11/15
Science & Technology
Four takeaways from the IPCC’s report on climate adaptation and vulnerability
Four takeaways from the IPCC’s report on climate adaptation and vulnerability
The assessment gets explicit about the effect of climate change on people, places, and ecosystems. Experts from Penn weigh in on what it means.
One drink a day linked with reduced brain size
One drink a day linked with reduced brain size
The Penn-led research, using a dataset of more than 36,000 adults, revealed that going from one to two drinks a day was associated with changes in the brain equivalent to aging two years. Heavier drinking was linked with an even greater toll.
COVID in a cat
COVID in a cat
A new report led by Elizabeth Lennon of the School of Veterinary Medicine and colleagues has confirmed what is believed to be the first published account of the delta variant of SARS-CoV-2 in a house cat.
Interaction with lung cells transforms asbestos particles
Interaction with lung cells transforms asbestos particles
To better understand what happens once asbestos enters a human body, researchers in the School of Arts & Sciences took a nanoscale look at the mineral.
SARS-CoV-2 is moving between humans and wildlife around the U.S.
SARS-CoV-2 is moving between humans and wildlife around the U.S.
In humans the pandemic is showing signs of ebbing. In white-tailed deer and other wildlife, however, infections appear widespread.
COVID-19 vaccines for young children
COVID-19 vaccines for young children
As the pandemic enters its third year, kids under five can’t get vaccinated. Researchers explain what’s been unfolding with the vaccine authorization process.
How to design a sail that won’t tear or melt on an interstellar voyage
How to design a sail that won’t tear or melt on an interstellar voyage
The Breakthrough Starshot Initiative’s laser-based approach requires rethinking a sail’s shape and composition so it won’t melt or tear during acceleration and pushed by wind, not light.
Uncovering unexpected properties in a complex quantum material
Uncovering unexpected properties in a complex quantum material
Using a novel technique developed at Penn, researchers gained new insights into the properties of a proposed excitonic insulator known as Ta2NiSe5, with implications for future quantum devices.
Two Penn faculty named 2022 Sloan Research Fellows
Two Penn faculty named 2022 Sloan Research Fellows
Yuxin Chen and Deep Jariwala have been recognized for their creativity, innovation, and research accomplishments as members of the next generation of scientific leaders.
Newly discovered ‘encrypted peptides’ with antibiotic properties
Newly discovered ‘encrypted peptides’ with antibiotic properties
A new study reports three distinct proteins in human plasma that have naturally occurring antibiotic properties.
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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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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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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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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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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