7.14
Science & Technology
A promising new strategy to help broken bones heal faster
A promising new strategy to help broken bones heal faster
To improve how broken bones heal in people with diabetes, the School of Dental Medicine’s Henry Daniell, Sheri Yang, and colleagues are leading work to develop an affordable oral therapy—grown in plants.
Demystifying feline behavior
Demystifying feline behavior
Carlo Siracusa and James Serpell of the School of Veterinary Medicine contextualize recent findings in cat behavior science, debunk some cat-related myths, and explain why our kitties are not just “low-maintenance dogs.”
Illuminating interactions between decision-making and the environment
Illuminating interactions between decision-making and the environment
With a unifying model based in game theory, Andrew Tilman, Joshua Plotkin, and Erol Akçay of the School of Arts and Sciences inform dynamics in fields as diverse as ecology and economics.
What craigslist can teach us about Web 2.0
What craigslist can teach us about Web 2.0
In a new book, Annenberg’s Jessa Lingel views modern online life through the lens of a site that hasn’t changed much in look or feel since it began 25 years ago.
What to do when cutting emissions alone is no longer enough
What to do when cutting emissions alone is no longer enough
Four factors to consider in the race to solve the climate crisis, including how to scale up a tool called negative emissions and why the oceans can only help so much.
A new way of thinking about motion, movement, and the concept of time
A new way of thinking about motion, movement, and the concept of time
Eadweard Muybridge’s “Animal Locomotion” was the first scientific study to use photography. Now, more than 130 years later, Muybridge’s work is seen as both an innovation in photography and the science of movement, alongside his personal legacy as someone with an eccentric 19th century style and a dark past.
Advancing an oral drug for pulmonary arterial hypertension
Advancing an oral drug for pulmonary arterial hypertension
With a protein drug grown in the leaves of lettuce plants, the School of Dental Medicine’s Henry Daniell and colleagues hope to provide new treatment options for patients with pulmonary arterial hypertension, a rare but deadly disease.
Future collaborators and scientific pioneers at the Women in STEM symposium
Future collaborators and scientific pioneers at the Women in STEM symposium
Graduate students and faculty across Penn met to share their work and discuss solutions for issues faced by women in STEM.
Three Penn faculty named 2020 Sloan Research Fellows
Three Penn faculty named 2020 Sloan Research Fellows
Engineer Liang Feng, neuroscientist Erica Korb, and statistician Weijie Su each received the competitive and prestigious award honoring early-career researchers.
Answers to microbiome mysteries in the gills of rainbow trout
Answers to microbiome mysteries in the gills of rainbow trout
In trout, the School of Veterinary Medicine’s J. Oriol Sunyer and colleagues discovered that a particular type of primitive antibody is essential for fighting microbes that cause disease while preserving others that make up a healthy microbiome.
In the News
The New York Times
Who’s a bot? Who’s not?
Sarah Jackson of the Annenberg School for Communication said it’s important to focus on where bots exist within social networks as well as with whom they actually interact. “Even if there are a lot of bots in a network, it is misleading to suggest they are leading the conversation or influencing real people who are tweeting in those same networks,” she said.
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The Wall Street Journal
Why people are more honest when writing on their smartphones
Shiri Melumad of the Wharton School was interviewed about her research into how people communicate with smartphones, as opposed to personal computers. “Consumers tend to convey feelings or thoughts that are more private or intimate on their smartphones, which is captured by the use of ‘I’ or ‘we’ and mentioning family and friends,” she said.
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USA Today
Canceled plans and staying home: How can students make the most of a coronavirus summer?
Vanessa Z. Chan of the School of Engineering and Applied Science wrote an op-ed about how students can still have a productive summer by taking online classes, picking up new hobbies, and creatively solving social problems.
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NPR
Are there zombie viruses—like the 1918 flu—thawing in the permafrost?
Michael Zimmerman of the School of Arts & Sciences said the possibility of reviving long frozen pathogens is “extremely unlikely.”
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The Washington Post
Dogs are being trained to sniff out coronavirus cases
Cynthia Otto of the School of Veterinary Medicine is quoted on training dogs to detect disease.
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The Hill
Researchers investigating whether dogs can detect coronavirus
Cynthia Otto of the School of Veterinary Medicine was interviewed about Penn’s Working Dog Center, which is exploring the possibility of using dogs to sniff out odors associated with COVID-19.
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National Geographic
Horses and dogs share a surprisingly common language of play
Sue McDonnell of the School of Veterinary Medicine commented on new research that finds shared play language between dogs and horses. “It’s a wonderful study, and takes the questions surrounding play behavior to a new level,” she said.
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KYW Newsradio (Philadelphia)
The Origami Mask Project's engineers are designing DIY face masks for COVID-19
Shu Yang of the School of Engineering and Applied Science spoke about the The Origami Mask Project, which is developing simple, easy DIY face masks.
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Vox.com
This AI breakthrough in antibiotics might one day save your life
César de la Fuente of the School of Engineering and Applied Science commented on new MIT research that might speed up antibiotic discovery. “I think it’s a breakthrough in a field of much unmet need,” he said. “After all, no new classes of antibiotics have been discovered for decades. This one is definitely structurally different from conventional antibiotics.”
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“All Things Considered,” National Public Radio
At 25 years, understanding the longevity of Craigslist
Jessa Lingel of the Annenberg School for Communication spoke about the founders of Craigslist. “They’re both just old-school engineer type guys who just really believe in keeping the design as simple and functional as possible,” she said. “[I]t’s never had a competitor that was really able to swallow up its user base. It’s had loyal customers all along, loyal users all along, so it’s just never been forced to adapt.”
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