Latest News

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.

August 22, 2025

Penn State’s Ag Progress Days, held Aug. 12-14 at the Russell E. Larson Agricultural Research Center at Rock Springs, was a successful showcase of agricultural innovation, research and technology, according to leaders in the College of Agricultural Sciences, which sponsored the event.

August 22, 2025

Faculty and students in Penn State’s College of Agricultural Sciences will soon have expanded opportunities for hands-on learning and research with the addition of New Holland’s fully methane-powered tractor.

August 21, 2025

Researchers at Penn State investigated how strains of Salmonella Dublin — a type of bacteria that can cause severe illness and death in cattle and blood infections and hospitalization in humans — are evolving and spreading across humans, cattle and the environment in the United States.

August 18, 2025

Over the centuries, root traits of corn — now the most widely planted crop in the U.S., and second globally (by acreage) — evolved in response to both changing environmental conditions and human agricultural practices. Because the role of roots in crop domestication in response to shifting circumstances remains unclear — and because it may be relevant to the present when a warming climate is stressing corn and other crops — a team of researchers led by Penn State plant scientists conducted a study to understand how root traits evolved during corn domestication.

August 15, 2025

For the newest generation of U.S. veterans, transitioning to civilian life can pose profound challenges. According to Penn State researchers, post-9/11 veterans are younger and more diverse, and they face rising rates of trauma, mental health conditions, underemployment and service-connected disabilities. To help veterans tackle these hurdles, researchers have created an online assessment tool that assists veteran-serving organizations in identifying individualized risks and providing targeted, evidence-informed support.

August 14, 2025

A new way to treat poultry for fowl mites was approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration in July, thanks in part to a team of researchers in Penn State’s College of Agricultural Sciences.

August 13, 2025

New research led by researchers at Penn State examined what happens when two common viruses — tomato spotted wilt orthotospovirus and impatiens necrotic spot orthotospovirus — infect the same plant.

August 1, 2025

Sibel Irmak, research professor of agricultural and biological engineering, received the IDEA (Inclusion, Diversity, Equity and Access) Award from the American Society of Agricultural and Biological Engineers for her efforts helping and encouraging young scientists and underrepresented minority students, making significant contributions to creating a welcoming and equitable environment in academia. 

July 30, 2025

A new initiative aimed at developing emerging and advanced technologies to enhance food production, agricultural ecosystems and natural resources will be one of the focal points of the College of Agricultural Sciences Exhibits Building at Penn State’s 2025 Ag Progress Days, Aug. 12-14.

July 28, 2025

Sophia Mucciolo, an ecology student affiliated with the Penn State Huck Institutes of the Life Sciences, recently received a fellowship from the U.S. National Science Foundation Graduate Research Fellowship Program. She was one of eight students from Penn State selected for the program this year.

July 23, 2025

New research, led by scientists at Penn State and the University of Pittsburgh and published in the journal Science Translational Medicine, indicates that immunity to a seasonal influenza virus known as pandemic H1N1 that began circulating in 2009 provides protection from severe illness from H5N1 — the strain causing the current bird flu outbreak — in a laboratory animal model.  

July 22, 2025

The Penn State One Health Microbiome Center received a grant from the National Institutes of Health to develop a training program to provide early career professional development and research support to graduate students in the microbiome sciences.

July 22, 2025

Research in Penn State’s College of Agricultural Sciences aimed at helping amphibians fight fungal disease by strengthening their natural defenses has received a $120,000 grant from the Morris Animal Foundation, a national nonprofit dedicated to advancing animal health through scientific research.

July 22, 2025

Making wine is a complex endeavor — it depends on grape composition, microbes like yeast, and environmental conditions such as temperatures, rainfall amounts and soil quality where grapevines are growing. A team of researchers led by Penn State food scientists has validated a reliable and more convenient way to study wine chemistry than the traditional 5-gallon fermentation batch approach — microvinification, or fermentations of about a quarter cup. 

July 21, 2025

A team led by researchers at Penn State have modeled precisely how various nuclear winter scenarios could impact global production of corn — the most widely planted grain crop in the world. They also recommended preparing “agricultural resilience kits” with seeds for faster-growing varieties better adapted to colder temperatures that could potentially help offset the impact of nuclear winter, as well as natural disasters like volcanic eruptions.

July 17, 2025

Ag Progress Days welcomes visitors of all ages, and organizers of the 4-H and Youth Building have a slate of activities planned for its youngest attendees on all three days of the expo, Aug. 12-14.

July 16, 2025

A grant program in Penn State’s College of Agricultural Sciences aims to enhance student learning by empowering faculty and students to design immersive, hands-on projects that bridge classroom knowledge with real-world partnerships.

July 14, 2025

People who are curious about what takes place at Penn State's Russell E. Larson Agricultural Research Center can get a sampling by taking a variety of guided tours and demonstrations offered during Ag Progress Days, Aug. 12-14.

July 8, 2025

Golf course managers have much more insight into which fungicides to use to suppress turfgrass diseases, such as the common and costly dollar spot disease, without damaging the grass on their fairways, thanks to a new study by researchers at Penn State.

July 7, 2025

A wildlife behavioral ecologist at Penn State is part of a multi-institution team that received funding from Scialog: Neurobiology and Changing Ecosystems, a international three-year initiative that aims to spark new science exploring neurobiological responses to rapidly changing environments.

July 7, 2025

The latest in farming products, services, equipment and technology will be on full display during this year’s Ag Progress Days, which will take place Aug. 12-14 at the Russell E. Larson Agricultural Research Center.