering’s ENIAD sets new world record for energy-efficient supercomputing
Penn Engineering’s ENIAD sets new world record for energy-efficient supercomputing
ENIAD, named after ENIAC, the world’s first digital computer, which was developed at Penn 75 years ago, took the top spot among a list of 500 of the most energy-efficient supercomputers reported in the world.
A how-to guide for Gateway testing
Penn Today provides details on the Penn Cares testing program and how undergraduate and graduate students can fulfill their Gateway testing requirements.
Packaging-free design quadruples microbatteries’ energy density
Packaging-free design quadruples microbatteries’ energy density
New research from the School of Engineering and Applied Science shows a new way to build and package microbatteries that maximizes energy density even at the smallest sizes.
Identifying an elusive molecule key to combustion chemistry
Identifying an elusive molecule key to combustion chemistry
Researchers made the most direct observation of a key intermediate formed during the breakdown of hydrocarbons during combustion and in the atmosphere, results that could help in the future design of fuels that burn more efficiently.
Tracking the earliest steps in parasite infection
Tracking the earliest steps in parasite infection
The parasite Cryptosporidium, a leading global cause of diarrheal diseases in children, injects host cells with a cocktail of proteins. Using powerful video microscopy, School of Veterinary Medicine researchers tracked the process in real time.
Rewiring cell division to make eggs and sperm
Rewiring cell division to make eggs and sperm
Research by the School of Arts & Sciences’ Michael Lampson and Jun Ma, collaborating with Whitehead Institute researchers, reveals how a key protein enables the process of meiosis to unfold.
Support and inspiration for undergrads pursuing careers in health care
Support and inspiration for undergrads pursuing careers in health care
The three-day-long National Pre-Health Conference, the brainchild of rising senior Alejandra Bahena, begins Aug. 4.
Metal artifacts in Southeast Asia challenge long-held archaeological theory
Metal artifacts in Southeast Asia challenge long-held archaeological theory
According to the Penn Museum’s Joyce White and Elizabeth Hamilton, prehistoric communities, rather than the ruling elites, in Thailand were the deciders in how to use metal resources.
In the News
ABC News
Philadelphia doctor develops rapid COVID test with results on smartphone
A team of researchers led by Ping Wang of the Perelman School of Medicine is developing a more accurate rapid test for COVID-19 that uses smart phone cameras. “The PCR is great. It's sensitive, but at the same time it's only residing in the core laboratories,” she said. “So, you can't really do PCR at home for most settings.”
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The Washington Post
Facebook is like chairs. No, telephones. No, cars. No …
Zachary Loeb, a doctoral candidate in the School of Arts & Sciences, spoke about Facebook’s attempts to compare the platform to simpler, less threatening technologies. “There used to be this utopian aura where they had been trying to act as though they were the latest in the stream of these transformative [communication] technologies,” he said.
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The Scientist
Signaling dynamics fine-tune gene expressiong
Lukasz Bugaj of the School of Engineering & Applied Science comments on a systematic and quantitative look at how gene information is transmitted and what can influence the amount of expression.
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Wired
Now that machines can learn, can they unlearn?
Aaron Roth of the School of Engineering and Applied Science spoke about his research on machine unlearning, which seeks to answer the question, “Can we remove all influence of someone’s data when they ask to delete it but avoid the full cost of retraining from scratch?”
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Philadelphia Business Journal
Penn spinout Cogwear gets funding to develop ‘anxiety thermometer’ headband
Cogwear, a startup based at the Penn Center for Innovation and founded by PIK Professor Michael Platt and former postdoc Arjun Ramakrishnan, is developing a wearable device that monitors mental health.
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Forbes
COVID’s forgotten hero: The untold story of the scientist whose breakthrough made the vaccines possible
Vaccine technology developed by Drew Weissman and Katalin Karikó of the Perelman School of Medicine relies on a lipid delivery system created by Ian MacLachlan, a Canadian scientist.
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Philadelphia Inquirer
Prizewinning photo by Penn biologist called metaphor for ‘spiraling crisis’ in the ocean
Kristen Brown, a postdoc in the lab of Katie Barott at the School of Arts & Sciences, won a contest with a photo she took while researching coral reefs.
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Discover Magazine
We’re not alone: Animals suffer from mental health issues too
Carlo Siracusa of the School of Veterinary Medicine said, that while dogs certainly experience mental health issues like anxiety, their experiences differ from humans’ because they can’t plan for the future. “They’re not worrying if their buddies at the dog park are making fun of them,” he said. “Dogs aren’t obsessed in their thoughts like humans—as far as we know. They’re unlikely to be depressed in human terms.”
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Salon.com
Your dog has a rich interior life it's not telling you about
James Serpell of the School of Veterinary Medicine spoke about how dogs interact with and interpret the world around them, from barking to licking to sniffing. “While we derive most of the information about the world around us through our eyes and ears, dogs can access an additional layer of information via their noses that we are essentially ‘blind’ to,” he said.
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USA Today
Fact check: 62-mile-wide mega comet unlikely to hit Earth, will just pass by it in 2031
Pedro Bernardinelli and Gary Bernstein of the School of Arts & Sciences spoke about the giant comet they recently discovered. “There is no possibility of this thing getting any closer to Earth than Saturn gets,” said Bernstein.
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