Latest News

March 9, 2020

A biological technique used to suppress soilborne pests and pathogens already used in warmer climates, with some modifications, will work in Pennsylvania and other more northern locations, according to a team of researchers.

February 26, 2020

Penn State College of Agricultural Sciences researchers have partnered with several agricultural and governmental organizations to develop a survey that asks producers in Lancaster, York, Franklin and Adams counties to document conservation practices they have adopted to promote water quality and soil health in the Chesapeake Bay watershed.

February 21, 2020

Billions of locusts are tearing across East Africa, destroying crops and putting some 19 million people at risk of severe food insecurity. The United Nations has called for a rapid response to this food-security threat. Through a memorandum of understanding with the Food and Agriculture Organization of the U.N., David Hughes, Penn State professor of entomology and biology and creator of PlantVillage, an initiative to empower farmers with agricultural knowledge and technologies, is answering this call.

February 21, 2020

Many decades of forest fire prevention and suppression has resulted in a thick buildup of organic matter on the forest floor in many regions of the United States, according to a Penn State researcher, whose new study suggests that the peculiar way that these layers burn should be considered in plans for controlled burns.

February 20, 2020

The addition of 3-Nitrooxypropanol to the feed of dairy cows reduced their enteric methane emissions by about 25% in a recently published study — one in a series of Penn State studies of the investigational substance in the United States — which might be an early step toward it being approved for use in this country.

February 19, 2020

Flooding is the costliest natural disaster, according to environmental economist Katherine Zipp. Over the last 20 years, flooding has caused $500 billion in global damages. In that same time period, flooding in the U.S. caused $60 billion in damages, $45 billion of which has occurred in the past five years. Zipp is part of a team that is studying how floodplain damages affect long-term housing development in high flood-risk areas.

February 18, 2020

The breadth of Penn State’s research expertise surpasses that of any university in the country, according to the latest National Science Foundation rankings of Higher Education Research and Development (HERD) research expenditures by key fields and subfields, released in November 2019.

February 13, 2020

The combination of green tea extract and exercise reduced the severity of obesity-related fatty liver disease by 75% in mice fed a high-fat diet, according to Penn State researchers, whose recent study may point to a potential health strategy for people.

February 13, 2020

Holstein steers that get hormone implants grow faster than those that do not receive the implants, and they get as big as beef cattle breeds, according to Penn State researchers, who say that's good news for dairy farmers struggling to keep their operations financially viable.

February 12, 2020

Current carbon cycle models may underestimate the amount of carbon dioxide released from the soil during rainy seasons in temperate forests like those found in the northeast United States, according to Penn State researchers.

February 10, 2020

A new podcast that highlights the work of Penn State researchers and how their findings impact communities near and far is now available through central Pennsylvania’s public media station.

February 3, 2020

Weighing in on a debate that has raged for decades, Penn State researchers, after conducting a series of ultra-detailed comparisons, have declared that shipping pallets made of wood are slightly more environmentally friendly and sustainable than those made of plastic.

January 29, 2020

Flow rates and time of year must be taken into account to better understand the potential risks posed by emerging organic contaminants in rivers and streams, according to Penn State researchers who studied contaminant concentrations and flow characteristics at six locations near drinking water intakes in the Susquehanna River basin.

January 23, 2020

American households waste, on average, almost a third of the food they acquire, according to economists, who say this wasted food has an estimated aggregate value of $240 billion annually. Divided among the nearly 128.6 million U.S. households, this waste could be costing the average household about $1,866 per year.

January 21, 2020

An industrial chemical — phased out since 2002, but previously used in stain and water-repellent products and firefighting foam — alters the gut microbiome of mice and could have implications for human health, according to an international team of researchers.

January 21, 2020

The Center of Excellence in Industrial Biotechnology at Penn State has announced a new round of seed grant funding for interdisciplinary research, curricular development, or educational activities in the broad area of industrial biotechnology through its 2020 IMPACT Seed Grant Program. Full-time faculty, staff and students are eligible to apply; the application deadline is Feb. 7.

January 19, 2020

A novel composite film — created by the bonding of an antimicrobial layer to conventional, clear polyethylene plastic typically used to vacuum-package foods such as meat and fish — could help to decrease foodborne illness outbreaks, according to researchers in Penn State’s College of Agricultural Sciences.

January 16, 2020

Urban growth boundaries, which aim to decrease negative impacts on people and the environment, can have a reverse effect on water quality, according to a Penn State researcher.

January 15, 2020

If not contained, the spotted lanternfly potentially could drain Pennsylvania’s economy of at least $324 million annually and cause the loss of about 2,800 jobs, according to a study carried out by economists in Penn State’s College of Agricultural Sciences.

January 2, 2020

Conventional measures of innovation suggest that only big cities foster new ideas, but a more comprehensive measure developed at Penn State shows that innovation is widespread even in rural places not typically thought of as innovative. This “hidden” innovation brings economic benefits to businesses and communities, according to researchers, whose findings will help decision makers think in new ways about innovation and how they can support it.

January 2, 2020

Craft breweries may be fueling an unprecedented geographic expansion of hop production across the U.S., according to researchers at Penn State and the University of Toledo. Their findings suggest that as more craft breweries emerge around the country, so may new opportunities for farmers.

December 16, 2019

The Penn State Center for Security Research and Education has announced its spring 2020 grant program to support security-related scholarship and educational programs at Penn State. University faculty and researchers are eligible to apply by Feb. 14, 2020.

December 6, 2019

An international team of plant geneticists has identified genotypes in cacao that are resistant to a major pathogen infecting one of the world’s most important cash crops. The findings point the way for plant breeders to develop trees that are tolerant of the disease.

December 2, 2019

The NASA Pennsylvania Space Grant Consortium is currently accepting applications to its graduate research fellowship program. The deadline to apply is March 1, 2020.

December 2, 2019

People who eat wildebeests, warthogs and other wild African animals may be at risk for contracting potentially life-threatening diseases, according to an international team of researchers. The team analyzed samples of bushmeat — meat derived from wildlife — in the Western Serengeti in Tanzania and identified several groups of bacteria, many of which contain the species that cause diseases such as anthrax, brucellosis and Q fever.

November 26, 2019

Fourteen Penn State faculty members in areas ranging from physics and engineering to entomology and plant science have been named fellows of the American Association for the Advancement of Science, the world’s largest general scientific society. A lifetime honor bestowed upon members by their peers, a total of 443 individuals are being recognized for their extraordinary achievements in advancing science.

November 25, 2019

A research team developing artificial-intelligence-based solutions for diagnosing and managing threats to crop health has received a grant to expand the technology to assist more smallholder farmers around the world. Co-led by David Hughes, associate professor of entomology and biology, the team developed a smartphone app that is capable of accurately diagnosing crop diseases without an internet connection.

November 25, 2019

The Student Startup Showcase featured Penn State student startups which had participated in the Pennsylvania Technical Assistance Program’s (PennTAP) Inc.U Competition or Invent Penn State’s Summer Founders program. Each of the student companies received $2,000 to help move their startups forward during the Oct. 3-4 conference, held at the Penn Stater Hotel and Conference Center.

November 25, 2019

A transition from wild collection of herbs to forest farming needs to occur in Appalachia to make the opaque, unstable and unjust supply chain for forest medicinal plants such as ginseng sustainable, according to a team of researchers who have studied the market for more than a decade.

November 15, 2019

Three organic-agriculture projects led by faculty members in Penn State's College of Agricultural Sciences have received grants from the U.S. Department of Agriculture's National Institute of Food and Agriculture. The funding, totaling more than $1.3 million, was awarded through USDA-NIFA's Organic Transitions Program.