News
Oct 26, 2022
‘Forever Chemicals’ persist through wastewater treatment, may enter crops
PFAS, 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."
Full Article
Oct 19, 2022
Eating fire ants could prepare lizards for future fire ant attack
Eating fire ants might prepare a lizard’s immune system to be stung by the ants, according to a new study by researchers at Penn State. The study comprehensively assessed how the immune system responds to lizards eating and being stung by these ants and might help researchers understand how other native species respond and adapt to the invasive insects.
Full Article
Oct 07, 2022
Rabbit virus has evolved to become more deadly, new research finds
A common misconception is that viruses become milder over time as they become endemic within a population. Yet new research, led by Penn State and the University of Sydney, reveals that a virus — called myxoma —that affects rabbits has become more deadly over time
Full Article
Oct 06, 2022
Birdsong reveals rare hybrid coupling 10 million years in the making
A team of researchers led by Penn State was able to use a combination of genomic sequencing and song analysis to identify a rare hybrid bird whose ancestors haven’t shared the same breeding location or lineage for 10 million years.
Full Article
Oct 03, 2022
Disease outcomes differ by new host species in virus spillover experiments
Why has the SARS-CoV-2 virus ravaged the global human population, but many other animal viruses haven't? Using nematode worms as a model, researchers at Penn State conducted a set of experiments to investigate the factors influencing the disease outcomes of virus spillover events.
Full Article
Sep 23, 2022
Mixed cover crops capture carbon in soil, could help mitigate climate change
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.
Full Article
Sep 27, 2022
Penn State awarded grant to help dairy farmers develop climate-smart commodities
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.
Full Article
Aug 23, 2022
Graduate students in entomology and ecology win prestigious fellowships
Two graduate students who work in the laboratory of an entomology faculty member in Penn State's College of Agricultural Sciences recently received prestigious fellowships to further their graduate education and research.
Full Article
Aug 17, 2022
Penn State research team will study Lassa virus spread in Nigeria
A team of researchers led by Penn State has been awarded $4 million from the National Science Foundation to investigate the elements that lead to the spread of Lassa virus from rodents to humans in Nigeria.
Full Article
Jul 21, 2022
Torrey pine genetic research may benefit efforts to save chestnut, ash trees
A new genomic study of the rarest pine tree in the world, the Torrey pine, aimed at bolstering the case for a genetic rescue of the species barely surviving in the western U.S., revealed the complexity and risk associated with the endeavor. However, a tree geneticist at Penn State who oversaw the research suggests it may benefit efforts she is involved in to save other species in the East.
Full Article