10.20
Science & Technology
Digging into the government report on UFOs
Digging into the government report on UFOs
In a Q&A, historian of science Kate Dorsch illuminates the history behind reporting and investigating UFO sightings and contextualizes the new government report on such phenomena.
New grant aims to broaden participation in cutting-edge materials research
New grant aims to broaden participation in cutting-edge materials research
As one of eight teams to be awarded National Science Foundation funding, a partnership between Penn and the University of Puerto Rico will continue its long-running collaboration focused on innovative research and STEM career pathway support.
Obscuring the truth can promote cooperation
Obscuring the truth can promote cooperation
People are more likely to cooperate if they think others are cooperating, too. New research by biologists in the School of Arts & Sciences shows that overstating the true level of cooperation in a society can increase cooperative behavior overall.
Simulation of glacial calving and tsunami waves predicts climate change consequences
Simulation of glacial calving and tsunami waves predicts climate change consequences
Researchers at the School of Engineering and Applied Science have created a computer model that can accurately simulate tsunamis caused by glacial calving, critical to hazard assessments and mitigation measures in coastal regions regarding climate change.
Latest ‘organ-on-a-chip’ is a new way to study cancer-related muscle wasting
Latest ‘organ-on-a-chip’ is a new way to study cancer-related muscle wasting
New “muscle-on-a-chip” technology allows for drug testing on human muscles outside the body while capturing the complexity of human physiology.
Protein’s ‘silent code’ affects how cells move
Protein’s ‘silent code’ affects how cells move
A School of Veterinary Medicine-led study shows how, despite having nearly identical amino acid sequences, two forms of the protein actin differ in function due their distinct nucleotide sequences.
New microfluidic device delivers mRNA nanoparticles a hundred times faster
New microfluidic device delivers mRNA nanoparticles a hundred times faster
With a “liquid assembly line,” Penn researchers have produced mRNA-delivering-nanoparticles significantly faster than standard microfluidic technologies.
A fieldwork experience, no travel required
A fieldwork experience, no travel required
During a two-week in-person bootcamp at the Penn Museum, 11 undergrads learned basic archaeological skills in subjects from ceramics and sample-taking to archaeobotany.
Growing ‘metallic wood’ to new heights
Growing ‘metallic wood’ to new heights
“Metallic wood” is full of regularly spaced cell-sized pores that radically decrease its density without sacrificing the material’s strength, which not only gives metallic wood the strength of titanium at a fraction of the weight, but unique optical properties.
Giant comet found in outer solar system
The discovery of the comet estimated to 100-200 kilometers across was made by Penn researchers following a comprehensive search of data from the Dark Energy Survey. Comet Bernardinelli-Bernstein is the most distant comet ever discovered and possibly the largest seen in modern times.
In the News
ABC News
Philadelphia doctor develops rapid COVID test with results on smartphone
A team of researchers led by Ping Wang of the Perelman School of Medicine is developing a more accurate rapid test for COVID-19 that uses smart phone cameras. “The PCR is great. It's sensitive, but at the same time it's only residing in the core laboratories,” she said. “So, you can't really do PCR at home for most settings.”
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The Washington Post
Facebook is like chairs. No, telephones. No, cars. No …
Zachary Loeb, a doctoral candidate in the School of Arts & Sciences, spoke about Facebook’s attempts to compare the platform to simpler, less threatening technologies. “There used to be this utopian aura where they had been trying to act as though they were the latest in the stream of these transformative [communication] technologies,” he said.
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The Scientist
Signaling dynamics fine-tune gene expressiong
Lukasz Bugaj of the School of Engineering & Applied Science comments on a systematic and quantitative look at how gene information is transmitted and what can influence the amount of expression.
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Philadelphia Business Journal
Penn spinout Cogwear gets funding to develop ‘anxiety thermometer’ headband
Cogwear, a startup based at the Penn Center for Innovation and founded by PIK Professor Michael Platt and former postdoc Arjun Ramakrishnan, is developing a wearable device that monitors mental health.
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Wired
Now that machines can learn, can they unlearn?
Aaron Roth of the School of Engineering and Applied Science spoke about his research on machine unlearning, which seeks to answer the question, “Can we remove all influence of someone’s data when they ask to delete it but avoid the full cost of retraining from scratch?”
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Forbes
COVID’s forgotten hero: The untold story of the scientist whose breakthrough made the vaccines possible
Vaccine technology developed by Drew Weissman and Katalin Karikó of the Perelman School of Medicine relies on a lipid delivery system created by Ian MacLachlan, a Canadian scientist.
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Philadelphia Inquirer
Prizewinning photo by Penn biologist called metaphor for ‘spiraling crisis’ in the ocean
Kristen Brown, a postdoc in the lab of Katie Barott at the School of Arts & Sciences, won a contest with a photo she took while researching coral reefs.
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Discover Magazine
We’re not alone: Animals suffer from mental health issues too
Carlo Siracusa of the School of Veterinary Medicine said, that while dogs certainly experience mental health issues like anxiety, their experiences differ from humans’ because they can’t plan for the future. “They’re not worrying if their buddies at the dog park are making fun of them,” he said. “Dogs aren’t obsessed in their thoughts like humans—as far as we know. They’re unlikely to be depressed in human terms.”
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Salon.com
Your dog has a rich interior life it's not telling you about
James Serpell of the School of Veterinary Medicine spoke about how dogs interact with and interpret the world around them, from barking to licking to sniffing. “While we derive most of the information about the world around us through our eyes and ears, dogs can access an additional layer of information via their noses that we are essentially ‘blind’ to,” he said.
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USA Today
Fact check: 62-mile-wide mega comet unlikely to hit Earth, will just pass by it in 2031
Pedro Bernardinelli and Gary Bernstein of the School of Arts & Sciences spoke about the giant comet they recently discovered. “There is no possibility of this thing getting any closer to Earth than Saturn gets,” said Bernstein.
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