Bioethics Commission Plays Early Role in BRAIN Initiative; Penn’s Gutmann Is Chair
A new report from the Presidential Commission for the Study of Bioethical Issues calls for the integration of ethics across the life of neuroscientific research endeavors. The Commission, chaired by University of Pennsylvania President Amy Gutmann, released the first volume of its two-part response to President Obama’s request related to the Brain Research through Advancing Innovative Neurotechnologies, or BRAIN, Initiative.
The full news release from the Commission is available here.
To accompany the release of the report, Gutmann wrote “Using Our Brains” in The Chronicle of Higher Education, saying, “By integrating ethics into neuroscience research early and thoroughly, we can avoid the need for a future bioethics commission to perform a painful postmortem on the Brain Initiative. When it comes to neuroscience, surely we should use all our brains.”
On the move: Water quality and antimicrobial resistance testing goes mobile
Penn researchers have developed a mobile field laboratory allowing them to test water quality and track antimicrobial resistance in and around San Cristóbal in the Galápagos.
Penn researchers Vanessa and Alexis North are studying one of the largest collections of Egyptian blue objects ever found in the ancient Near East, shedding new light on how the world’s first synthetic pigment may have traveled far beyond Egypt.
A new role for dental providers? Rethinking where vaccines are given
Vaccinations have traditionally been administered in primary care settings or pharmacies. However, for about a decade, some states have authorized dentists to administer vaccines, and many others did so during the COVID-19 pandemic. The effectiveness of this approach has led some countries and states to expand or consider expanding the role of dental providers in delivering routine vaccines, including those against COVID-19 and the human papillomavirus (HPV), and in providing vaccine education.
Penn student develops a way for computer chips to run more efficiently
Fluid Silicon, a platform from President’s Sustainability Prize winner Nhlanhla Mavuso, allows computer chips to continuously monitor their health and self-tune as their characteristics change. The technology has the potential to reduce energy usage in data centers and improve reliability in mission-critical applications.
