March 23, 2023
U.S. college students’ knowledge of bees focuses primarily on honey bees and pollination services, according to Penn State researchers, who said findings from their recent study could help in designing campaigns to generate support for protecting threatened pollinators.
March 22, 2023
A novel study by a Penn State-led research team suggests that “manureshed” management in the Susquehanna River basin could make a big difference in the water quality of the Chesapeake Bay.
March 22, 2023
Sustainability and conservation efforts vary around the globe, but education still can be gleaned from far-flung places — as students in a Penn State travel abroad class recently learned on a trip to South America.
March 20, 2023
Concrete is as ubiquitous in cities as it is impervious. Amid worsening storms due to climate change, it only deflects runoff toward the drain, threatening sewer capacities. Lauren McPhillips is partnering with researchers across the commonwealth to engineer stormwater solutions using nature to replace hard surfaces and help control the flow.
February 27, 2023
It is widely believed that when foods undergo processing, their health benefits are reduced. But that is not true for cocoa, according to a Penn State-led team of researchers, who conducted a new study using a mouse model.
February 27, 2023
A new set of quantitative models that incorporates pH into the metabolic theory of ecology (MTE) has been developed by an international team that includes Penn State assistant professor of plant science Francisco Dini-Andreote.
February 24, 2023
Workers tasked with moving products in the immense U.S. food system are at a high risk of serious injury, according to a new Penn State-led study, and pandemic-caused, supply-chain problems have worsened the situation, researchers suggest.
February 13, 2023
Alex Hristov, Penn State distinguished professor of dairy nutrition, has received a $2 million grant from the U.S. Department of Agriculture to conduct studies to determine whether supplementing the feed of lactating dairy cows with either 3-Nitrooxypropanol or a species of red seaweed reduces the amount of methane emitted by the animals in the long-term.
January 29, 2023
When Ken Davis had an opportunity to help lead graduate education at Penn State, the chance was one that he could not let pass by.
January 27, 2023
A machine vision system capable of locating and identifying apple king flowers within clusters of blossoms on trees in orchards was devised by Penn State researchers — a critical early step in the development of a robotic pollination system — in a first-of-its-kind study.
January 27, 2023
Erica Smithwick, distinguished professor of geography, has been named director of the Earth and Environmental Systems Institute at Penn State, effective Jan. 1.
January 9, 2023
Many no-till growers are reluctant to implement any soil disturbance due to concerns about negative impacts on soil health. However, a new study by a team of Penn State researchers suggests that plowing fields once after five years in a crop rotation that includes coverage with cover crops and perennials can maintain soil health and provide other benefits.
December 12, 2022
The University’s Fashion Society may seem like a fun way to appreciate a passion for fashion, but to Penn State College of Agricultural Sciences student Gabrielle Leach, it’s also a way to promote sustainability and enhance awareness of the impact of fast fashion to consumers.
November 17, 2022
The public is invited to attend “Water, Water, Everywhere!” — an event taking place at 10 a.m. Saturday, Dec. 3, at the Pasto Agricultural Museum. Registration is free.
November 7, 2022
Setting planned, controlled fires — or prescribed burns — on landscapes can reduce wildfire risks and support habitat restoration, but to be successful these policies also require public support. A new study may fill in gaps in understanding public perception toward prescribed burns in the U.S. Mid-Atlantic, where these fires are increasingly used, according to scientists.
November 3, 2022
The latest episode of the "Growing Impact" podcast features Josephine Wee, an assistant professor of food science in the Penn State College of Agricultural Sciences. She is a food scientist with expertise in mycology and fungal biology. Her work involves the study of mushrooms, yeast and mold. On the podcast, Wee discusses her work with cellular agriculture and explains how lab-grown meat may be a better alternative to large-scale commercial meat production. Her seed grant project is titled “Development of Innovative Materials and Technology for Cellular Agriculture.”
October 31, 2022
For 10 years volunteers have been partnering with the Penn State Agriculture and Environment Center, Penn State Extension, and other conservation organizations in Dauphin, Lebanon, and Lancaster Counties through a program called Greening the Lower Susquehanna. This program provides opportunities for individuals, families, and groups to spend a few hours planting trees, performing maintenance on past tree plantings, cleaning up litter, weeding rain gardens, live staking stream banks, or other practices that help improve the health of local waterways.
October 28, 2022
PFAS (per-and polyfluoroalkyl substances), a group of more than 4,700 fully synthetic compounds that are widely used in industrial and manufacturing processes and found in many consumer products, persist through wastewater treatment at levels that may impact the long-term feasibility of "beneficial reuse of treated wastewater," according to a study conducted by researchers at Penn State and recently published in the Agronomy Journal.
October 21, 2022
Penn State’s student Soil Judging Team recently captured third place overall in a regional competition to qualify for the national championships next spring.
September 23, 2022
When it comes to adding carbon to the soil, all cover crops don’t perform equally, according to a team of researchers whose new study revealed the disparity for the first time.
September 20, 2022
Penn State was named a collaborating institution in a $66 million U.S. Department of Energy Urban Integrated Field (Urban IFL) Program designed to study the impacts of climate change on American cities. The program will study the impacts of climate change in three major U.S. cities — Baltimore, Chicago and Austin — and involves more than 20 institutions nationwide. Penn State, along with eight other organizations, will support the Baltimore project, which is being led by Johns Hopkins University.
September 19, 2022
Funding of up to $25 million from the U.S. Department of Agriculture will support a new Penn State-led collaboration with dairy industry associations and producers to develop and implement climate-smart practices on Pennsylvania dairy farms. The project is aimed at generating climate commodities that add value to dairy products along the supply chain and leveraging agriculture’s potential to provide solutions to climate change.
September 15, 2022
Two Penn State researchers provided key leadership in the creation of a report to the National Science Foundation (NSF) on engineering research areas that need to be better developed to address climate change. Bruce Logan was a co-chair and member of the report’s Thematic Task Force. He also guided content creation and report editing. Erica Smithwick provided her expertise to the group focused on carbon sequestration.
September 15, 2022
Scientists have long known that no-till farming reduces erosion and lessens water and nutrient runoff from crop fields, but now a new study by a team of Penn State researchers suggests that limiting soil disturbance may also diminish releases of nitrous oxide.
September 9, 2022
Supplementing the feed of dairy cattle with enzymes from two funguses simultaneously has a positive effect on the animals’ lactational performance, according to Penn State researchers, who studied the concept in an experiment with cows.
September 9, 2022
Certain drugs used to treat COVID-19 patients — including remdesivir, dexamethasone and antibiotics for associated bacterial infections — persist through wastewater treatment and may occur in waterways at levels high enough to negatively affect aquatic organisms, according to a new study led by researchers at Penn State. The findings highlight the broad utility of wastewater surveillance as a tool for monitoring the effects of human health on water quality and ecosystem health.
September 8, 2022
The COVID‐19 pandemic affected American households in countless ways, but according to researchers, some of the most tangible shifts are taking place in the food system.
August 30, 2022
Labels alerting customers that products contain ingredients from genetically engineered plants may reduce sales, at least in the short term, according to a new study from a research team including an agricultural economist in Penn State’s College of Agricultural Sciences.
August 30, 2022
The claim: Bumblebees don’t fly but levitate through acoustic levitation. Bees affect the ecosystem through pollination, but some social media users are claiming one type of bee – the bumblebee – has a unique ability: levitation.
August 16, 2022
In early 2020, Edward Idun traveled to the site of the worst locust plague in Africa in decades — armed with a phone. Billions of swarming locusts were devouring crops and trees vital to the continent's ability to produce food. The loss of trees could weaken Africa's ability to combat the climate crisis. Idun and his team tracked down locusts in Kenya using eLocust3m, a mobile app.
