Latest News

August 28, 2018

The Penn State Lake Erie Regional Grape Research and Extension Center will hold a public open house in September.

August 27, 2018

Studying for her dual-title doctoral degree in rural sociology and in international agriculture and development at Penn State, Paige Castellanos learned about the plight of families living in western Honduras, where many eke out a living in an economy marked by high poverty rates and subsistence agriculture.

August 22, 2018

In the world of plant-feeding insects, who shows up first to the party determines the overall success of the gathering; yet viruses can disrupt these intricate relationships, according to researchers at Penn State.

August 22, 2018

A faculty member in Penn State's College of Agricultural Sciences is among a select group entrusted with updating a publication that is deemed the global "gold standard" of poultry nutrition information for academia, government and industry.

August 21, 2018

n addition to being nationally recognized figures in their fields, Paul Latshaw, Matthew Shaffer and Andrew McNitt have something else in common: They are all alumni of Penn State turfgrass programs. To honor their contributions to the turfgrass and sports surface industries, the Pennsylvania Turfgrass Council recently established three graduate fellowships in the College of Agricultural Sciences’ Department of Plant Science.

August 18, 2018

High bitter-taste sensitivity is associated with a significantly increased risk of cancer in older British women, according to researchers who conducted a unique study of 5,500 women whose diet, lifestyle and health has been tracked for about 20 years.

August 16, 2018

Eating white button mushrooms can create subtle shifts in the microbial community in the gut, which could improve the regulation of glucose in the liver, according to a team of researchers. They also suggest that better understanding this connection between mushrooms and gut microbes in mice could one day pave the way for new diabetes treatments and prevention strategies for people.

August 16, 2018

Social scientists rely on data to study social problems. However, data from traditional surveys can be difficult and time consuming to collect, as well as inaccurate, since not all factors can be measured well. A National Science Foundation-funded Penn State project will evaluate the accuracy of using Twitter data to represent populations across different demographic groups.

August 10, 2018

Maria Spencer has joined the Entrepreneurship & Innovation team in Penn State's College of Agricultural Sciences as the first John and Patty Warehime Entrepreneur in Residence.

August 9, 2018

A technology designed to improve CRISPR-Cas9 gene editing in mosquitoes and other arthropods succeeds with a high degree of efficiency, while eliminating the need for difficult microinjection of genetic material, according to researchers.

August 8, 2018

Anywhere large-bodied mammalian carnivore species are present, other, smaller carnivores are less likely to occur, according to an international team of researchers that conducted the first global assessment of carnivore interactions using camera trap data. "Large carnivores are imperiled," said David Miller, associate professor of wildlife population ecology, Penn State, whose research group in the College of Agricultural Sciences led the study. "We were able to see that this finding, with large-bodied-carnivore species, held around the globe."

August 6, 2018

Growing up can be hard no matter what a family's circumstances, but it is often more so for children living in the Kyrgyz Republic in Central Asia, one of the poorest countries in the world, known for its dry environment, high mountains, nomadic culture and animal-husbandry heritage.

August 6, 2018

As a grape and hop integrated pest management specialist in New York state, Tim Weigle has been keenly following news about the spotted lanternfly's invasion of neighboring Pennsylvania and the considerable harm it is inflicting on agricultural crops. For that reason, he readily accepted an invitation to join a multistate, interdisciplinary task force of more than 80 university, regulatory and agricultural industry representatives assembled to fight the looming threat, led by Penn State's College of Agricultural Sciences.

July 31, 2018

Lack of "cute factor" aside, what athletic field managers, golf course superintendents and homeowners find most repulsive about these tiny beetle larvae is their voracious appetite for grass roots, and the insidious way they go about satisfying their craving, feeding below the surface, undetected for months.

July 31, 2018

Drinking water from wells in rural north central Pennsylvania had low levels of pharmaceuticals, according to a study led by Penn State researchers. Partnering with volunteers in Penn State Extension's Pennsylvania Master Well Owner Network, researchers tested water samples from 26 households with private wells in nine counties in the basin of the West Branch of the Susquehanna River. All samples were analyzed for seven over-the-counter and prescription pharmaceuticals: acetaminophen, ampicillin, caffeine, naproxen, ofloxacin, sulfamethoxazole and trimethoprim.

July 27, 2018

Communicating the intricate structure of pollinator communities can be a difficult task, but thanks to a collaboration between the School of Visual Arts and the Center for Pollinator Research at Penn State, there is a new tool that could have success both inside and outside of the classroom.

July 19, 2018

Poor mental health ranks as one of the costliest forms of sickness for U.S. workers and may sap billions of dollars from the country's income growth, according to a team of researchers. In an analysis of economic and demographic data from 2008 to 2014, the researchers found that a single extra poor mental health day in a month was associated with a 1.84 percent drop in the per capita real income growth rate, resulting in $53 billion less total income each year, said Stephan Goetz, professor of agricultural and regional economics, Penn State, and director of the Northeast Regional Center for Rural Development.

July 18, 2018

High bitter-taste sensitivity is associated with a significantly increased risk of cancer in older British women, according to researchers who conducted a unique study of 5,500 women whose diet, lifestyle and health has been tracked for about 20 years.

July 12, 2018

How forests respond to elevated nitrogen levels from atmospheric pollution is not always the same. While a forest is filtering nitrogen as expected, a higher percentage than previously seen is leaving the system again as the potent greenhouse gas nitrous oxide, say researchers. "I think what we've described is a new example of how forests respond to high atmospheric inputs," said Jason Kaye, professor of biogeochemistry at Penn State.

July 11, 2018

A Penn State economist will receive $500,000 over three years to study innovation in rural communities and find ways for communities to support rural entrepreneurs. The grant from the United States Department of Agriculture is aimed at better understanding and inspiring innovation in rural areas, said Stephan Goetz, professor of agricultural and regional economics, Penn State, and director of the Northeast Regional Center for Rural Development.

July 10, 2018

Developing lasting solutions to the problems of poverty, hunger and social injustice is the cornerstone of a new partnership between Penn State's College of Agricultural Sciences and Oxfam America, the U.S. affiliate of Oxfam, the global organization working to end the injustice of poverty in 90 countries around the world.

July 5, 2018

Gypsum recycled from manufacturing and construction waste has gained popularity as a bedding source for the dairy industry. However, when gypsum — a source of sulfate — finds its way into low-oxygen manure-storage facilities via removal as soiled bedding, this innocuous product can turn into a deadly gas with a few moves of an agitation device, a dangerous threat that researchers in Penn State's College of Agricultural Sciences believe can be counteracted with an additive.

July 2, 2018

While current training for food safety and sanitation usually incorporates high-technology presentations, such as videos and slide shows, there is still a need for low-tech approaches, according to Penn State researchers.

June 28, 2018

A collection of bacteria in the gut may use a cell-signaling protein to help regulate vitamin D, a key nutrient that, among other benefits, is involved with building and maintaining bones, according to a team of researchers. In a study on mice, researchers found that microbiota — a community of microorganisms in the gut that can help digest food and maintain immune function — may regulate the metabolism of endocrine vitamin D through a protein called fibroblast growth factor 23, or FGF 23, said Margherita T. Cantorna, distinguished professor of molecular immunology in Penn State's College of Agricultural Sciences.

June 25, 2018

Climate projections indicate more warming will occur in the Northeast than other sections of the United States, and that has implications for corn crops and dairy farms in the region by 2050, researchers warn. While rising temperatures are not likely to cause serious reductions in corn crops in the northern and central parts of the Northeast, they threaten corn yields in the southern reaches of the region, according to Heather Karsten, associate professor of crop production ecology in Penn State's College of Agricultural Sciences.

June 25, 2018

Penn State researchers have joined forces with the United Nations' Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) to release the first app, called Nuru, to help African farmers recognize fall armyworm — a new and fast-spreading crop pest in sub-Saharan Africa — so that they can take immediate steps to destroy it and curb its spread.

June 22, 2018

An international team of researchers has discovered evidence of 27 previously unknown viruses in bees. The finding could help scientists design strategies to prevent the spread of viral pathogens among these important pollinators.

June 14, 2018

The spotted lanternfly is starting to sour the grape and wine industries in southeastern Pennsylvania, and research underway in Penn State's College of Agricultural Sciences aims to spoil the invasive pest's party.