Latest News

October 7, 2025

New research conducted by ethnobiologists — scientists who study the relationships between people and their environments — at Penn State revealed that harvesters collect a surprisingly wide variety of wild mushroom species in the region, primarily for food and medicinal purposes. In addition to foraging varied fungi, the researchers found that harvesters built communities focused on knowledge sharing and expansion.

October 7, 2025

New research conducted by ethnobiologists — scientists who study the relationships between people and their environments — at Penn State revealed that harvesters collect a surprisingly wide variety of wild mushroom species in the region, primarily for food and medicinal purposes. In addition to foraging varied fungi, the researchers found that harvesters built communities focused on knowledge sharing and expansion.

October 6, 2025

Roughly a quarter of adults in the U.S. are caring for elderly family members or children with an illness or disability — and sometimes both at the same time. Researchers at Penn State led an expansive study of caregiver well-being and found that the type of geographic location and individual circumstances can impact a caregiver’s health, comfort and happiness even more than their state’s family care policies.

October 2, 2025

Government and industry stakeholders got a literal taste of the future of agriculture by sampling hydroponically grown greens at one of several presentations during the Penn State College of Agricultural Sciences’ annual Legislative Research Tour, held Sept. 25 at the University Park campus.

October 1, 2025

For the first time, the International Union for Conservation of Nature is formally including all microbial life in its framework by establishing a Microbial Conservation Specialist Group, which includes Seth Bordenstein, the director of Penn State’s One Health Microbiome Center, and will focus on the survival of species — even the smallest ones on the planet. 

September 29, 2025

Bacterial speck is a common disease affecting tomatoes that can result in lower yields for growers. A new study led by researchers at Penn State gives new clues on how a plant’s microbiome can be used to combat the pathogen.

September 29, 2025

The College of Arts and Architecture’s Stuckeman School at Penn State is hosting a public roundtable discussion panel to explore the concepts of designing across generations and designing for an aging society at noon Oct. 8 in the Stuckeman Family Building Jury Space.

September 23, 2025

The One Health Microbiome Center at Penn State has awarded the first cohort of doctoral students to receive the Biotechnological and Integrative Opportunities in Microbiome Sciences (BIOMS) doctoral training fellowship. Fellows will engage in rigorous training in microbiome sciences and biotechnology.

September 23, 2025

In a development that could help protect one of the world's most beloved agricultural commodities, a research team at Penn State has successfully created disease-resistant cacao plants using gene-editing technology. According to the researchers, the innovation promises to help resolve a significant problem for the global chocolate industry, worth over $135 billion annually, which faces threat from the phytophthora species, a fungal-like pathogen that gives rise to the destructive black pod disease that can cause yield losses of up to 30% worldwide.

September 23, 2025

Andrew Patterson has been named director of Penn State’s Center for Molecular Toxicology and Carcinogenesis, a research hub that investigates how environmental exposures affect human health.

September 19, 2025

Fall is the time of year when thousands of Pennsylvania residents head to forests and woodlots with chainsaws to cut firewood to heat and enhance their homes over the coming winter months. Judd Michael, professor of agricultural and biological engineering, who recently published a study on chainsaw injuries, recommended precautions for those who use the powerful, dangerous tools in this Q&A.  

September 19, 2025

Cruciferous vegetables like radish, broccoli and kale offer significant health benefits, especially when they are consumed as microgreens, or as young seedlings harvested early. But microgreens are highly perishable and lose nutritional value quickly. In an effort to boost the impact and accessibility of microgreens, a team of researchers at Penn State found that hot air drying — a cheap and relatively easy preservation technique — largely allows the plants to retain key nutrients and compounds that benefit health.

September 18, 2025

Organic beekeeping can support healthy and productive honey bee colonies, and a new study led by researchers in Penn State’s College of Agricultural Sciences found that adopting organic honey bee colony management is not only profitable, but in some cases, it can be even more profitable than conventional management.

September 16, 2025

The avian pathology team from the Animal Diagnostic Laboratory in Penn State’s College of Agricultural Sciences received national recognition at the recent 2025 American Association of Avian Pathologists’ annual meeting in Portland, Oregon.

September 15, 2025

Eight projects, featuring research teams representing a dozen departments across the University, have been selected to receive seed funding from the Huck Institutes of the Life Sciences

September 12, 2025

Freshwater tidal marshes trap large amounts of diverse plastics and the most hazardous polymers — such as the large molecules found in single-use plastics — are posing significant environmental dangers, according to a new study by researchers at Penn State. 

September 11, 2025

Young boys and girls eat different amounts if provided with fruit before a meal, with girls consuming more, according to a new study led by researchers in the Penn State Department of Nutritional Sciences.

September 11, 2025

Leaders from the Chesapeake Bay Commission visited Penn State's University Park campus Sept. 4-5 to experience the impactful work being done at Penn State and in Centre County to help protect the overall health of the Chesapeake Bay ecosystem.

September 9, 2025

The Lake Erie Regional Grape Research and Extension Center is a 40-acre vineyard where biologists, viticulturists and Behrend undergraduate students study Concord and Niagara grapes.

September 8, 2025

On the heels of the 20th anniversary of Hurricane Katrina, Penn State faculty will host the Goddard Forum 2025 — Flood Risk in the Mid-Atlantic, with the aim of enhancing collaboration and engagement in flood risk management.

September 8, 2025

Learn about the diverse world of insects at this year’s Great Insect Fair, the annual Penn State event that celebrates insects with a variety of activities, games, crafts and more.

September 5, 2025

Students in "International Affairs 804: Global Cultures and Leadership" at Penn State take part in a global catastrophe simulation, which was led by Deanna Behring, assistant dean for international programs in Penn State’s College of Agricultural Sciences.

September 4, 2025

Flathead catfish, opportunistic predators native to the Mississippi River basin, have the potential to decimate native and recreational fisheries, disrupting ecosystems in rivers where they become established after their introduction or invasion from a nearby river drainage. A team of researchers from Penn State, the U.S. Geological Survey and the Pennsylvania Fish and Boat Commission assessed how flatheads are affecting the food web and energy flow in the Susquehanna River in Pennsylvania.

September 1, 2025

Andrew Patterson, John T. and Paige S. Smith Professor, professor of molecular toxicology and of biochemistry and molecular biology, and Huck Chair in Molecular Toxicology at Penn State, has been named associate director for shared and core facilities at the Huck Institutes. In this new role, he will champion the resources that he said have helped to define his career.

August 27, 2025

Penn State graduate students conducted research on Beech Creek’s abandoned mine drainage, using community input and educational outreach to promote awareness and restoration efforts.

August 27, 2025

The Clearinghouse for Military Family Readiness at Penn State has been awarded a $500,000 grant from the Walmart Foundation to evaluate two innovative employment programs aimed at reducing underemployment among military veterans.

August 26, 2025

Microgreens, which are young, edible plants that only take one to three weeks to harvest, are more than garnish at trendy restaurants — they could be the answer to global hunger, according to plant scientists at Penn State. Two new studies have revealed that microgreens, already densely packed with nutrients, can be made even more nutritious with a couple of minor growing adjustments.

August 22, 2025

Birds of a feather flock together, often traveling over enormous distances that can cross international borders. This can make managing and conserving critical populations of migratory birds extremely difficult, according to scientists at Penn State leading a team working to improve the understanding of migration movement at regional, continental and global scales. The team recently received a $848,000 grant from the U.S. National Science Foundation to support their work, which focuses on integrating two tracking methods into one powerful tool called an Integrated Movement Model.