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Science & Technology
‘Smart aviary’ poised to break new ground in behavioral research
‘Smart aviary’ poised to break new ground in behavioral research
A collaboration that has brought together biologists, engineers, and physicists to study the reproductive behavior of birds using machine learning in a custom-built aviary at Pennovation Works.
With summer field course, students get their hands dirty learning about soils
With summer field course, students get their hands dirty learning about soils
Taught by the School of Arts and Sciences’ Alain Plante, Field Study of Soils gives students skills and familiarity with different soil types, including some on University property.
Penn chemists to lead NSF-sponsored center for sustainable metals supply chains
Penn chemists to lead NSF-sponsored center for sustainable metals supply chains
The Center for Sustainable Separations of Metals will conduct research on metals recycling to reduce pollution, greenhouse-gas emissions, and energy usage while promoting political and environmental sustainability.
Cross-cultural similarities and differences in emoji usage
Cross-cultural similarities and differences in emoji usage
While the idea of emojis unifying people across language barriers is enticing, people of different cultures might not use emojis in the same way.
Bioengineers shed light on folding genomes
Bioengineers shed light on folding genomes
Jennifer Phillips-Cremins, an assistant professor in Penn Engineering’s Department of Bioengineering, and colleagues use light as a trigger to fold sequences of genes into specific shapes and patterns to see how the different configurations alter gene expression.
Remembering the past while looking forward
Remembering the past while looking forward
As the nation celebrates the Apollo 11 mission, a look at Penn’s connection to the historic event and how the Moon impacts science, politics, and culture.
Unique electrical properties in quantum materials can be controlled using light
Unique electrical properties in quantum materials can be controlled using light
New research on Weyl semimetals, a class of quantum materials, unlocks unique quantum properties that can be used to create light-controlled electronic devices in the future.
Timing is everything for the mutualistic relationship between ants and acacias
Timing is everything for the mutualistic relationship between ants and acacias
With a new insight into a long-described mutualistic relationship, plant biologists from the School of Arts and Sciences reveal the genetic factors and evolutionary forces that govern the development of the acacia’s ant-sustaining traits.
Small horned dinosaur from China, a Triceratops relative, walked on two feet
Small horned dinosaur from China, a Triceratops relative, walked on two feet
Auroraceratops, a bipedal dinosaur that lived roughly 115 million years ago, has been newly described by an international team of researchers led by Peter Dodson of the School of Arts and Sciences and School of Veterinary Medicine.
‘Robotic blood’ powers and propels synthetic lionfish
‘Robotic blood’ powers and propels synthetic lionfish
Combining different functional components that are normally compartmentalized can lead to both powerful and lightweight future robots. A new paper by James Pikul highlights the success of a robotic lionfish that combines energy storage and movement through the use of a hydraulic liquid referred to as “robotic blood.”
In the News
WESA Radio (Pittsburgh)
Wheels, drones and Rescue Randy: DARPA robotics competition puts mine rescue to the test
A four-legged robot from the School of Engineering and Applied Science was among robots performing underwater search and rescue in a competition. “They're doing everything completely autonomously, so every step they take is kind of a minor victory for us,” said C. J. Taylor. “We always feel that we could do better. We learn so much from each of these events and that gives us new ideas about things that we want to try.”
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Penn Live
Wildlife diseases in Pennsylvania targeted by $10 million Game Commission-Penn partnership
Julie Ellis and Lisa Murphy of the School of Veterinary Medicine commented on a new collaboration between Penn Vet and the Pennsylvania Game Commission: the Pennsylvania Wildlife Futures Program, based at New Bolton Center.
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Axios
Looking to AI to understand how we learn
PIK Professor Konrad Kording said, “There is a big undercurrent in neuroscience [saying] we should go back to neural networks,” which rely on technology that allows machines to learn from their mistakes.
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Philadelphia Inquirer
‘Why not fly over it?’ Uber picks New Jersey firms in ambitious bid to beat traffic congestion
Rahul Mangharam of the School of Engineering and Applied Science commented on Uber’s new air taxi venture. “It’s going to be a very congested sky,” he said. “You want to make sure that each flight plan is safe by design, and that even if they do mess up for some reason, they have a fallback option.”
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The New York Times
A feisty Google adversary tests how much people care about privacy
Joseph Turow of the Annenberg School for Communication commented on DuckDuckGo, a privacy-focused search engine. “I’m almost embarrassed to say that I don’t use it more than I do,” he said. “There is something in my head that tells me I’ll get a better search from Google, even when I don’t know if that is demonstrably correct or not.”
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Wired
Twitter and Instagram unveil new ways to combat hate—again
Jessa Lingel of the Annenberg School for Communication said “we need humans” to help parse what is and isn’t offensive language based on context. “The tech just isn’t there yet.”
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Gizmodo
This freaky robotic fish is powered by ‘blood’
James Pikul of the School of Engineering and Applied Science co-authored a study in which researchers developed a soft, robotic lionfish powered by a blood-like compound. “This robot blood is our first demonstration of storing energy in a fluid that is normally only used for actuation,” he said.
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Scientific American
How the mind emerges from the brain’s complex networks
Danielle Bassett of the School of Engineering and Applied Science co-authored an article about network neuroscience, which allows us to see the origins of mental activity in the brain. One day, they write, “a neuroscientist who knew all the principles of brain function and everything about someone’s brain could predict that person’s mental conditions—the future, as well as the past, would be present inside the person’s mind.”
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The Guardian
Reversible superglue proves strong enough to hold average man
Shu Yang and colleagues from the School of Engineering and Applied Science have developed a new glue from hydrogel, inspired by snail slime. “The mucus [snails] produce is a viscous liquid, but when it dries they become firmly stuck,” said Yang.
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Scientific American
Domestication made dogs’ facial anatomy more fetching to humans
James Serpell of the School of Veterinary Medicine said humans may have bred dogs to appear more infantile over time. “We are innately predisposed to respond with a kind of nurturing behavior towards certain physical characteristics,” he said. “Over time, [humans selected] for traits that satisfy that parental nurturing response.”
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