11/15
Science & Technology
Chinatown and community as a cornerstone
Chinatown and community as a cornerstone
Will Chan, a Thouron Scholar and Ph.D. candidate in theoretical physics, is also an advocate for building Asian communities.
Developing kidneys from scratch
Developing kidneys from scratch
Bioengineering professor Alex Hughes tackles the burden of chronic kidney disease by creating kidney tissue from scratch, which could reduce the need for both dialysis and transplantation.
Finding a new behavioral adaptation in fruit flies
Finding a new behavioral adaptation in fruit flies
Penn researchers discovered “wing spreading” in Drosophila santomea, research that hints at a rare, novel finding and offers insights into an underrepresented area in sexual reproduction research: female-initiated behaviors.
Training medical AI with knowledge, not shortcuts
Training medical AI with knowledge, not shortcuts
By emulating the training pathway of human physicians, KnoBo breaks new ground in medical image recognition with AI.
Studying Wikipedia browsing habits to learn how people learn
Studying Wikipedia browsing habits to learn how people learn
A collaborative team of researchers analyzed the information-seeking styles of more than 480,000 people from 50 countries and found that gender and education inequality track different types of knowledge exploration. Their findings suggest potential cultural drivers of curiosity and learning.
Penn Vet’s Wildlife Futures Program launches habitat initiative for Philadelphia bats
Penn Vet’s Wildlife Futures Program launches habitat initiative for Philadelphia bats
With the bat population on a sharp decline since 2008, the Program collaborated with Penn Sustainability and Penn Facilities and Real Estate Services to develop bat boxes designed to mimic tree habitat and support the daily needs and overall health of bats.
Mastering physical contact with new algorithm for robots
Mastering physical contact with new algorithm for robots
Penn Engineers have developed an algorithm that makes previously impossible tasks possible for autonomous robots, like controlling the motion of a sliding object.
Penn solutions to climate change
Penn solutions to climate change
As society grapples with the impacts of a worsening climate—from the increased frequency and intensity of extreme weather events to rising sea levels and deadly heat waves—the need for actionable solutions has never been greater, Penn researchers say.
Acoustic signals for better wireless technologies
Acoustic signals for better wireless technologies
Researchers push the limits of sound wave control, unlocking the potential for faster, clearer wireless communication and quantum information processing technologies.
Extending battery lifespan and capacity through self-healing materials
Extending battery lifespan and capacity through self-healing materials
Eric Detsi, associate professor in materials science and engineering in the School of Engineering and Applied Science, has developed batteries that heal from the damage sustained by charging, extending their lifespan.
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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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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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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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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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.
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