News

Feb 24, 2020

Penn State responds: App aids UN efforts to control Africa's locust infestation

A partnership with the UN enables Penn State researchers to rapidly respond to the locust crisis with an artificial intelligence tool that tracks the insects’ spread.

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Jan 31, 2020

Ecology Institute invites University community to attend planning meetings

Penn State’s Ecology Institute has announced three planning meetings, which look to collectively identify objectives and prioritize activities that the institute can pursue moving forward. Additionally, information from preliminary survey data will be shared.

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Nov 26, 2019

Grant will support expanded use of artificial intelligence for crop health

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.

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Nov 18, 2019

Urban development reduces flash flooding chances in arid West

Urban development in the eastern United States 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.

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Oct 17, 2019

Extremely dry, hot conditions this fall causing early, muted foliage display

With last year being the wettest year on record in Pennsylvania, and this year starting out wet again, 2019 was set up to be the mother of all fall foliage displays. Trees in most areas were in great condition going into late summer.

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Sep 24, 2019

New AI app predicts climate change stress for farmers in Africa

​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.​

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Aug 15, 2019

Forest carbon still plentiful post-wildfire after century of fire exclusion

Forests in Yosemite National Park hold more carbon today than they did 120 years ago despite burning in a severe wildfire in 2013, according to a Penn State-led team of researchers.​

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Jul 25, 2019

Biology professor, department head recognized for study of amphibians, reptiles

Professor of Biology Tracy Langkilde has been named Distinguished Herpetologist for her contributions to the field by the Herpetologists' League, an international organization of people devoted to studying the biology of amphibians and reptiles.

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Jul 24, 2019

Plants defend against insects by inducing 'leaky gut syndrome'

Plants may induce "leaky gut syndrome" — permeability of the gut lining — in insects as part of a multipronged strategy for protecting themselves from being eaten, according to researchers at Penn State.

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Jul 16, 2019

Microbiome Center graduate students awarded NIFA fellowships

Sarah Isbell and Mara Cloutier, both Penn State graduate students and Microbiome Center researchers, will be supported in their studies by fellowships paid for by the United States Department of Agriculture.

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