Latest News

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.

November 12, 2019

Urban development in the eastern U.S. results in an increase in flash flooding in nearby streams, but in the arid West, urbanization has just the opposite effect, according to a Penn State researcher, who suggests there may be lessons to be learned from the sharp contrast.

November 4, 2019

Using site-specific watershed data to determine the most cost-effective agricultural best management practices — rather than requiring all the recommended practices be implemented across the entire watershed — could make staying below the Chesapeake Bay’s acceptable pollution load considerably less expensive.

October 21, 2019

Wineries in the mid-Atlantic region should consider recycling and encouraging their customers to bring bottles to their tasting rooms for refilling to distinguish their businesses from so many others, according to a team of wine-marketing researchers who surveyed consumers.

October 21, 2019

The unique challenges and rewards of conducting extension programs in the sixth largest city in the United States, Philadelphia, are captured in a new book written by researchers in Penn State's College of Agricultural Sciences.

October 14, 2019

Penn State is one of five universities participating in a new study of teaching and learning practices in higher education.

October 7, 2019

A $7.3 million grant awarded to Penn State will support an interdisciplinary, multi-institutional team of researchers as they conduct research and develop strategies to combat the spotted lanternfly.

October 3, 2019

A nearly $4 million grant awarded to Penn State will support an interdisciplinary, multi-university team of researchers as they explore bacterial pathogens causing leaf spot diseases that are damaging valuable agricultural crops such as watermelon and pumpkin.

October 2, 2019

A new five-year, $1.6 million grant from the National Institutes of Health’s National Institute on Aging will fund a Penn State-led project to build an interdisciplinary network of researchers focusing on rural population health and aging.

October 1, 2019

Interspecific feeding — when an adult of one species feeds the young of another — is rare among songbirds, and scientists only have been able to speculate on why it occurs, but now, Penn State researchers have new insight into this behavior.

September 30, 2019

Victoria Braithwaite, a highly regarded expert on animal behavior and cognition and a much-loved friend and colleague, died today (Sept. 30) at the age of 52 after a battle with pancreatic cancer.

September 23, 2019

A new artificial intelligence (AI) tool available for free in a smartphone app can predict near-term crop productivity for farmers in Africa and may help them protect their staple crops — such as maize, cassava and beans — in the face of climate warming, according to Penn State researchers. The team will unveil the new tool — which will work with their existing AI assistant, called “PlantVillage Nuru” — to coincide with the United Nations Climate Action Summit held today (Sept. 23) at the U.N. Headquarters in New York City.

September 19, 2019

Penn State researchers recently received a $3.8 million grant from the Eunice Kennedy Shriver National Institute of Child Health and Human Development (NICHD) to explore successful post-adoption development in children.