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Science & Technology
New center will study the complex genomics within individual cells
Junhyong Kim and James Eberwine are leading a multi-disciplinary team in developing cutting-edge technologies that can assess the genetic material inside individual compartments of single cells. The new Center for Sub-Cellular Genomics aims to revolutionize therapies for diseases such as bipolar disorder, autism, and Alzheimer’s disease.
Analyzing roadside dust to identify potential health concerns
Reto Gieré is working with collaborators across the world to identify an overlooked but significant factor in traffic-related air pollution: Tiny bits of tires, brake pads, and road materials that become suspended in the air when vehicles pass over.
Finding patterns in a class of neurological disorders
Research from Penn Engineering and the Perelman School of Medicine has found that the shared pattern is misfolded in Fragile X Syndrome, a member of the class of disorders that also includes ALS and Huntington’s disease
Can social media networks reduce political polarization on climate change?
A study from the Annenberg School for Communication shows that exposure to anonymous, bipartisan social networks can lead liberals and conservatives to improve their forecasting of global-climate trends.
Mentoring tomorrow’s biomedical researchers
This year, 41 students took part in the Summer Undergraduate Internship Program, a 10-week residential program that aims to steer biomedicine and biological science students toward Ph.D. programs.
Knockdown and replace: A gene therapy twofer to treat blindness
More than 150 different mutations in the light-sensing molecule rhodopsin can cause retinitis pigmentosa, characterized by a progressive loss of night and peripheral vision, and a team of researchers have developed a treatment for the condition. Successful results in dogs set the stage for testing in humans.
Mapping the ocean with marine robots
M. Ani Hsieh’s robotics lab investigates how to use ocean currents as a natural energy source for marine robots, which would enable widespread exploration.
Guinness recognizes Piccolissimo as world’s smallest self-powered flying robot
Created in professor Mark Yim’s ModLab, with graduate student Matt Piccoli, the world’s smallest flying robot can carry the weight of a small camera or sensor, with just two moving parts achieving directional control.
The snow graphics in ‘Frozen’ can predict the mechanics of real avalanches
The Department of Computer and Information Science’s Chenfanfu Jiang recently published a study in Nature Communications that accurately models slab avalanches, bringing realistic natural phenomena to movies and practical applications for scientific predictions.
Cancer cells send out ‘drones’ to battle the immune system from afar
Checkpoint inhibitor therapies have made metastatic melanoma and other cancers a survivable condition, but only for some patients. Researchers uncovered a novel mechanism by which tumors suppress the immune system, raising the possibility that a straightforward blood test could predict which patients could respond to immunotherapy.
In the News
WHYY (Philadelphia)
PGW plan for liquified natural gas facility in Southwest Philadelphia clears hurdle
Christina Simeone of the Kleinman Center for Energy Policy discussed the possible environmental impact of the creation of a new liquified natural gas (LNG) facility in Southwest Philadelphia. “The environmental benefit will happen if LNG displaces diesel or fuel oil,” she said. “But it’s just not clear until there’s a client base who is going to be the end user of this gas.”
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NBC News
After a stressful election, experts warn blockchain is not the answer
Matt Blaze of the School of Engineering and Applied Science weighed in on blockchain voting. “The charlatans pushing for blockchain elections and online voting are doing the equivalent of advocating a healthcare policy that assumes we’re about to cure cancer,” Blaze tweeted. “Maybe we will, but best not to bet on it.”
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Popular Science
Cell phones pose plenty of risks, but none of them are cancer
Reviewing the results of a study exploring the relationship between cell phones and cancer, Kenneth Foster of the School of Engineering and Applied Science remains unconvinced of potential dangers. “Health agencies are saying that if there’s something there, it’s probably so small that there’s not likely to be a large effect on the population,” Foster said.
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LiveScience.com
The House science committee is back in Democrats’ control: What that means for science
PIK Professor Jonathan Moreno said that the new leaders of the House Committee on Science, Space, and Technology will need to focus on making sure that “the agencies that are responsible for worrying about climate and the environment are doing their jobs.”
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Philadelphia Inquirer
Penn physicists win $3 million Breakthrough Prize
The School of Arts and Sciences’ Charles Kane and Eugene Mele have been awarded the 2019 Breakthrough Prize in Fundamental Physics for their work developing a two-dimensional topological insulator, which forces electrons to travel in an orderly fashion. The material could some day be used to improve energy efficiency.
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Smithsonian Magazine
Scientists break the rules of reproduction by breeding mice from single-sex parents
The Perelman School of Medicine’s Marisa Bartolomei offered commentary on same-sex reproductive experiments, which have proven easier in bimaternal than bipaternal pairings.
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Philadelphia Inquirer
Guess what these young dinosaurs ate when their parents weren’t looking
Peter Dodson of the School of Veterinary Medicine and the School of Arts and Sciences offered commentary on young dinosaurs’ ability to independently forage for vegetation. “It seems like a pretty fair bet that there wasn’t parental care,” said Dodson.
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The New York Times
Life with no males? These termites show that it’s possible
Tanya Dapkey of the School of Arts and Sciences discussed asexual termites, saying there was much to learn from “societies in nature run without any input from males.”
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WHYY (Philadelphia)
A Philly-Pittsburgh Hyperloop? State House resolution calls for feasibility study
Megan Ryerson of the School of Design discussed the feasibility and wisdom of investing in Hyperloop lines between Philadelphia and Pittsburgh. “… It could really change the distribution of economic activities across cities that, right now, we think of as so distant,” said Ryerson.
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National Geographic
This tiny fish can recognize itself in a mirror. Is it self-aware?
PIK Professor Michael Platt commented on an animal sentience study. While he found the research “fascinating and well-executed,” he pointed out that the study doesn’t necessarily confirm that animals have a human-like sense of self.
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