11/15
Science & Technology
Stimulating immune cleanup crew offers affordable possibility for treating rare genetic disorder
Stimulating immune cleanup crew offers affordable possibility for treating rare genetic disorder
Compounds that mimicked the process known as efferocytosis alleviated signs of leukocyte adhesion deficiency type-1 in an animal model, according to work led by the School of Dental Medicine’s George Hajishengallis
Understanding the ‘fundamental nature’ of atomic-scale defects
Understanding the ‘fundamental nature’ of atomic-scale defects
New research provides a deeper mathematical understanding of the dynamics of a material’s atomic-level defects, which could enable new ways to imbue substances with unique and desirable properties.
A shaky future for U.S. transit systems, and why we need to save them
A shaky future for U.S. transit systems, and why we need to save them
The pandemic lockdown in cities has impacted transit systems around the world. While the federal stimulus package includes transit agencies, experts at Kleinman Center for Energy Policy argue that the decrease from local and state sources could be substantial.
Life, death, and the Amazonian litter layer
Life, death, and the Amazonian litter layer
Kristina Lyons’ new book explores the Colombian world of litter layers, seeds, and soils; Amazonian farmers, narcos, and the War on Drugs
Using stress to shape microlevel structures
Using stress to shape microlevel structures
A new study describes how external forces drive the rearrangement of individual particles in disordered solids, enabling new ways to imbue materials with unique mechanical properties.
A new tool for cell biologists
A new tool for cell biologists
Researchers describe a new approach for creating realistic synthetic cells, providing a new tool that can be used to figure out how certain pathogens, such as SARS-CoV-2, infect hosts.
Cavity-causing bacteria assemble an army of protective microbes on human teeth
Cavity-causing bacteria assemble an army of protective microbes on human teeth
Examining bacteria growing on toddlers’ teeth, a team from the School of Dental Medicine and Georgia Tech found that the microbes’ spatial organization is crucial to how they cause tooth decay.
PEP winners connect patients with the medicines they need
PEP winners connect patients with the medicines they need
Aarogya, a social-enterprise nonprofit created by three President’s Engagement Prize winners and graduating seniors, will bring affordable medicines to low-income people living in India.
At home, but still engaged with STEM classes
At home, but still engaged with STEM classes
While instructional laboratories on campus are closed, students, faculty, and instructors are finding creative solutions for science, math, and engineering courses and projects.
To err is human, to learn, divine
To err is human, to learn, divine
Researchers develop a new model for how the brain processes complex information: by striking a balance between accuracy and simplicity while making mistakes along the way.
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.
FULL STORY →
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.
FULL STORY →
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.
FULL STORY →
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.
FULL STORY →
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.
FULL STORY →
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.
FULL STORY →
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.
FULL STORY →
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.
FULL STORY →
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.
FULL STORY →
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.
FULL STORY →