News
Jun 24, 2022
Climate-associated genetic switches found in plants
Genetic variants that can act as switches directing structural changes in the RNA molecules that code for proteins in plants have been experimentally validated in plants for the first time. The changes to RNA structure can affect the molecule’s stability, how it interacts with other molecules, and how efficiently it can be translated into protein — all of which can impact its function and the traits of the plant.
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May 12, 2022
Microbiologists get grant to study biofilms guarding foodborne pathogen Listeria
Microbiologists in Penn State’s College of Agricultural Sciences have received a $605,000 grant from the U.S. Department of Agriculture to study how microbial biofilms protect Listeria monocytogenes, the bacterium that causes the deadly foodborne illness listeriosis.
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Apr 11, 2022
First European farmers' heights did not meet expectations
A combined study of genetics and skeletal remains shows that the switch from primarily hunting, gathering and foraging to farming about 12,000 years ago in Europe may have had negative health effects as indicated by shorter than expected heights in the earliest farmers, according to an international team of researchers.
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Apr 05, 2022
Are egg cells in aging primates protected from mutations?
A new study shows that mutation frequencies in mitochondrial DNA are lower, and increase less with age, in the precursors of egg cells than in the cells of other tissues in a primate.
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Mar 11, 2022
How grasses like wheat can grow in the cold
A new, large-scale analysis of the relationships among members of the largest subfamily of grasses, which includes wheat and barley, reveals gene-duplication events that contributed to the adaptation of the plants to cooler temperatures.
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Mar 01, 2022
A new molecular family tree of grasses
The evolutionary relationships among grasses — including important crop plants like wheat, rice, corn, and sugarcane — have been clarified in a new molecular study of the grass family tree. Having a clear picture of the relationships among the grasses can help understanding of how important crop traits like seed size or disease resistance evolves and eventually could inform manipulation of these traits to increase crop yields.
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Feb 18, 2022
Penn State biologist Michael Axtell named distinguished professor
Michael Axtell, professor of biology at Penn State, has been selected to receive the title of distinguished professor of biology in recognition of his exceptional record of teaching, research, and service to the University community.
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Feb 18, 2022
Penn State biochemist Manuel Llinás named distinguished professor
Manuel Llinás, professor of biochemistry and molecular biology and of chemistry at Penn State, has been selected to receive the title of distinguished professor of biochemistry and molecular biology in recognition of his exceptional record of teaching, research, and service to the University community.
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Aug 23, 2022
Faculty member appointed to AAAS Committee on Scientific Freedom and Responsibility
Jennifer Wagner, Penn State assistant professor of law, policy and engineering in the School of Engineering Design, Technology, and Professional Programs, was appointed to serve on the American Association for the Advancement of Science Committee on Scientific Freedom and Responsibility
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Jan 26, 2022
Omicron genetics and early transmission patterns are characterized in new study
The Omicron variant of SARS-CoV-2 diverged from previous SARS-CoV-2 variants as a result of adaptive evolution, in which beneficial mutations are passed on to future generations through natural selection, rather than through recombination between previous variants, according to a large international team of researchers. The study, which published recently in Nature, is the first to describe the genomic profile of Omicron and explore the origins of the variant.
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