11/15
Science & Technology
Progress toward a stem cell–based therapy for blindness
Progress toward a stem cell–based therapy for blindness
A multi-institutional effort led by researchers at the School of Veterinary Medicine is taking steps to develop an effective technique to regenerate photoreceptors cells and restore sight in people with vision disorders.
TV news top driver of political echo chambers in U.S.
TV news top driver of political echo chambers in U.S.
Duncan Watts and colleagues found that 17% of Americans consume television news from partisan left- or right-leaning sources compared to just 4% online. For TV news viewers, this audience segregation tends to last month over month.
Intervening to stop bone loss
Intervening to stop bone loss
A study led by Shuying (Sheri) Yang of the School of Dental Medicine identified a new role for a protein that keeps osteoclasts—the cells that break down bone—in check, and may guide the development of new therapies to counter bone loss.
Mentorship strategies to boost diversity in paleontology
Mentorship strategies to boost diversity in paleontology
Drawing on research as well as their experiences as women of color in paleontology, Aja Carter and Erynn Johnson, who earned doctoral degrees from Penn, coauthored a paper offering advice for making the field more inclusive.
Inspired by nature, artificial microtubules can work against a current to transport tiny cargoes
Inspired by nature, artificial microtubules can work against a current to transport tiny cargoes
Technology developed by Arnold Mathijssen of the School of Arts & Sciences and colleagues could one day clear blockages in blood vessels or precisely target chemotherapy drugs to a tumor.
Inspired by the human heart, Penn Engineers design tear-resistant soft material
Inspired by the human heart, Penn Engineers design tear-resistant soft material
Engineers have designed a soft material for robotics, medical devices, and wearable technologies that are both tear-resistant and able to resist deformation.
Testing, treatments, and more: A glossary for year three of the pandemic
Testing, treatments, and more: A glossary for year three of the pandemic
Penn Today adds a new installment to this series aimed at making sense of the language around COVID-19.
PIK Professor Kevin Johnson: Informatics evangelist
PIK Professor Kevin Johnson: Informatics evangelist
The Penn Integrates Knowledge Professor with appointments in Penn Engineering and the Perelman School of Medicine on forging his own path in the fields of health care and computer science.
Penn Abroad: Rising senior Ricardo Del Rio in Switzerland
Penn Abroad: Rising senior Ricardo Del Rio in Switzerland
Rising senior Ricardo Del Rio, an electrical engineering major in the School of Engineering and Applied Science, studied at ETH Zurich during the spring semester.
Deconstructing the mechanics of bone marrow disease
Deconstructing the mechanics of bone marrow disease
A new understanding of how mechanical features of bone marrow affect resident immune cells in a fibrotic cancer points to future therapeutic strategies for cancers and fibrotic diseases.
In the News
Scientific American
Grumpy voters want better stories. Not statistics
In a Q&A, PIK Professor Duncan Watts says that U.S. voters ignored Democratic policy in favor of Republican storytelling.
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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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