Research Briefs
According to a team of college entomologists, biopesticides might provide an effective way to control bed bugs.
Researchers in the college are investigating ways to create sustainable cropping systems for high-value organic livestock feed and forage.
Collaborative research between college veterinarians and electrical engineers at Penn State could speed up the process of identifying damaged or diseased tissue.
The Northeast could help lead the way to a renewable-energy-based economy by growing energy crops on marginal and abandoned land.
Two researchers in the college have been awarded a grant through the Grand Challenges Explorations program, an initiative funded by the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation.
Out of more than 250 graduate students who competed at Penn State’s 27th Graduate Exhibition, nine graduate students in programs offered or co-sponsored by the College of Agricultural Sciences were among 46 recognized with awards.
Supercritical carbon dioxide is a unique type of phase-change fluid that has special diffuse capabilities with unique liquid properties, including high solvency.
A parasite that fights the zombie-ant fungus has yielded some of its secrets to an international research team led by Penn State’s David Hughes.
Sandeep Prabhu and Robert Paulson think a compound produced from fish oil that appears to target leukemia stem cells could lead to a cure for the disease.
Researchers find that obese mice that consume a compound found in green tea while eating a high-fat diet gained weight at a significantly slower rate than mice that didn't receive the green tea supplement.
A study examining the prevalence of the Fusarium fungus in bathroom sink drains suggests that plumbing systems may be a common source of human infections.
Gypsy moth caterpillars infected with baculovirus forfeit safety and stay in the treetops during the day because a virus gene manipulates their hormones to eat continuously and forego molting, according to entomologists.
Genomics applies to structure, function, and mapping of entire DNA sequences of organisms, which carry all their genetic information. Few genomic resources are available for the hardwood species in eastern forests. John Carlson has received a $3.7 million grant from the National Science Foundation’s Plant Genome Research program.
Penn State researchers need help from growers, nursery operators, and homeowners to enhance their understanding of stink bugs.
People love apples—the tart-tasting ones for cooking or sweeter ones for snacking. The brown marmorated stink bug likes them, too.
Surinder Chopra, associate professor of maize genetics, has been awarded $1 million by the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s National Institute of Food and Agriculture to research diseases in sorghum.
John Hayes, assistant professor of food science, is studying why people experience bitter foods differently.
Replacing fossil fuels with biofuels will require a major transformation of the agricultural, transportation, and energy sectors in the United States over the next few decades, according to a paper published in the August 13, 2010, issue of the journal Science.
Testifying before the Domestic Policy Subcommittee of the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee in July, David Mortensen explained how the use of crops that are genetically engineered to resist glyphosate has caused certain weed plants to also evolve resistance.
A gift of $100,000 will aid undergraduates in the College of Agricultural Sciences in their efforts to understand Colony Collapse Disorder (CCD), a nationwide phenomenon in which adult honey bees disappear from their hives, often spelling death for the colony.
