Latest News

November 1, 2022

Penn State research found that Black people who lived in areas where anti-Black Lives Matter sentiments were more common were more likely to have a higher body mass index (BMI) or obesity.

November 1, 2022

Prescribed fires can reduce wildfire risks and support habitat restoration, but to be successful these policies also require public support. A new study may fill in gaps in understanding public perception toward prescribed burns in the U.S. Mid-Atlantic, where these fires are increasingly used. 

November 1, 2022

This month's episode of the "Growing Impact" podcast features Josephine Wee, a food scientist at Penn State with expertise in mycology and fungal biology, whose work with cellular agriculture may provide solutions to some of the challenges of large-scale commercial meat production.

October 27, 2022

An international, Penn State-led consortium aims to improve drought risk analysis and management and increase societal resilience in Africa, funded by a three-year, $1.1 million grant from the Belmont Forum.

October 27, 2022

A Penn State microbiologist and the huge collection of bacteria he oversees recently received a four-year, $371,000 grant from the National Science Foundation to be part of a multi-institutional $2.5 million research project aimed at predicting “bacteriophage” resistance from only a genome sequence.

October 26, 2022

PFAS (per-and polyfluoroalkyl substances) persist through wastewater treatment at levels that may impact the long-term feasibility of ‘beneficial reuse of treated wastewater,’ according to a study conducted by researchers at Penn State and recently published in the Agronomy Journal.

October 24, 2022

Food insecurity is a growing problem in certain parts of the world, especially as climate change affects weather conditions around the globe. New research led by Penn State found that a lack of rainfall was associated with the highest risk of food insecurity in Tanzania.

October 21, 2022

Prescribed fire — a tool increasingly used by forest managers and landowners to combat invasive species, improve wildlife habitat and restore ecosystem health — also could play a role in reducing the abundance of ticks and the transmission of disease pathogens they carry, according to a team of scientists.  

October 20, 2022

While heavy infestations of spotted lanternfly on grapevines — especially in successive years — can result in their demise, most vines may be able to survive lighter infestations with few ill effects, according to a study by Penn State researchers.

October 19, 2022

A Penn State entomologist is asking Pennsylvania deer hunters for help with research on biting flies that are active in the fall, which may be vectors of dangerous disease.

October 12, 2022

Penn State University Libraries will participate in the 14th annual global observation of Open Access Week, Oct. 24–30, by hosting a virtual panel of Penn State faculty at noon Tuesday, Oct. 25. The panelists will discuss questions related to this year’s theme for Open Access Week, which is “Open for Climate Justice.”

October 11, 2022

With a four-year, $500,000 NSF grant, a Penn State team led by Penn State Associate Professor of Architectural Engineering Julian Wang is developing a new holistic framework to understand the relationship between thermal resilience and sustainable design strategies for buildings and communities.

October 6, 2022

The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has funded a $750,000 grant for research by a team of Penn State scientists to strengthen infectious disease surveillance, detection, and preparedness by developing an accessible bioinformatics platform and tools for utilization by the CDC’s Laboratory Response Network.

October 6, 2022

A common misconception is that viruses become milder over time as they become endemic within a population. Yet new research, led by Penn State and the University of Sydney, reveals that a virus — called myxoma —that affects rabbits has become more deadly over time. The findings highlight the need for rigorous monitoring of human viruses, including SARS-CoV-2, monkeypox and polio, for increased virulence.

October 5, 2022

Research Unplugged is a collaboration between Penn State’s Office of Government and Community Relations and Schlow Centre Region Library. Research talks continue Oct. 6 and will be held from 12:30 to 1:30 p.m. each Thursday through Oct. 20. The Oct. 6 and Oct. 13 events will be held in the Schlow Community Room, with the final talk on Oct. 20 happening at the Pasto Agricultural Museum.  

October 3, 2022

After more than five years at the helm of Penn State’s Microbiome Center, founding director Carolee Bull has stepped down. Though she will continue serving as department head of plant pathology and environmental microbiology and as a professor of plant pathology and systematic bacteriology at Penn State’s College of Agricultural Sciences, Bull has handed off leadership of the Microbiome Center to recent Penn State hire Seth Bordentstein.

September 23, 2022

A team of Penn State plant scientists has received a grant of nearly $1.25 million from the U.S. Department of Agriculture to study the interactions between corn and soil fungi, with the aim of boosting crop resilience and production.

September 21, 2022

The National Science Foundation’s Navigating the New Arctic program recently awarded researchers from Penn State and the University of New Hampshire a $3 million grant to examine earthquake impacts on community well-being and perception and preparedness toward potential earthquakes.

September 21, 2022

When it comes to adding carbon to the soil, all cover crops don’t perform equally, according to a team of researchers whose new study revealed the disparity for the first time.

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

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 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 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.