The Virality Paradox Damon Centola thinks the contemporary wisdom about how behavior spreads is missing something fundamental—and that may be why mindless trivialities crowd out civic engagement. Can anything be done? He has an idea or two. Communication caret-arrow Consensus and Contagion in Society
Trump’s 5G Plan Is More Than a Gift to His Base The Trump re-election campaign’s wireless open access proposal was a poorly vetted scheme possibly intended to score political points, and was squelched almost immediately after it became public. The twist? Open access wireless is actually a terrific idea, writes Kevin Werbach. Legal Studies & Business Ethics caret-arrow Resilience in Networked Systems
Prof. Coglianese appointed to National Academy of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine Committee Cary Coglianese has been appointed a member of a committee of the National Academy of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine’s Transportation Research Board that is charged with studying the federal government’s inspections of offshore oil and gas operations. Law Political Science caret-arrow
The physics of multitasking Penn physicists, including Eleni Katifori, characterize the limits of multitasking in biological networks, paving the way for future applications in fields from biology to medicine. Physics and Astronomy caret-arrow Ubiquity of Data
How the Blockchain Ushers in a New Form of Trust Blockchain is one of the biggest buzzwords in technology today, but confusion exists about what it is exactly. Kevin Werbach provides an in-depth explanation of the blockchain, as presented in his new book, The Blockchain and the New Architecture of Trust. Legal Studies & Business Ethics caret-arrow Resilience in Networked Systems
Dark Energy Survey completes six-year mission A global research effort to map a portion of the sky in unprecedented detail is coming to an end, but the task of learning more about the expansion of the universe has only just begun. Bhuvnesh Jain will continue to lead a team in studying these images for several more years. Physics and Astronomy caret-arrow Ubiquity of Data
What Motivates Workers in the Gig Economy? The gig economy offers tremendous flexibility for workers and companies, but it also comes with a host of unknown factors for both parties. A new study co-authored by Gad Allon looks at how drivers for a ride-hailing firm make labor decisions and aims to improve predictions about labor supply and more effective financial incentives. Operations Information and Decisions caret-arrow Ubiquity of Data
Thoughts from a medical ethicist on gene editing babies Clustered Regularly Interspaced Short Palindromic Repeats (CRISPR) is science’s most efficient methodology to modify chromosomes to express different properties through the genes that carry information. Penn Today spoke with Jonathan Moreno about CRISPR and where he predicts the future of the technology is headed. History and Sociology of Science Medical Ethics and Health Policy Philosophy caret-arrow Ubiquity of Data
Where do comets originate? new technique developed by Bhuvnesh Jain and a team of astronomers may allow scientists to measure radiation from celestial bodies that are only theorized to exist. Indeed, the team presents an intriguing detection of radiation that may well originate from the source of comets around nearby stars. Physics and Astronomy caret-arrow Ubiquity of Data
ACUS Announces New Initiatives on the Use of Artificial Intelligence in the Federal Administrative Process Law Political Science caret-arrow
