6.19
Science & Technology
Penn engineering research gives optical switches the ‘contrast’ of electronic transistors
Current computer systems represent bits of information — the 1’s and 0’s of binary code — with electricity. Circuit elements, such as transistors, operate on these electric signals, producing outputs that are dependent on their inputs.
Penn Engineers Make First Full Network Model of the Musculoskeletal System
Network science examines how the actions of a system’s individual parts affect the behavior of the system as a whole. Some commonly studied networks include computer chip components and social media users, but University of Pennsylvania engineers are now applying network science to a much older system: the human body.
Improvements in mortality rates are slowed by rise in obesity in the United States
With countless medical advances and efforts to curb smoking, one might expect that life expectancy in the United States would improve. Yet according to recent studies, there’s been a reduction in the rate of improvement in American mortality during the past three decades.
Penn-led Team Uncovers the Physiology Behind the Hour-long Mating Call of Midshipman Fish
According to the Guinness World Records, the longest any person has held a continuous vocal note is just shy of two minutes. That’s quite an achievement.Compared to the Pacific midshipman fish, however, the endurance of the human vocal cord is no match. Midshipman fish can generate a mating call that emits continuously from their bodies for a full hour.
With a $450,000 Air Force Grant, Penn Physicist Will Shed Light on an Emerging Field in Physics
Bo Zhen, an assistant professor of physics in the School of Arts and Sciences at the University of Pennsylvania, has been awarded a
Researcher awarded Swartz Fellowship to investigate mechanisms of learning and memory
Gaia Tavoni, a postdoctoral fellow of the Computational Neuroscience Initiative, has been named a Swartz Foundation Fellow for Theory in Neuroscience for her research proposal suggesting pathways to investigate the brain mechanisms involved in learning and memory.
‘Silent Code’ of Nucleotides, Not Amino Acids, Determines Discrete Functions of Proteins Vital For Life
Humans possess six forms of the protein actin, which perform essential functions in the body. Two in particular, β-actin and γ-actin, are nearly identical, only differing by four amino acids. Yet these near-twin proteins carry out distinct roles. A long standing question for biologists has been, how is this possible?
Penn Engineers: Bone Marrow Transplant Stem Cells Can 'Swim' Upstream
When a cancer patient receives a bone marrow transplant, time is of the essence. Healthy stem cells, which can restart the production of blood cells and immune system components after a patient’s own are compromised, need to make their way from the circulatory system into the bones as quickly as possible.
Q&A with H. Carton Rogers
Almost 43 years ago, H. Carton Rogers was hired as the director of public and technical services in what was then known as Penn’s Medical Library. His first task on the job? To literally move the Biology Library down Hamilton Walk from the Leidy Building to integrate it with the medical collection and create the Biomedical Library.
Commonalities in Late Stages of Different Inherited Blinding Diseases Suggest Targets for Therapy
Gene therapy holds promise for treating a variety of diseases, including some inherited blinding conditions. But for a gene therapy to be effective, one must know the precise gene responsible for a given individual’s disorder and develop a tailored treatment.
In the News
Nature
Microsoft’s Purchase of GitHub Leaves Some Scientists Uneasy
Post-doc Daniel Himmelstein of the Perelman School of Medicine discussed problematic elements of GitHub’s model. “Regardless of the Microsoft acquisition, GitHub, as a centralized and closed company, possesses a dangerous level of control over the open-source ecosystem,” said Himmelstein.
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The Washington Post
The Cybersecurity 202: We Surveyed 100 Experts. A Majority Rejected the FBI's Push for Encryption Back Doors
Matt Blaze of the School of Engineering and Applied Science spoke out against the FBI’s call to weaken encryption. “Strong encryption is absolutely critical for keeping our data safe from criminals. This is especially important for mobile devices such as cellphones, which are easily lost or stolen,” said Blaze.
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The Guardian
Tesla Fatal Crash: 'Autopilot' Mode Sped Up Car Before Driver Killed, Report Finds
The School of Design’s Erick Guerra said a Tesla crash was “clearly a technology failure.” Commenting on Tesla’s autopilot feature, Guerra said that “the technology is just not up to doing as much as people hope it can do.”
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Reuters
RPT-INSIGHT-Software and Stealth: How Carmakers Hike Spare Parts Prices
Aaron Roth of the School of Engineering and Applied Science discussed the continued use of software to establish the highest prices consumers are willing to pay, a common practice in retail and manufacturing.
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The Bees of Bandelier, Snail Memories, and the State of Science
Kathleen Hall Jamieson of the Annenberg Public Policy Center was interviewed for a podcast about media coverage of the “so-called crisis in science.” (Audio)
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The New York Times
G.D.P.R., a New Privacy Law, Makes Europe World’s Leading Tech Watchdog
Michael Kearns of the School of Engineering and Applied Science weighed in on the E.U.’s advancements in cybersecurity and consumer privacy.
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Foreign Affairs
Keep CRISPR Safe
President Amy Gutmann and PIK Professor Jonathan Moreno of the Perelman School of Medicine and the School of Arts and Sciences co-authored an article emphasizing the importance of letting “global scientific and biological ethics communities” lead the charge in facilitating the implementation of gene-editing technology.
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Philadelphia Inquirer
Penn's Electric Race Car Team Seeks Fourth Title in Four Years
Eighty undergrads from a variety of departments, including Connor Sendel of the Wharton School and the School of Engineering and Applied Science, are building an electric car with four-wheel drive with hopes of winning two competitions this June.
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Gizmodo
Astronaut Scott Kelly's DNA Did Not 'Change in Space' the Way You Think
The Perelman School of Medicine’s Mathias Basner joined the chorus of sleep experts dismissing initial reports that 7 percent of astronaut and identical twin Scott Kelly’s DNA “changed” while in space.
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The Verge
Crypto.com Is Not for Sale
After purchasing the domain name crypto.com in 1993, Matt Blaze of the School of Engineering and Applied Science has had to repeatedly fend off attempts by cryptocurrency enthusiasts to purchase the website for upwards of seven figures. Blaze has refused to sell, warning against the use of cryptocurrency as “investment vehicles.”
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