If a tree falls: Plant regeneration and resource availability in a Pennsylvania tree tip-up chronosequence. News | Bioinformatics and Genomics

Dr. Melissa Rolls with current and prospective graduate students

Jan 25, 2019

Prospective Grad Students Get A Taste of Life at Penn State

Students interested in the Bioinformatics and Genomics; Plant Biology; Neuroscience; and Molecular, Cellular, and Integrative Biosciences graduate programs were given a warm welcome on a snowy weekend.

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Differences in geographic origin of a person’s mitochondrial and nuclear genomes due to admixture can affect function of mitochondria, energy-generating organelles located inside cells that have their own separate genome. A new study reveals that mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) copy number decreases with increasing “mito-nuclear” dissimilarity in geographic origins of the mitochondrial and nuclear genomes (e.g. as the proportion of nuclear DNA from population 1 decrease). IMAGE: ARSLAN ZAIDI, PENN STATE

Jan 15, 2019

Differences in genes’ geographic origin influence mitochondrial function

Differences in the geographic origin of genes may affect the function of human mitochondria — energy-generating organelles inside of cells — according to a new study. Mitochondria have their own genome, separate from the nuclear genome contained in the nucleus of the cell, and both genomes harbor genes integral to energy production by mitochondria. The study explores whether these “mito-nuclear” interactions, which are fine-tuned by natural selection over deep evolutionary time, could be altered when genes of different geographic origins are brought together within a genome.

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Vasant G. Honavar, professor and Edward Frymoyer Chair of Information Sciences and Technology at Penn State, has been named a Fellow of the American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS).

Dec 06, 2018

Honavar named Fellow of the American Association for the Advancement of Science

Vasant G. Honavar, professor and Edward Frymoyer Chair of Information Sciences and Technology at Penn State, has been named a Fellow of the American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS). He was elected by the AAAS Section on Information, Computing, and Communication for his distinguished contributions to research and leadership in data science.

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Graduate students in the EGR training program’s inaugural group. Credit: Penn State

Dec 04, 2018

Training grant supports graduate students studying gene regulation

A new $2.4 million-dollar program to train graduate students in the area of eukaryotic gene regulation (EGR) has been established at Penn State with funding from the National Institutes of General Medical Sciences of the U.S. National Institutes of Health and from Penn State matching support.

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Jordan Hughey has been awarded a scholarship from the Alfred P. Sloan Foundation’s Minority Ph.D. (MPHD) program.

Nov 28, 2018

BG Student Wins Sloan Foundation Scholarship

Jordan Hughey has added the Alfred P. Sloan Foundation’s Minority Ph.D. award to an impressive list of accolades.

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The speed and error rate of DNA Synthesis differs between regions of the genome that form the usual DNA structure (B DNA) and those regions that can form other structures (non-B DNA). Regions that can form G-quadruplexes (illustrated) slow down DNA synthesis and increase error rates, other non-B DNA structures can have the opposite effect. This phenomenon could help explain increased human genetic variation and increased divergence between human and orangutan at these sites and has implications for understanding cancer and neurological diseases associated with non-B DNA. IMAGE: WILFRIED GUIBLET, PENN STATE

Nov 14, 2018

DNA structure impacts rate and accuracy of DNA synthesis

The speed and error rate of DNA synthesis is influenced by the three-dimensional structure of the DNA. Using “third-generation” genome-wide DNA sequencing data, a team of researchers from Penn State and the Czech Academy of Sciences showed that sequences with the potential to form unusual DNA conformations, which are frequently associated with cancer and neurological diseases, can in fact slow down or speed up the DNA synthesis process and cause more or fewer sequencing errors.

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Nov 09, 2018

Professor named 2018 distinguished member of Association for Computing Machinery

Vasant G. Honavar, professor and Edward Frymoyer Chair of Information Sciences and Technology, has been named a distinguished member of the Association for Computing Machinery, the world’s largest and most prestigious association of computing professionals. Honavar, who is one of 49 distinguished members named for 2018, was recognized for his outstanding scientific contributions to computing.

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May 13, 2018

Chad Nihranz receives Intercollege Graduate Student Outreach Achievement Award

Chad Nihranz, a doctoral student in ecology, is the 2018 recipient of the Intercollege Graduate Student Outreach Achievement Award.

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May 13, 2018

Divyanshi Srivastava awarded the Academic Computing Fellowship

Doctoral student Divyanshi Srivastava has been awarded the Academic Computing Fellowship. The fellowship, established in 1987, is offered through a partnership between the Graduate School and Penn State Information Technology Services.

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Mar 29, 2018

Driving Discovery and Revealing Insight In Any Genome

Join us for this exciting seminar.

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