News

Sep 09, 2021

New tool reveals genetic influence of some sex-biased diseases, including lupus

Many human diseases can differ between males and females in their prevalence, manifestation, severity or age of onset. Examples include Lupus, where more than 80% of patients are females; Alzheimer’s disease, where females have higher incidence and tend to suffer quicker cognitive decline; and COVID-19 infections that are frequently more severe in males.

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Aug 30, 2021

Staying home, primary care, and limiting contagion hubs may curb COVID-19 deaths

Staying home and limiting local travel, supporting access to primary care, and limiting contacts in contagion hubs — including hospitals, schools, and workplaces — are strategies that might help reduce COVID-19-related deaths, according to new research.

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Aug 04, 2021

Researchers film human viruses in liquid droplets at near-atomic detail

A research team led by Deb Kelly, Huck Chair in Molecular Biophysics and professor of biomedical engineering at Penn State, has used advanced electron microscopy (EM) technology to see how human viruses move in high resolution in a near-native environment. The visualization technique could lead to improved understanding of how vaccine candidates and treatments behave and function as they interact with target cells, Kelly said.

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Jun 30, 2021

Claude dePamphilis named Huck Chair in Plant Biology and Evolutionary Genomics

Claude dePamphilis, Penn State Professor of Biology, has been named the Dorothy Foehr Huck and J. Lloyd Huck Distinguished Chair in Plant Biology and Evolutionary Genomics by the Huck Institutes of the Life Sciences.

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Jun 21, 2021

Weird warbler reveals genetics of its mismatched colors

An incredibly rare hybrid warbler with mismatched color patterns has allowed researchers to disentangle the genetic drivers of two traits that usually come as a package deal — the black face mask and the black throat patch in blue-winged and golden-winged warblers.

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Jun 24, 2021

Newly sequenced genome of extinct giant lemur sheds light on animal's biology

Using an unusually well-preserved subfossil jawbone, a team of researchers — led by Penn State and with a multi-national team of collaborators including scientists from the Université d’Antananarivo in Madagascar — has sequenced for the first time the nuclear genome of the koala lemur (Megaladapis edwardsi), one of the largest of the 17 or so giant lemur species that went extinct on the island of Madagascar between about 500 and 2,000 years ago.

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Apr 09, 2021

New position will support graduate and post-graduate training

Donna Korzick, professor of physiology and kinesiology, recently assumed a new role as director of graduate training initiatives in the Huck Institutes for the Life Sciences. In this role, Korzick is dedicating half of her time to support the application for and execution of training grants from organizations like the National Institutes of Health.

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Mar 30, 2021

New statistical method eases data reproducibility crisis

Researchers at Penn State and the University of Minnesota have developed a statistical tool that can accurately estimate the replicability of a study, thus eliminating the need to duplicate the work and effectively mitigating the reproducibility crisis.

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Mar 25, 2021

New computational methods allow for accurate determination of gene expression

A more accurate measurement and interpretation of gene activities, using large volumes of sequencing data, may be possible with a new computational framework and set of algorithms currently being developed by Penn State researchers.

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Mar 12, 2021

Biochemistry and molecular biology professor receives NSF CAREER Award

Shaun Mahony, assistant professor of biochemistry and molecular biology, has been honored with a Faculty Early Career Development (CAREER) award from the National Science Foundation (NSF).

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