Twelve Nursing students made Penn more vocal on the national scene at the 56th annual National Student Nurse's Association convention at Grapevine, Texas earlier this month. Nursing freshman G.J. Melendez-Torres became the first Penn student to be elected to the NSNA national board.

How does coconut-braised chicken and a trio of Nutella-filled marshmallows sound for dinner at 1920 Commons? That was on the menu last Friday evening when 30 family members, curious Penn undergrads and law students trying to score points with their professors gathered to witness Penn Law professors duke it out in the third-annual Iron Chef competition.

Can you taste the 56 different flavors in the water you drink? Last month, the Associated Press reported that traces of pharmaceuticals were found in the nation's water supply. In the article, investigators in Philadelphia were said to have found 56 different pharmaceuticals or byproducts in the city's water supply.

Thirty minutes prior to last Friday's runway show on campus, models, designers and directors were running around, finishing up hairstyles and checking clothes. But just past seven, once the DJ started the music and the audience - dressed up for the occasion - had been seated, the spotlight came on and the models strutted along the runway under white tents set up in Wynn Commons.

Pamela Anderson, Playboy and Maxim, look out. Diamond, a Harvard-based magazine featuring semi-clothed or naked students, may be the new erotica magazine of choice on Penn's campus next year. The magazine - which has garnered national media attention - is set to release May 12 and has already stirred up controversy among students at Harvard and Penn.

Forget Clinton, Obama and McCain. Ralph Nader says he's the only candidate who has the experience, change and straight-talk to be the next president of the United States. On Saturday at the National Constitution Center, Nader, an independent presidential candidate, spoke against corporate greed and the current "two-party dictatorship" running the government, referring to the Republican and Democratic parties.

The Hospital of the University of Pennsylvania has "expressly denied" that its doctors misrepresented the identity of a lung donor to Tony Grier, the man who died after receiving a pair of cancerous lungs during a transplant at HUP two years ago. "The only basis [the] plaintiff has for this 'claim' is the hearsay testimony of the decedent's mother," HUP's lawyers wrote on Thursday in a response to a significant amendment that lawyers for Tony Grier's mother, Emma Grier, filed in December.

The City of Philadelphia and its surrounding counties are instating a UPennAlert-style notification system, unifying all five counties in a new text-messaging safety initiative. On Friday, county officials from all five counties and Philadelphia Mayor Michael Nutter held a press conference launching the ReadyNotifyPA program.

Local groups throughout Philadelphia have been organizing cleanup efforts in the city for years, but this Saturday they received a big boost from Mayor Nutter's new initiative to clean up Philadelphia. Volunteers from all over the city, including many Penn students, spent Saturday morning picking up trash, planting trees and raking leaves as part of Nutter's Philly Spring Cleanup.

Cornita McLeod, an Allied Barton guard who works at the front desk of Steinhardt Hall, watches not only the people who come into the building - but also the bags they leave behind. She says bags are constantly left unattended for hours at a time, a behavior that makes her think "students could be more responsible for their personal belongings.

Penn students with internships in New York City this summer will have no guessing to do when it comes to calorie counting. With a new regulation by New York City Department of Health and Mental Hygiene, scheduled to take effect on April 15, all New York branches of national chain restaurants must post calorie counts on their menus.

All patients are not completely satisfied with their treatment at the Hospital of the University of Pennsylvania, but the hospital scored above average on a recent government survey of patients. On average, 67 percent of patients surveyed nationwide said they would definitely recommend their hospital to others.

Walking-escort use is down for the year, but went up in March. Thus far this year, 2,376 walking escorts have been used. At this point in 2007, 2,985 walking-escort requests had been made. In March this year, 874 escorts were used compared to 840 last March.

The Nominations and Elections Committee announced the results of the 2008-2009 student government elections last night after two violation charges postponed the results from Tuesday. The Nominations and Elections Committee disqualified Class of 2011 College representative and UA candidate Lauren Albert following a violation brought by College freshman Marcus Goodwin, who also ran for College representative.

While many researchers say an AIDS vaccine is distant - and some declare the prospect unrealistic - Pathology and Laboratory Medicine professor Carl June is pioneering a new gene therapy that could convert the HIV virus in a patient's body into a less harmful form.

A group of students got to be lobbyists for a day as part of Penn Israel Coalition's trip to Congress to round up political support for Israel. 28 students - most of whom are members of PIC - traveled to Washington D.C. on Wednesday. They met with ten different Congressmen and 13 other congressional staffers for photo opportunities and to discuss various bills that concern Israel and are currently on the floor of the House.

From microfinance institutions in Beijing to hotel management in Guatemala, one student group is mixing business and charity to assist developing enterprises all over the world. Penn International Business Volunteers is one of Penn's few undergraduate organizations that combines economic consulting with philanthropy.