Three Penn experts explain how microplastics enter the environment and what can be done to reduce their impact on the human body.
Keeping you up to date with the most recent news from the University of Pennsylvania
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July 14, 2026
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Sand, sun, and surf are the mainstays of a beautiful beach day. But an increasingly pervasive and largely invisible companion lingers along the coasts and other outdoor spaces: microplastics. Penn Today spoke with microplastics researchers Samantha McBride, Derek Ho, and Vijay Bhatia to better understand how these particles enter the environment and the human body and what can be done to reduce their impact.
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Kim Woolf studied the long-term positive impacts of media on children as a former graduate student at the Annenberg School for Communication, where she’s been teaching Children and Media since 2018. Penn Today talked to Woolf about the relationship between media and child development, how the course has evolved, and her thoughts on the new “Toy Story” movie.
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By analyzing genetic data from nearly 2 million people, Penn Medicine researchers have developed the first clear biological roadmap for Ménière’s disease, a chronic and often debilitating inner ear disorder. “Our findings suggest that Ménière’s disease is not just something that arises from fluid imbalance later in life,” says geneticist Douglas Epstein. “Instead, it may begin with subtle differences in how the inner ear is built in the first place.”
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How do we learn unspoken social norms? Unsatisfied with dominant theories, linguist Charles Yang and colleagues propose in Omnia that the same formula governing how toddlers learn language—the Tolerance Principle—also applies to social conventions.
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The School of Nursing hosted educators, clinicians, and healthcare leaders for the annual Summer Innovation Institute, an immersive program focused on collaboration, learning, and advancing health equity in communities.
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Penn Libraries has announced open access agreements with Wolters Kluwer Health and Nature through 2029, expanding the portfolio of venues where Penn-affiliated authors can publish without cost.
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Today, revisit a story that showcases two Penn students’ efforts to build heat resilience. Rising fourth-years Nafisa Bangura (left) and Angelica Dadda expanded upon a multidisciplinary research project to assess CoolSeal, a reflective pavement coating designed to mitigate extreme heat.
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 THE PHILADELPHIA INQUIRER
“If the United States pulls back from long-term investment in research, talent, and scientific institutions, innovation will slow, discovery and drug development will move overseas, and America risks losing its preeminent place as a scientific leader,” writes E. John Wherry of the Perelman School of Medicine.
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FRIDAYS THROUGH DEC. 18
Penn’s Common Press invites people of all ages and backgrounds to print a copy of the Declaration of Independence. The composition will be set in Caslon metal type and ready to print on the studio’s 1889 cast-iron handpress. These hour-long, hands-on workshops are part of America 250 at Penn programming. Groups of up to 20 participants are welcome. Free and open to the public. Reserve a time in advance.
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