11/15
Science & Technology
Researchers use a material’s ‘memory’ to encode unique physical properties
Researchers use a material’s ‘memory’ to encode unique physical properties
A new study shows that, as materials age, they “remember” prior stresses and external forces, which scientists and engineers can then use to create new materials with unique properties.
A new role for a triple-negative breast cancer target
A new role for a triple-negative breast cancer target
A team led by Rumela Chakrabarti of the School of Veterinary Medicine has made new discoveries into how a key protein involved in triple-negative breast cancer functions in puberty.
Drops of liquid crystal molecules branch out into strange structures
Drops of liquid crystal molecules branch out into strange structures
Shaped by surface tension and elasticity, spherical drops of chain-like liquid crystal molecules transform upon cooling into complex shapes with long-reaching tendrils.
Engineers coax white blood cells to crawl upstream
Engineers coax white blood cells to crawl upstream
Penn engineers find that by fighting the direction of the blood flow, white blood cells forge a faster route to battle infections.
Penn sends largest ever delegation to UN climate conference
Penn sends largest ever delegation to UN climate conference
At COP 25, representatives from the Kleinman Center for Energy Policy, Perry World House, Penn IUR, and elsewhere discuss global climate challenges.
Accelerating the creation of a wear-anywhere vest for COPD
Accelerating the creation of a wear-anywhere vest for COPD
Through the Penn Medicine Medical Device Accelerator, a physician’s back-of-a-napkin sketch may soon help patients breathe easier.
A new way to measure cosmic black holes
A new way to measure cosmic black holes
Researchers find a link between the masses of supermassive black holes and the distances between the galaxies which surround them, allowing astronomers to more easily study many astronomical phenomena.
‘Invisible,’ restricted horse racing therapy may leave a trail
‘Invisible,’ restricted horse racing therapy may leave a trail
Shockwave therapy is used in both horses and humans to speed healing, but it can also mask pain. For the first time, researchers led by Mary Robinson and Jinwen Chen have identified several biomarkers of the treatment, the use of which is restricted in horse racing.
An Inca ceremonial center, recreated in a digital landscape
An Inca ceremonial center, recreated in a digital landscape
Students use computer graphic technologies to bring historic sites to life as part of a summer research program and fall semester course that unites anthropology and computer science.
The view from inside the ‘medical scandal’ of China’s gene-edited babies
The view from inside the ‘medical scandal’ of China’s gene-edited babies
In a Q&A, geneticist Kiran Musunuru describes his unintentional connection to the scientist behind the scandal and the book that came out of the experience.
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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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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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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Interesting Engineering
U.S. achieves billion-fold power-saving semiconductor tech; could challenge China
A collaborative effort by Ritesh Agarwal of the School of Engineering and Applied Science and colleagues has made phase-change memory more energy efficient and could unlock a future revolution in data storage.
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