Through
11/26
Science & Technology
Five Penn faculty elected to the National Academy of Medicine
Five Penn faculty elected to the National Academy of Medicine
Five faculty from Penn are among the newest members of the National Academy of Medicine: William Beltran of the School of Veterinary Medicine, Matthew McHugh of the School of Nursing, and Ronald DeMatteo, Raina Merchant, and Hongjun Song of the Perelman School of Medicine.
Crowd-sourcing optogenetics data to tackle neurological diseases
Crowd-sourcing optogenetics data to tackle neurological diseases
The specialized field of neuroscience, optogenetics, shows clinical promise for conditions like epilepsy and Parkinson’s. But before human trials can get fully underway, the field must better understand a crucial intermediate step, aided by 45 labs in nine countries sharing information.
Contact tracing: A piece of a multilayered campus public health strategy
Contact tracing: A piece of a multilayered campus public health strategy
With the goal of mitigating the spread of COVID-19 and supporting the community with health guidance and information, contact tracing is part of Penn’s systemic approach to keeping the campus healthy during the pandemic.
One step closer to new devices for quantum computing
One step closer to new devices for quantum computing
New research from Penn Engineering describes a new type of ‘quasiparticle’ and topological insulator, opening up new opportunities and future applications into new photonic devices.
Nanoparticles can turn off genes in bone marrow
Nanoparticles can turn off genes in bone marrow
Using specialized nanoparticles, researchers from Penn Engineering and MIT have developed a way to turn off specific genes in cells of bone marrow, which play an important role in producing blood cells.
Treeswift’s autonomous robots take flight to save forests
Treeswift’s autonomous robots take flight to save forests
From Penn Engineering’s GRASP Lab, Treeswift uses swarms of autonomous, flying robots equipped with LiDAR sensors to monitor, inventory, and map timberland.
Dueling proteins give shape to plants
Dueling proteins give shape to plants
Research led by Doris Wager of the School of Arts & Sciences, together with postdoc Yang Zhu and graduate student Samantha Klasfeld, reveals an antagonistic relationship behind flower development.
In paleontology, Peter Dodson is a king begetting kings
In paleontology, Peter Dodson is a king begetting kings
World-renowned paleontologist Peter Dodson names his greatest accomplishment: being a mentor.
Tracking the working dogs of 9/11
Tracking the working dogs of 9/11
A study of search and rescue dogs led by the School of Veterinary Medicine showed little difference in longevity or cause of death between dogs at the disaster site and dogs in a control group.
Did scientists detect chemical signals from Venusian microorganisms?
Four takeaways from astronomer Cullen Blake on what this potentially groundbreaking study shows and what comes next for scientists who are keen to understand these faraway chemical signals.
In the News
Technical.ly Philly
Celebrate Philly’s winners of the 2024 Technical.ly Awards
Jeffrey Babin of the School of Engineering and Applied Science and Wharton School is Technical.ly’s 2024 Educator of the Year. The Pennovation Accelerator, a six-week program hosted at the Pennovation Works, is Technical.ly’s 2024 Program of the Year.
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Philadelphia Inquirer
Decoding Trump’s climate priorities—or lack thereof
In an opinion essay, Sanya Carley of the Kleinman Center for Energy Policy at the Weitzman School of Design examines the implications and possibilities of Donald Trump’s energy and climate agenda.
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Rolling Stone
RFK Jr.’s 10 wildest medical theories
Kenneth R. Foster of the School of Engineering and Applied Science says studies haven’t provided clear evidence that exposure to levels of radio frequency energy below accepted limits, such as Wi-Fi, disrupts the blood-brain barrier.
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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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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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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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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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