Science & Technology

PHILADELPHIA — For decades, researchers thought that blood plasma behaved like water. But, according to new research from the University of Pennsylvania and Saarland University in Germany, plasma is more elastic and viscous than water, and, like ketchup, its flow properties depend on the pressure it is under.

Everyone has heard of DNA, the blueprint for life. But if it were up to Brian Gregory, an assistant professor of biology at the University of Pennsylvania, DNA’s close cousin, RNA, would get equal billing.

PHILADELPHIA — Researchers from the University of Pennsylvania School of Veterinary Medicine have discovered that a protein called Jagged-1 stimulates human stem cells to differentiate into bone-producing cells.

PHILADELPHIA — The spring 2011 flood on the Mississippi was among the largest floods ever, the river swelling over its banks and wreaking destruction in the surrounding areas.

PHILADELPHIA — Niemann-Pick Type C disease is a rare and incurable neurological disorder that affects 500 children worldwide. Presently, there are no therapies approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration to treat NPC.

If you’re one of the people who takes the University of Pennsylvania online course “’Pay Attention!!’ ADHD Through the Lifespan,” you will learn that attention deficit hyperactivity disorder isn’t just kid stuff.

PHILADELPHIA — After more than 30 years on the job, Susan Davidson has some perspective on her discipline.

PHILADELPHIA — Beyond serving as the backbone of modern biology, DNA has come to be a molecule of great interest to engineers. That a DNA sequence will naturally bind only with a complementary sequence could make it part of a configurable, and potentially programmable, building material.   

PHILADELPHIA -- Thomas H. Murphy has been named vice president for information technology and university chief information officer at the University of Pennsylvania, effective Feb. 25. 

PHILADELPHIA — Wear is a fact of life. As surfaces rub against one another, they break down and lose their original shape. With less material to start with and functionality that often depends critically on shape and surface structure, wear affects nanoscale objects more strongly than it does their macroscale counterparts.