Science & Technology

The University of Pennsylvania’s Division of Facilities and Real Estate Services announced today that two award-winning start-up companies are joining the Pennovation Center – the University’s new business, technology and laboratory incubator opening in August 2016. 

Dolphins, lizards and hyenas may not be on Facebook or Twitter, but, as social species, their social networks influence every pivotal aspect of their lives: finding a mate, reproducing, becoming ill or surviving.

Ferromagnetic materials, like compass needles, are useful because their magnetic polarization makes them rotate to align with magnetic fields. Ferroelectric materials behave in a similar way but with electric, rather than magnetic, fields.

By Patrick Ammerman

Adult stem cells represent a sort of blank clay from which a myriad of different cell and tissue types are molded and as such are of critical importance to health, ageing and disease.  In tissues that turn over rapidly, such as the intestines, the self-renewing nature of stem cells and their susceptibility to cancer-causing mutations has led researchers to postulate that

The Penn Museum’s ongoing exhibition, “In the Artifact Lab: Conserving Egyptian Mummies,” offers visitors an insider’s look at efforts to document, preserve, and restore ancient objects in the Museum’s extensive collection.

On the isles of the Galapagos, giant tortoises munch on cactus pads and native fruit, then spend hours resting. Thirty-pound iguanas—some a pale bubblegum pink, others splotchy yellow and black—bask in the sun.

The tragedy of the commons, a concept described by ecologist Garrett Hardin, paints a grim view of human nature. The theory goes that, if a resource is shared, individuals will act in their own self-interest, but against the interest of the group, by depleting that resource. 

Boyang Qin, a third-year Ph.D. student, stands on stage in the Benjamin Franklin Room of the University of Pennsylvania’s Houston Hall in front of 50 high school students and parents.

Would you rather eat an apple or a banana? Read Moby Dick or A Tale of Two Cities? Is a cup or a mug holding that coffee? How quickly the decision gets made matters. That’s because the longer someone takes to draw a conclusion, the more likely that person will disengage from the process altogether and simply never decide.