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An old-school green deal
A rocky, shrubby landscape glows with sunlight under a partially cloudy sky.

California’s Joshua Tree National Park suffered damage during the government shutdown, but stands to benefit from a conservation package that recently passed the Senate. (Photo: National Park Service/Kurt Moses)

  • Q&A

    • An old-school green deal

    A major public lands package passed the U.S. Senate Feb. 12 with massive bipartisan support and is expected to pass the House later this month. Cary Coglianese shares insights into the bill’s contents—which entail the largest expansion of wilderness area in a decade.

    Katherine Unger Baillie

    The art of talking about science
    Child in a gray shirt sitting waiting to get a shot by gloved hands.

    The art of talking about science

    Paul Offit of Penn Medicine and CHOP offers five tips for better communicating tough scientific topics to the public—and standing up for science in the process.

    Michele W. Berger

    Supreme Court decision a boon for truck drivers and, potentially, the gig economy
    A white long-haul truck on an open highway.

    A recent Supreme Court decision now allows transportation workers to sue their employers in class-action lawsuits. This verdict could have implications for truckers, but could also affect Uber drivers and others in the gig economy.

    Supreme Court decision a boon for truck drivers and, potentially, the gig economy

    Three Penn experts discuss the ruling, which gives transportation workers the ability to sue their employers in class-action lawsuits, sidestepping forced arbitration.

    Michele W. Berger

    Infection-resistant catheter plan wins Y-Prize
    The four Y-Prize winners with their trophies.

    The winners, from left: Ishir Seth, Tanvi Kapur, Beatriz Go, WenTao Zhang. (Photo: Michelle Eckert)

    Infection-resistant catheter plan wins Y-Prize

    The team of four undergraduates propose reinventing the catheter to prevent urinary tract infections at the source, using a wrinkle printing technology developed at Penn.

    Gwyneth K. Shaw

    Designing with resilience to prepare for a changing world
    Satellite image of port of Semarang with vulnerable coastal areas labeled "Industrial Greenbelt" "Future-ready Port" "Resilient Kampung, "Re-Water"

    Representatives from the Water Center at Penn heard proposals from a team with One Architecture & Urbanism on how to help the Indonesian port city of Semarang deal with current water challenges and plan for a sustainable future. (Image: One Resilient Semarang)

    Designing with resilience to prepare for a changing world

    Urban designers joined with architects, engineers, city planners, sociologists, and other experts to share strategies for adapting to rising sea levels, fiercer storms, and sinking shorelines, coinciding with the launch of the Certificate in Urban Resilience at the School of Design.

    Katherine Unger Baillie

    Hindering melanoma metastasis with an FDA-approved drug
    Two square panels, the left labeled "vehicle" and the right labeled "resperine." The vehicle panel has both blue and green dots and markings throughout, while the resperine panel has only blue markings.

    In a mouse model, the FDA-approved drug reserpine seemed to hamper the ability of tumors to reshape distant tissues in ways that would encourage metastasis, for example, reducing the accumulation of fibronectin, a protein associated with certain types of cancer.

    Hindering melanoma metastasis with an FDA-approved drug

    A drug approved by the FDA 65 years ago for blood pressure control may aid in preventing cancer from spreading to distant organs. New research led by Serge Fuchs revealed that this drug disrupted formation of a fertile environment for metastasis by protecting healthy cells from harmful vesicles released by tumors.

    Katherine Unger Baillie

    Dark Energy Survey completes six-year mission
    Dark energy telescope with star trails

    Dark Energy Survey completes six-year mission

    A global research effort to map a portion of the sky in unprecedented detail is coming to an end, but the task of learning more about the expansion of the universe has only just begun.

    Erica K. Brockmeier

    Thoughts from a medical ethicist on gene editing babies
    Gloved hand taking scissors to a strand of DNA.

    Since it started making headlines five years ago, the gene-editing technology CRISPR has been controversial. It’s back in the news after a researcher in China claims to have altered the DNA of twin girls. 

    Thoughts from a medical ethicist on gene editing babies

    In a Q&A, PIK Professor Jonathan Moreno discusses using CRISPR technology on humans and the future of the field.

    Michele W. Berger