Chemists at Penn have identified a new approach for purifying rare earth metals, crucial components of technology that require environmentally-damaging mining procedures.

Erica K. Brockmeier ・October 23, 2019

To confront the ills of the opioid epidemic, scientists must develop a fundamental understanding of the biology of pain. Biologist Ishmail Abdus-Saboor’s work is setting the stage for screening alternative drugs and uncovering new pathways that an opioid-alternative could target.

Katherine Unger Baillie ・October 22, 2019

Tissue gets stiffer when it’s compressed. That stiffening response is a long-standing biomedical paradox, as common sense dictates that when you push the ends of a string together, it loosens tension, rather than increasing it. New research explains the mechanical interplay between that fiber network and the cells it contains.

Penn Today Staff ・October 18, 2019

Senior Alex Ulin from Los Angeles spent the past two summers working at a NASA-contracted field center, and is now aiming for a career leading teams of aerospace scientists and engineers.

Erica K. Brockmeier ・October 16, 2019

The School of Arts and Sciences’ Reto Gieré and Ruggero Vigliaturo and colleagues found that phytoliths—small, silica-containing deposits present in many plant species—are emitted during biofuel combustion.

Katherine Unger Baillie ・October 15, 2019

Researchers show how polymer spheres contract to form unique spiral structures known as loxodromes, or rhumb lines, creating patterns that are ten times smaller than the width of a human hair.

Erica K. Brockmeier ・October 11, 2019

Border collies are highly trainable, greyhounds love to chase, and German shepherds make good guard dogs. While the environment plays a role, traits like these are highly heritable. A new study identifies 131 genetic variants associated with breed differences in behavior.

Katherine Unger Baillie ・October 10, 2019

Senior Adithya Sriram is busy earning two degrees, researching new applications for graphene, and preparing physics courses for students in West Philadelphia.

Erica K. Brockmeier ・October 10, 2019

Penn researchers show that the new microwave imager chip could form images of simple objects. Unlike light, microwaves can travel through certain opaque objects, making microwave imagers potentially useful in a wide variety of applications.

Penn Today Staff ・October 3, 2019

An international team of researchers led by the School of Veterinary Medicine’s Keiko Miyadera has identified the gene mutation responsible for a form of night blindness in dogs. Strategies to treat this condition could also inform treatment of other diseases that rely on targeting this cell type.

Katherine Unger Baillie ・October 3, 2019