11/15
Science & Technology
A call for a global ban on lead paint
A call for a global ban on lead paint
In a paper for the United Nations Environment Programme, researchers from the School of Arts & Sciences and the Perelman School of Medicine and colleagues make a case for ceasing production and use of lead paint worldwide.
Researchers identify potential nanoparticles for therapeutic mRNA delivery before birth
Researchers identify potential nanoparticles for therapeutic mRNA delivery before birth
Researchers at Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia and the School of Engineering and Applied Science have identified ionizable lipid nanoparticles that could be used to deliver mRNA as part of fetal therapy.
Risk-taking behavior has a signature in the brain, big data shows
Risk-taking behavior has a signature in the brain, big data shows
While there is no such thing as a single “risk area” of the brain, a study of 12,000 people led by the Wharton School’s Gideon Nave found a connection between genes, lower levels of gray matter, and risky behavior.
Parkinson's disease pathology is tied to the activity of cell's 'recycling centers'
Parkinson's disease pathology is tied to the activity of cell's 'recycling centers'
Genetic variations associated with both increases and reductions in risk of the neurodegenerative disease alter the action of ion channels within cellular organelles called lysosomes, a new Penn study finds.
First ever ‘pioneer’ factor found in plants enables cells to change their fate
First ever ‘pioneer’ factor found in plants enables cells to change their fate
To start the process of unpacking tightly bundled genetic material, plants depend on the LEAFY pioneer protein, according to work led by biologist Doris Wagner.
The outlook for science under the Biden-Harris administration
The outlook for science under the Biden-Harris administration
Penn Today spoke with experts in various areas of science and environmental policy about what they anticipate will shift now that President Biden has assumed the nation’s leadership.
Researchers measure different types of curiosity studying ‘hunters and busybodies’
Researchers measure different types of curiosity studying ‘hunters and busybodies’
A multidisciplinary study has found a way to readily quantify the information-seeking associated with curiosity and explore mechanisms underlying information-seeking.
Metamaterial tiles boost sensitivity of large telescopes
Research on a low-cost, mass producible technology is poised to help the Simons Observatory uncover new insights into how the universe began.
Ruby Washington is poised to make her mark in bioengineering
Ruby Washington is poised to make her mark in bioengineering
The senior in Penn Engineering’s Department of Bioengineering weds biomedicine and her pursuit in addressing healthcare disparities in the Black community.
America’s first fossil fuel state
America’s first fossil fuel state
History course looks at Pennsylvania’s role in helping fossil fuel power the making of the modern world.
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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