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Science & Technology
Strella Biotechnology’s biosensors minimize food waste, one apple at a time
Strella Biotechnology’s biosensors minimize food waste, one apple at a time
With their 2019 President’s Innovation Prize, Katherine Sizov and Malika Shukurova are looking to disrupt the agricultural sector.
How a year in space affects the brain
How a year in space affects the brain
Penn Medicine’s Mathias Basner discusses the NASA Twins Study, which analyzed astronaut Scott Kelly’s physical and mental health after he spent 340 days in space, and found that Kelly’s performance on a cognitive test battery dropped when he returned to Earth for six months.
How superstitions spread
How superstitions spread
Superstitious beliefs may seem irrational, but they catch on in a society. Using an evolutionary approach to studying the emergence of coordinated behaviors, Erol Akçay and Bryce Morsky showed how a jumble of individual beliefs, including superstitions, coalesce into an accepted social norm.
Tackling climate change on all levels
Tackling climate change on all levels
At the Perry World House Global Shifts Colloquium, experts from around the world discussed what governments, and individuals, can do to avoid the ultimate catastrophe.
Chips in Space
Chips in Space
Microfluidic devices lined with human cells are headed to the International Space Station in early May, part of an effort to understand why astronauts get sick more easily in orbit.
By the numbers: First-ever image of black hole’s event horizon
By the numbers: First-ever image of black hole’s event horizon
An overview of how scientists from the Event Horizon Telescope collaboration were finally able to see the unseeable, and what it means for the future of astronomy.,
Seeing the world through a biophysicist’s lens
Philip Nelson demonstrates how seemingly simple questions like ‘What is light?’ help scientists understand, and improve, how people visualize the world around them.
Everyday enzymes, now grown in plants
Everyday enzymes, now grown in plants
Myriad industrial processes rely on enzymes, from making orange juice to manufacturing denim jeans. Research emerging from the School of Dental Medicine is transforming how these enzymes get made.
Colorful research comes to life when everything ‘clicks’ together
Colorful research comes to life when everything ‘clicks’ together
A collaborative project connects proteins with fluorescent dyes through azide−alkyne cycloaddition, known as a “click” reaction, that provides researchers with a dynamic glimpse inside living cells.
The search for Planet 9, 10, and beyond
The search for Planet 9, 10, and beyond
Planetary scientists and cosmologists at Penn work together to find planets that might be hiding in the far reaches of the solar system.
In the News
WESA Radio (Pittsburgh)
Wheels, drones and Rescue Randy: DARPA robotics competition puts mine rescue to the test
A four-legged robot from the School of Engineering and Applied Science was among robots performing underwater search and rescue in a competition. “They're doing everything completely autonomously, so every step they take is kind of a minor victory for us,” said C. J. Taylor. “We always feel that we could do better. We learn so much from each of these events and that gives us new ideas about things that we want to try.”
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Penn Live
Wildlife diseases in Pennsylvania targeted by $10 million Game Commission-Penn partnership
Julie Ellis and Lisa Murphy of the School of Veterinary Medicine commented on a new collaboration between Penn Vet and the Pennsylvania Game Commission: the Pennsylvania Wildlife Futures Program, based at New Bolton Center.
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Axios
Looking to AI to understand how we learn
PIK Professor Konrad Kording said, “There is a big undercurrent in neuroscience [saying] we should go back to neural networks,” which rely on technology that allows machines to learn from their mistakes.
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Philadelphia Inquirer
‘Why not fly over it?’ Uber picks New Jersey firms in ambitious bid to beat traffic congestion
Rahul Mangharam of the School of Engineering and Applied Science commented on Uber’s new air taxi venture. “It’s going to be a very congested sky,” he said. “You want to make sure that each flight plan is safe by design, and that even if they do mess up for some reason, they have a fallback option.”
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The New York Times
A feisty Google adversary tests how much people care about privacy
Joseph Turow of the Annenberg School for Communication commented on DuckDuckGo, a privacy-focused search engine. “I’m almost embarrassed to say that I don’t use it more than I do,” he said. “There is something in my head that tells me I’ll get a better search from Google, even when I don’t know if that is demonstrably correct or not.”
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Wired
Twitter and Instagram unveil new ways to combat hate—again
Jessa Lingel of the Annenberg School for Communication said “we need humans” to help parse what is and isn’t offensive language based on context. “The tech just isn’t there yet.”
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Gizmodo
This freaky robotic fish is powered by ‘blood’
James Pikul of the School of Engineering and Applied Science co-authored a study in which researchers developed a soft, robotic lionfish powered by a blood-like compound. “This robot blood is our first demonstration of storing energy in a fluid that is normally only used for actuation,” he said.
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Scientific American
How the mind emerges from the brain’s complex networks
Danielle Bassett of the School of Engineering and Applied Science co-authored an article about network neuroscience, which allows us to see the origins of mental activity in the brain. One day, they write, “a neuroscientist who knew all the principles of brain function and everything about someone’s brain could predict that person’s mental conditions—the future, as well as the past, would be present inside the person’s mind.”
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The Guardian
Reversible superglue proves strong enough to hold average man
Shu Yang and colleagues from the School of Engineering and Applied Science have developed a new glue from hydrogel, inspired by snail slime. “The mucus [snails] produce is a viscous liquid, but when it dries they become firmly stuck,” said Yang.
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Scientific American
Domestication made dogs’ facial anatomy more fetching to humans
James Serpell of the School of Veterinary Medicine said humans may have bred dogs to appear more infantile over time. “We are innately predisposed to respond with a kind of nurturing behavior towards certain physical characteristics,” he said. “Over time, [humans selected] for traits that satisfy that parental nurturing response.”
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