September 19, 2022
Funding of up to $25 million from the U.S. Department of Agriculture will support a new Penn State-led collaboration with dairy industry associations and producers to develop and implement climate-smart practices on Pennsylvania dairy farms. The project is aimed at generating climate commodities that add value to dairy products along the supply chain and leveraging agriculture’s potential to provide solutions to climate change.
September 19, 2022
Penn State was named a collaborating institution in a $66 million dollar U.S. Department of Energy Urban Integrated Field (Urban IFL) program designed to study the impacts of climate change on American cities.
September 16, 2022
A $1.5 million grant from the U.S. Department of Agriculture will enable a team of researchers — led by Penn State entomologists — to assess foraging patterns of honey bees on organic farms, with an eye toward creating opportunities for beekeepers to produce certified-organic apiary products.
September 15, 2022
Penn State’s “Stories from the Field” conversation series is returning this fall with three new sessions. Each was designed to bring together academics and practitioners to discuss the challenges and opportunities of applied research and community engagement.
September 14, 2022
Scientists have long known that no-till farming reduces erosion and lessens water and nutrient runoff from crop fields, but now a new study by a team of Penn State researchers suggests that limiting soil disturbance may also diminish releases of nitrous oxide.
September 14, 2022
Students in Penn State’s College of Agricultural Sciences explored Greece’s rich culture — and its food — while studying abroad in Thessaloniki, Greece, this summer.
September 14, 2022
A Penn State animal scientist has received a four-year, $650,000 grant from the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s National Institute of Food and Agriculture to study the regulation of fatty acid metabolism in dairy cows with the goal of boosting revenues and efficiency on farms by increasing milk fat and optimizing use of dietary fat in cow rations.
September 13, 2022
Penn State researchers will study the monkeypox virus to understand the potential for it to spill over from humans to animals, as its pathogenesis — or disease development — in animal and human cells in vitro. In addition, they will study potential targets for therapeutics to treat the monkeypox disease.
September 13, 2022
Most viral infections negatively affect an organism’s health, but one plant virus in particular — soybean vein necrosis orthotospovirus, often referred to as SVNV — may actually benefit a type of insect that commonly feeds on soybean plants and can transmit the virus to the plant, causing disease, according to Penn State research.
September 13, 2022
The first-ever round of Interdisciplinary Innovation Fellowships will support the work of Microbiome Center members and allow them to acquire knowledge and techniques to then share with other University colleagues.
September 12, 2022
An upcoming Penn State Extension webinar will focus on “missing middle” housing, a term that describes a range of multifamily or clustered building types, such as duplexes, rowhomes and courtyard apartments, that are compatible in scale with single-family homes. According to organizers, “missing middle” housing is intended to meet the demand for walkable neighborhoods, respond to changing demographics and provide housing at different price points.
September 8, 2022
Certain drugs used to treat COVID-19 patients — including remdesivir, dexamethasone and antibiotics for associated bacterial infections — persist through wastewater treatment and may occur in waterways at levels high enough to negatively affect aquatic organisms, according to a new study led by researchers at Penn State. The findings highlight the broad utility of wastewater surveillance as a tool for monitoring the effects of human health on water quality and ecosystem health.
September 8, 2022
Around 100 Penn State Extension Master Gardeners, alumni from Penn State’s College of Agricultural Sciences and College of Education, and 10 National Park Service staff members assembled in August at the Flight 93 National Memorial in Somerset County to beautify the grounds by weeding, pruning and removing plant debris.
September 8, 2022
Penn State’s successful efforts to reduce waste going into a landfill after football games at Beaver Stadium are spotlighted in a case study in the Green Sports Alliance’s just-published “Food Waste Diversion and Compostable Packaging Playbook.”
September 7, 2022
Penn State Fayette, The Eberly Campus has installed a weather station on campus as part of the Pennsylvania Environmental Monitoring Network, which includes 20 similar systems across the commonwealth. The project, which began development in 2017, is funded by the Penn State Office of the Vice President for Research, the Institutes of Energy and the Environment, and the College of Earth and Mineral Sciences.
September 7, 2022
Supplementing the feed of dairy cattle with enzymes from two funguses simultaneously has a positive effect on the animals’ lactational performance, according to Penn State researchers, who studied the concept in an experiment with cows.
September 6, 2022
The COVID‐19 pandemic affected American households in countless ways, but according to researchers, some of the most tangible shifts are taking place in the food system.
September 2, 2022
The primary goal of Penn State’s Metabolomics Core Facility, established a decade ago and housed in the Huck Institutes of the Life Sciences, is to identify and quantify the small molecules (or metabolites) in plant and animal biofluids, cells and tissues.
September 2, 2022
You pass them every day: as you hop on a Link to ride to campus from the parking lot at Beaver Stadium, as you scooter across campus past giant lion’s paws on Curtin Road, beyond the glass wall in the hallway of Deike Building, or behind you as you start across Curtin Road to the Berkey Creamery. Did you know that there are dozens of museums and collections across the University Park campus? Millions of specimens, including fish, birds and insects, historic objects and cultural artifacts including paintings, sculptures, scientific and musical instruments, and more, are waiting at almost every turn.
September 2, 2022
Emily Sandall, who completed her doctoral studies in Penn State’s College of Agricultural Sciences in 2020, has been selected by the American Association for the Advancement of Science to be part of its 50th class of Science and Technology Policy fellows.
September 2, 2022
A team of researchers is investigating a government policy that increases solar-powered irrigation pumps in India and how the use of solar irrigation pumps may impact India’s highly exploited groundwater reserves and the country’s food and energy production.
September 1, 2022
A backyard discovery by 8-year-old Hugo Deans, son of Penn State Professor of Entomology Andrew Deans, eventually led to the revelation that oak galls — plant growth triggered by insects — are part of an elaborate relationship among ants, wasps and oak trees, turning a century of knowledge about plant-insect interactions on its head.
August 31, 2022
Students interested in the study of microbiomes now can apply for the new microbiome sciences dual-title doctoral degree program, administered by Penn State’s Department of Plant Pathology and Environmental Microbiology in the College of Agricultural Sciences.
August 29, 2022
Over a six-year period in southcentral Pennsylvania, measures of biodiversity among wild bee communities declined and one-third of species experienced decreases in abundance, according to a Penn State-led team of researchers.
August 26, 2022
Professor of Horticulture Richard Marini, who led Penn State’s Horticulture Department as it evolved to become the Department of Plant Science, retired July 1 after a four-decade career that left a huge mark on the fruit tree industry.
August 24, 2022
Military service members who experienced adversity or trauma during childhood, combined with exposure to warfare, including as participants in the military or as bystanders, are more likely than others to experience Military Sexual Trauma during their service, according to new research led by Penn State.
August 24, 2022
Penn State Extension Master Gardeners from Centre County recently debuted “POLLINATORS! The Musical,” a 30-minute production aimed at providing pollinator education in a fun and catchy way. Two upcoming performances will be held on Sept. 11 at the Millbrook Marsh Nature Center.
August 24, 2022
Anyone interested in developing healthy habits and increasing stamina can benefit from a free Penn State Extension virtual walking program called “Everybody Walk Across Pennsylvania.” The statewide program will take place from Sept. 12 to Nov. 7.
August 24, 2022
Leah Welk, a third-year student double-majoring in agricultural science and public relations, has been selected as an ambassador for Agricultural Future of America at Penn State.
August 23, 2022
Flavonoids produced by sorghum leaves have shown promising results in combating fall armyworm larvae. When sprayed on the leaves of corn, sorghum flavonoids stunt the growth of fall armyworm and often kill the pest, Penn State researchers report in a new study.
