Latest News

June 25, 2025

The Penn State Agricultural Safety and Health Program in the Department of Agricultural and Biological Engineering — which also is affiliated with Penn State Extension — released the annual “Pennsylvania Farm Fatal Injury Summary” for 2024 this spring. Researchers and extension educators use these data to identify hazards and risks associated with agricultural production and to inform the development of trainings and resources.

June 24, 2025

Climate can vary across large areas of land, but it also can vary within much smaller areas such as farms. A new study led by researchers at Penn State examined whether these microclimates affect pollination by both wild and managed bees and resulting wild blueberry yields.

June 24, 2025

More than 30 researchers from seven Penn State colleges received seed funding from the Institute of Energy and the Environment to advance innovative, early-stage work addressing critical energy and environmental challenges.

June 23, 2025

Herbicide-resistant weeds result in significant economic losses for U.S. soybean growers, according to the United Soybean Board, which has awarded $500,000 to a multistate research project to develop new diagnostic tools for herbicide-resistant weeds in soybean production. The team includes scientists from Penn State.

June 20, 2025

Despite having identical genetic instructions, female honey bee larvae can develop into either long-lived reproductive queens or short-lived sterile workers who help rear their sisters rather than laying their own eggs. Now, an interdisciplinary team led by researchers at Penn State has uncovered the molecular mechanisms that control how the conflict between genes inherited from the father and the mother determine the larva’s fate.

June 18, 2025

Businesses that take a strategic approach to design are up to eight times more likely to develop innovative products than those that don't, according to a study by scientists from Penn State’s College of Agricultural Sciences.

June 16, 2025

To better understand potential contamination of the groundwater feeding the 3.5 million people served by private well systems in Pennsylvania, a team of researchers from Penn State conducted a novel three-year citizen science study of per- and poly-fluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) — often referred to as forever chemicals — in 167 private wells across the commonwealth.

June 12, 2025

Hazel Velasco Palacios, a doctoral candidate in Penn State’s College of Agricultural Sciences, has been awarded a writing fellowship to help support her research on health care access for Pennsylvania farmworkers in the mushroom and dairy industries.

June 11, 2025

For the first time, a team led by researchers at Penn State has developed a method of “fingerprinting” plant compounds called procyanidins, introducing a more sophisticated and accurate way to analyze the perceptual variation in many foods and drinks, including wine and chocolate.

June 10, 2025

Members of the Penn State One Health Microbiome Center explaining how a “One Health framework” could unlock the full potential of microbiomes to enhance global health and sustainably manage ecosystems in this Q&A.

June 6, 2025

Milk protein and cellulose derived from plants may be the next big thing in sustainability, thanks to a first-of-its-kind advancement made by researchers at Penn State. Using a manufacturing technique called electrospinning, the team created nanofibers 1,000 times thinner than a human hair and then manipulated those fibers into mats that hold promise for a variety of products, like biodegradable — and even edible — food packaging.

June 6, 2025

Veterans may carry a sense of isolation and the painful belief that their presence is a burden to those around them. When these thoughts persist over time, they could contribute to an increased risk of suicide, according to a new study by researchers at the Clearinghouse for Military Family Readiness at Penn State.

June 3, 2025

The key to trees' ability to adapt to varied growing conditions and, ultimately, their survival, may reside in the complex genetic makeup of replacement trees, according to forest geneticists tasked with reintroducing tree species. A study of one of the rarest pine trees in the world, Torrey pine, conducted by a team including Penn State scientists, has yielded what the researchers called valuable insight into the value of genetic diversity and the importance of ensuring locally adapted diversity is maintained for restoration.

May 29, 2025

What started as free tickets to see a flamenco fusion band in Spain turned into an unexpected research opportunity for a team of researchers at Penn State, who discovered a unique example of the power of music to bridge generational divides.

May 23, 2025

Penn State undergraduates Charlie Colvin and Megan von Abo were named 2025 Astronaut Scholars, earning competitive national scholarships facilitated by the Astronaut Scholarship Foundation. The scholarships provide up to $15,000 toward education for undergraduate students pursuing careers in engineering, math, or natural or applied sciences research.

May 23, 2025

Penn State’s College of Agricultural Sciences will convene leaders from academia, industry, government and stakeholder networks for a symposium focused on accelerating agricultural innovation through cross-sector collaboration. The event will take place June 12-13 at Penn State University Park.

May 21, 2025

Throwing a little heat on your meal might be an effective strategy for cutting back on calories, according to a new study led by researchers at Penn State.

May 19, 2025

Penn State’s Cocoziello Institute of Real Estate Innovation has awarded seed grants to five interdisciplinary research projects. These grants support collaborative projects led by Penn State faculty who aim to generate innovative solutions to complex challenges in real estate and the built environment. 

May 19, 2025

Increasing renewable energy may not reduce the use of fossil fuels in the United States, according to a study by Ryan Thombs, assistant professor of rural sociology in Penn State’s College of Agricultural Sciences.

May 8, 2025

A debate continues among scientists over whether tree composition in forests in eastern North American historically have been influenced more by climate or by cultural burning, which is the intentional and controlled use of fire by Indigenous people to manage their environment. Now, a new study of southern New England forests by a team including a researcher from Penn State lends credence to the cultural burning hypothesis, suggesting that fire-tolerant vegetation — oak, hickory and pine — were significantly more abundant near Indigenous settlements over the last 5,000 years.

May 8, 2025

While the effects of the housing crisis and the environmental impacts of debris generated in the construction sector persist in the United States, two projects led by Penn State Stuckeman School architecture professors have earned funding to develop new methods to address these challenges while also bolstering the manufacturing industry in Pennsylvania.

May 7, 2025

Conservation programs aimed at boosting environmentally friendly practices by incentivizing farmers may get more bang for their buck by targeting rural farms rather than more urban ones, according to a study led by researchers at Penn State.

May 7, 2025

What do chickens and people with a common reproductive disorder have in common? More than one might think — and a widely-used diabetes medication might just be the surprising link.

May 6, 2025

Three Penn State undergraduate students who have been part of the University’s Sustainable Labs Program were invited to Howard Hughes Medical Institute’s Janelia Research Campus in April to help make the facility’s research labs more sustainable. Ella Clobes, Gavin Maxson and Kay Smith, all members of the program’s Sustainable Lab Consultant cohort, advised researchers on how to implement changes to evaluate and improve lab efficiency and resource management.  

May 6, 2025

Mental health counseling may help U.S. veterans recover and build resilience after experiencing military sexual trauma, according to a new study from research at Penn State.  

April 25, 2025

A team of researchers in Penn State’s College of Agricultural Sciences is addressing the growing interest among tree fruit growers in Pennsylvania and the Northeast in adopting drone-based spraying systems for high-density apple and peach orchards. The Northeast Region of the Sustainable Agriculture Research and Education Program and the Pennsylvania Department of Agriculture recently awarded the team two grants to support the work.

April 25, 2025

Despite a long history of traditional medicinal use in the United States, the collection, consumption and efficacy of the peculiar forest plant aptly named ghost pipe, scientific name Monotropa uniflora, remains a mystery. Now, with social media and the internet driving a resurgence in the harvest and economic trade of the parasitic species — which appears strangely white because it is devoid of chlorophyl — a research team from Penn State has taken the first step toward documenting its new status.

April 25, 2025

Penn State Sustainability has announced the 2025 recipients of its sustainability awards. These accolades, including the John Roe Sustainability Impact Award, the Student Sustainability Advisory Council Tree Award and the Pennsylvania Environmental Resource Consortium Campus Sustainability Champion Award, commend the extraordinary contributions of students in spearheading sustainability initiatives.

April 24, 2025

The National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine recently appointed Christina Grozinger, Publius Vergilius Maro Professor of Entomology and director of the Huck Institutes of the Life Sciences at Penn State, to an 18-member study committee to examine the status of insects in North America. 

April 22, 2025

The Penn State College of Information Sciences and Technology selected six projects to receive funding from the college’s seed grant program, which provides funding to support research activities and generate preliminary results that will eventually lead to bigger projects involving external funding.