Scientists observe composite superstructure growth from nanocrystals in real time
The findings could enable engineers to more reliably manufacture next-generation materials by combining different nanocrystals.
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Experiencing record-breaking heat days affects perception of weather trends
New research from Penn’s Annenberg Public Policy Center finds that for residents in areas with record-breaking heat, the perception that the weather is getting hotter increases.
Neanderthals carried genes acquired from ancient interactions with ‘cousins’ of modern humans
A new collaborative study led by Sarah Tishkoff shows that Neanderthals inherited at least 6% of their genome from a now-extinct lineage of early modern humans.
Understanding the brain via a molecular map
PIK Professor Michael Platt and collaborators have generated the first single-cell ‘atlas’ of the primate brain to help explore links between molecules, cells, brain function, and disease.
Delving into quantum dots
Christopher B. Murray shares his excitement, thoughts, and knowledge on quantum dots, a nanoparticle that just earned his Ph.D. advisor the Nobel Prize in Chemistry.
National Academy of Medicine elects five new members from Penn
Kurt T. Barnhart, Christopher B. Forrest, Susan L. Furth, Desmond Upton Patton, and Robert H. Vonderheide are among 100 new Academy members elected this year, one of the highest honors in health and medicine.
An inauspicious arrival for the ambitious Benjamin Franklin
Penn’s founder arrived in Philadelphia on Oct. 6 300 years ago as a nearly penniless 17-year-old looking for a job as a printer.
Three from Penn receive NIH Director Award
Kevin B. Johnson, Jina Ko, and Sheila Shanmugan awarded NIH Common Fund’s High-Risk, High-Reward Research program.
Trading decisions are observable in the eyes of buyers and sellers
In a new collaborative study, PIK Professor Michael Platt models how the decision-making process unfolds in the brains of buyers and sellers considering a deal. These decisions were observable in eye movements and pupil dilation.
Nudge Cartography: Building a map to navigate behavioral research
Ph.D. candidate Linnea Gandhi of the Wharton School and research assistant Anoushka Kiyawat discuss the development of their team’s innovative research tool.
Factors that make correcting misinformation about science more successful
New Penn research assesses belief in misinformation about science and determines how well debunking misinformation proves to be effective.
AI could transform social science research
Penn Integrates Knowledge University Professor Philip Tetlock and researchers from the University of Waterloo, University of Toronto, and Yale, discuss AI and its application to their work.
Why is machine learning trending in medical research but not in our doctor’s offices?
Penn Integrates Knowledge Professor Konrad Kording will lead Penn’s NIH-funded cohort for making advancements in the field of machine learning in biomedical research by creating the Community for Rigor, which will provide open-access resources on conducting sound science.
Folding@home: How you, and your computer, can play scientist
Two heads are better than one. The ethos behind the scientific research project Folding@home is that same idea, multiplied: 50,000 computers are better than one.
Two Penn faculty elected to the American Philosophical Society
Paul Offit and Dorothy Roberts have been recognized for extraordinary accomplishments in their fields.
Reconsidering world heritage for the modern era
Through recent research, archaeologist and Penn Integrates Knowledge Professor Lynn Meskell has continued to highlight how World Heritage Sites have become flashpoints for conflict and out of touch with local communities.
Instead of refuting misinformation head-on, try ‘bypassing’ it
A new study from PIK Professor Dolores Albarracín has found that redirecting an individual’s attention away from misinformation and toward other beliefs can be just as effective as debunking it.
Four from Penn elected to the National Academy of Sciences
The newly elected members, distinguished scholars recognized for their innovative contributions to original research, include faculty from the School of Arts & Sciences, School of Engineering and Applied Sciences, Perelman School of Medicine, Annenberg School for Communication, and Wharton School.
Gregory Bowman appointed Penn Integrates Knowledge University Professor
The pioneer of biophysics and data science has joint appointments in the Department of Biochemistry and Biophysics in the Perelman School of Medicine and the Department of Bioengineering in the School of Engineering and Applied Science.
Does more money correlate with greater happiness?
Reconciling previously contradictory results, researchers from Penn and Princeton find a steady association between larger incomes and greater happiness for most people but a rise and plateau for an unhappy minority.
What statistics are most likely to promote positive actions during a pandemic?
A new study from PIK Professor Dolores Albarracín and research associate Haesung Annie Jung finds that some COVID statistics are more effective than others at encouraging people to change their behavior.
A new role for NATO in conflict zones
One year after Russia's invasion of Ukraine, PIK Professor Lynn Meskell calls on the alliance to take a more expansive view of cultural property protection.
John L. Jackson Jr. named Penn’s next provost
The Walter H. Annenberg Dean of the Annenberg School for Communication and Richard Perry University Professor will begin his appointment on June 1, 2023.
René Vidal appointed Penn Integrates Knowledge University Professor at Penn
Vidal, a global pioneer of data science, has joint appointments in radiology in the Perelman School of Medicine and electrical and systems engineering in the School of Engineering and Applied Science.
At Engaging Minds, three Penn Integrates Knowledge Professors take the stage
Alumni heard Lance Freeman examine racial equity in city planning, Dolores Albarracín talk about how conspiracy theories take hold, and Kevin Johnson discuss the importance of clear science communication.
A link between social environment and healthy brains in wild rhesus macaques
Research from Penn, Arizona State University, the National Institute of Mental Health, and elsewhere finds that on the island of Cayo Santiago, female monkeys with a higher social status had younger, more resilient molecular profiles.
Defining neural ‘representation’
Neuroscientists frequently say that neural activity ‘represents’ certain phenomena. PIK Professor Konrad Kording and postdoc Ben Baker led a study that took a philosophical approach to tease out what the term means.
TV news top driver of political echo chambers in U.S.
Duncan Watts and colleagues found that 17% of Americans consume television news from partisan left- or right-leaning sources compared to just 4% online. For TV news viewers, this audience segregation tends to last month over month.
Dorothy Roberts on the future of abortion advocacy
Legal scholar Dorothy Roberts discusses the Supreme Court’s ruling on Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization, and what it means for abortion access in the U.S.
Dorothy Roberts on ‘Black Families Matter’: Race and Regulation Podcast
In her book, ‘Torn Apart: How the Child Welfare System Destroys Black Families—and How Abolition Can Build a Safer World’, Roberts says the U.S. should replace its current family surveillance system with one that improves children’s welfare.
PIK Professor Kevin Johnson: Informatics evangelist
The Penn Integrates Knowledge Professor with appointments in Penn Engineering and the Perelman School of Medicine on forging his own path in the fields of health care and computer science.
In the pursuit of scientific truth, working with adversaries can pay off
The Adversarial Collaboration Project, run by Cory Clark and Philip Tetlock, helps scientists with competing perspectives design joint research that tests both arguments.
Desmond Patton appointed Penn Integrates Knowledge University Professor
Patton will be Penn’s Brian and Randi Schwartz University Professor, with joint appointments in the School of Social Policy & Practice and the Annenberg School for Communication and a secondary appointment in the Perelman School of Medicine.
Genomic differences selected through evolution may offer clues as to why COVID-19 outcomes vary widely
A team from the University of Pennsylvania analyzed genomic data from global populations, including thousands of ethnically diverse Africans, to identify genetic variants that may be associated with clinical COVID-19 outcomes.
Dirk Trauner appointed Penn Integrates Knowledge University Professor
Trauner, one of the world’s most innovative interdisciplinary chemists, will have joint appointments in the School of Arts & Sciences and in the Perelman School of Medicine.
Ben Franklin: A voice from the past that speaks to our time
At the 2022 Silfen Forum, Penn Interim President Wendell Pritchett chatted with filmmaker Ken Burns about his new two-part documentary on Benjamin Franklin.
Social connections influence brain structure of rhesus macaques
Researchers from Penn, Inserm, and elsewhere observed that the number of grooming partners an individual animal had predicted the size of brain areas associated with social decision-making and empathy.
Keepers of the cultural memory
In wartime, saving human lives is a top priority. But secondary considerations often include preserving the cultural heritage also under siege. Penn experts offer their thoughts as the situation in Ukraine continues to unfold.
New COVID-19 roadmap: Four takeaways
A report spearheaded by PIK Professor Ezekiel Emanuel, with input from other Penn experts, lays out a dozen priorities for the federal government to tackle in the next 12 months. The aim: to help guide the U.S. to the pandemic’s ‘next normal.’
Lance Freeman appointed Penn Integrates Knowledge University Professor
Interim President Wendell Pritchett and Interim Provost Beth Winkelstein announce the appointment of Lance Freeman as the University of Pennsylvania’s 29th Penn Integrates Knowledge University Professor.
Do success stories cause false beliefs about success?
Does explicitly acknowledging bias make us less likely to make biased decisions? A new study examining how people justify decisions based on biased data finds that this is not exactly the case.
Inspiring people, place, and purpose
Penn President Amy Gutmann’s record tenure of nearly 18 years is the University’s most transformative.
Studying the past through a modern-day lens
In a Q & A, archaeologist and PIK Professor Lynn Meskell discusses her background, the subjects that interest her—from espionage to World Heritage sites—and collaborations that have organically arisen at Penn despite the pandemic and a mostly remote first year.
Hard barriers and soft power: Study assesses outsider perceptions of border walls
Two researchers explore how border walls damage a country’s international image, with real soft power implications.
Ten from Penn elected 2021 AAAS Fellows
Faculty from the Perelman School of Medicine, School of Arts & Sciences, School of Engineering and Applied Science, Annenberg School for Communication, and Wharton School are among those honored.
Anti-racism and reproductive justice
Alexis McGill Johnson of Planned Parenthood joined PIK Professor Dorothy Roberts in the 21st annual Reverend Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Lecture in Social Justice.
Landmark gift endows Penn Integrates Knowledge Professorship in honor of Amy Gutmann
A $5 million commitment from James S. and Gail Petty Riepe will endow a new PIK Professorship in recognition of Dr. Gutmann’s distinguished tenure as Penn’s longest-serving President
Want to reduce political polarization? Start by looking beyond politics
New research from PIK University Professor Duncan Watts sheds light on how even hardliners can be swayed when coming in contact with opposing viewpoints.
A novel theory on how conspiracy theories take shape
In a new book, Dolores Albarracín, Kathleen Hall Jamieson, and colleagues show that two factors—the conservative media and societal fear and anxiety—have driven recent widespread conspiracies, from Pizzagate to those around COVID-19 vaccines.
PIK Professor Kevin Johnson named University Professor
Johnson, who has appointments in the Perelman School of Medicine and the School of Engineering and Applied Science, and a secondary appointment in the Annenberg School for Communication, will become the David L. Cohen University Professor.
In the News
In the News
Columbia Journalism Review
Warped front pages
In a co-written Op-Ed, PIK Professor Duncan Watts argues that journalistic claims to objectivity in political news are a convenient and self-serving fiction.
11/20/2023
The New York Times
How Microsoft’s legal legacy shapes the antitrust case against Google
PIK Professor Herbert Hovenkamp says that Google’s conduct in its antitrust case is subtler than Microsoft’s, which was harsh and had little pro-competitive justification for its actions.
11/14/2023
Ms. Magazine
Torn Apart: Terror
PIK Professor Dorothy Roberts describes the horrors that the child welfare system inflicts by invading homes, targeting low-income families, and threatening to separate parents and children.
11/13/2023
Fortune
Tech bros are spending millions to shoot for immortality. These women are besting them in the longevity game—but don’t call them ‘biohackers’
PIK Professor Ezekiel Emanuel hypothesizes that male biohackers in their 40s and 50s are motivated by fear and ego.
11/4/2023
Philadelphia Inquirer
Five Penn faculty were elected to the National Academy of Medicine
PIK Professor Desmond Upton Patton and the Perelman School of Medicine’s Kurt T. Barnhart, Christopher B. Forrest, Susan L. Furth and Robert H. Vonderheide have been elected to the National Academy of Medicine.
10/9/2023
The New York Times
Does Obamacare explain Medicare’s spending slowdown?
PIK Professor Ezekiel Emanuel says the Affordable Care Act’s payment experiments have added up to a new culture of medical practice.
9/9/2023
Technical.ly Philly
This Penn researcher is exploring how ChatGPT fits into the social sciences
PIK Professor Desmond Upton Patton and colleagues are studying how generative AI, particularly chatbots, can be used ethically in social sciences work.
8/29/2023
KFF Health News
‘All we want is revenge’: How social media fuels gun violence among teens
PIK Professor Desmond Upton Patton says that online outpourings of grief after gang violence often presage additional violence.
8/25/2023
6ABC.com
Philadelphia high school cracks down on cellphones during class
PIK Professor Desmond Upton Patton advises parents how best to regulate cellphone use for their children.
8/24/2023
France 24
The race to link our brains to computers is heating up
PIK Professor Michael Platt says that the brain’s immune system will generally attack foreign additions like implants.
8/20/2023
Association for Psychological Science
Public may overestimate pushback against controversial research findings
A pair of studies co-authored by PIK Professor Philip E. Tetlock and Cory Clark of the Wharton School and the School of Arts & Sciences suggests a tendency to overestimate the risk that research findings will fuel public support for harmful actions.
8/17/2023
ProPublica
How social media apps could be fueling homicides among young Americans
PIK Professor Desmond Upton Patton and colleagues have designed algorithms that analyze social media posts to identify users at risk of harming themselves or others..
8/8/2023
Chicago Sun-Times
Race-based medicine is not the solution to health disparities
PIK Professor Dorothy Roberts says that race is a social category affected by inequality, not a biological category that naturally produces health disparities.
8/1/2023
National Geographic
Could eating like our ancestors make us healthier?
PIK Professor Sarah Tishkoff says that humans have continued to evolve since the Paleolithic period.
7/27/2023
The Hill
Health care professionals talk continued impact of COVID on highlighted system shortcomings
PIK Professor Ezekiel Emanuel says that the COVID-19 pandemic exposed other underlying problems within the U.S. health care system.
6/22/2023
The Hill
The fight against cancer faces daunting new challenge: debt politics
PIK Professor Ezekiel Emanuel says that the pharmaceutical industry has a bias but that he doesn’t necessarily see an overreliance on industry money in research.
6/16/2023
Stat
Academia’s postdoc system is teetering, imperiling efforts to diversify life sciences
As co-chair of an NIH group to re-envision postdoctoral training, PIK Professor Shelley Berger expresses concern about the future of academic research.
6/6/2023
Governing
What happens if we don’t learn from the COVID pandemic?
A report co-written by PIK Professor Ezekiel Emanuel sheds light on mistakes, data gaps, and dysfunctional organizational cultures that contributed to America’s loss of life during the COVID pandemic.
6/2/2023
Associated Press
How and when to remove children from their homes? A federal lawsuit raises thorny questions
PIK Professor Dorothy Roberts explains why the child welfare system can be particularly risky for Black and Indigenous families.
5/31/2023
Slate.com
America’s mothers are suckers. And I say that with love
In an Op-Ed featuring a quote from PIK Professor Dorothy Roberts, Tess Wilkinson-Ryan of Penn Carey Law writes that American capitalism has commodified motherhood, shifting it from a “social good” to a “personal choice” when women ask for support.
5/14/2023