11/15
Science & Technology
A Penn Business-Opportunity Panel Discussion: "Nanotechnology: Small Science, Big Business"
WHAT: Penn's Executive Master's in Technology Management
Stem Cell Nuclei Are Soft 'Hard Drives,' Penn Study Finds
PHILADELPHIA- Biophysicists at the University of Pennsylvania have discovered that the nuclei of human stem cells are particularly soft and flexible, rather than hard, making it easier for stem cells to migrate through the body and to adopt different shapes, but ultimately to put human genes in the correct nuclear "sector" for proper access and expression.
Scientists at Penn Veterinary Medicine School Report New Strategy to Create Genetically Modified Animals
PHILADELPHIA- Researchers at the University of Pennsylvania School of Veterinary Medicine have demonstrated the potential of a new strategy for genetic modification of large animals. The method employs a harmless gene therapy virus that transfers a genetic modification to male reproductive cells, which is then passed naturally on to offspring.
Penn Engineers Design Electronic Computer Memory in Nanoscale Form That Retrieves Data 1,000 Times Faster
PHILADELPHIA -- Scientists from the University of Pennsylvania have developed nanowires capable of storing computer data for 100,000 years and retrieving that data a thousand times faster than existing portable memory devices such as Flash memory and micro-drives, all using less power and space than current memory technologies.
Bioengineers at University of Pennsylvania Devise Nanoscale System to Measure Cellular Forces
PHILADELPHIA -- University of Pennsylvania researchers have designed a nanoscale system to observe and measure how individual cells react to external forces.
University of Pennsylvania Researchers Develop Formula to Gauge Risk of Disease Clusters
PHILADELPHIA -- Researchers at the University of Pennsylvania have developed a mathematical formula to assess whether concentrated disease outbreaks can be ascribed to random-chance events or, instead, suggest a contagious or environmental effect that requires epidemiological investigation.
Penn's Autonomous Car "Little Ben" Advances to the Semi-Finals of the DARPA Urban Challenge
PHILADELPHIA - "Little Ben," the autonomous vehicle engineered by University of Pennsylvania and Lehigh University faculty and students to drive itself has advanced to the semi-finals of the DARPA Urban Challenge.
University of Pennsylvania Engineers Force Open Novel Protein Targets Within Stem Cells and Blood Cells
PHILADELPHIA - Applying physical stress to cells, researchers at the University of Pennsylvania School of Engineering and Applied Science have demonstrated that everyday forces can alter the structure of proteins tucked within cells, unfold them and expose new targets in the fight against disease.
Penn's MAGPI Unit to Facilitate Global Multicast of "Live Earth" Concert Using Internet2 Technology
WHAT: A live multicast of the "Live Earth" concert series, a global event featuring a 24-hour series of eight concerts that will bring together more than 100 music artists and 2 billion people in support of a global movement to solve the climate crisis.
A New Technique for Building Nanodevices in the Lab: Electron beam "carves" the world's smallest devices
PHILADELPHIA -- Physicists at the University of Pennsylvania are using a new technique to craft some of the tiniest metal nanostructures ever created, none larger than 10 nanometers, or 10,000 times smaller than the width of a single human hair.
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.
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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.
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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.
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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.
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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.
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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.
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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.
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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.
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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.
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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.
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