News

Mar 30, 2021

Tool can provide swine producers with early diagnosis of often-fatal 'Strep zoo'

A team led by researchers in Penn State's College of Agricultural Sciences has developed a diagnostic test that can identify virulent forms of the swine bacterial pathogen Streptococcus equi subspecies zooepidemicus — often referred to as "Strep zoo" — which can cause severe illness and death in pigs, other animals and rarely people.

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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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Mar 10, 2021

Another common cold virus?

If it becomes endemic — circulating in the general population — and most people are exposed in childhood, SARS-CoV-2 may join the ranks of mild cold-causing coronaviruses that currently circulate in humans.

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Mar 08, 2021

New Appointments to Build on Excellence in Graduate Training

Two familiar faces within the Huck's graduate program system will be adding new roles to support the Institutes' portfolio of extramurally-funded programs.

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Feb 26, 2021

Elizabeth McGraw named head of Department of Biology

Elizabeth McGraw, professor and Huck Scholar in Entomology and director of the Center for Infectious Disease Dynamics (CIDD) at Penn State, has been named the new head of the Department of Biology.

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Feb 26, 2021

Study finds short window for donating convalescent plasma to COVID-19 patients

The optimal timeframe for donating convalescent plasma for use in COVID-19 immunotherapy, which was given emergency-use authorization by the Food and Drug Administration in August 2020, is within 60 days of the onset of symptoms, according to a new Penn State-led study.

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Feb 15, 2021

MCIBS Chair Melissa Rolls Wins Leadership Award

Melissa Rolls, who is also the Paul Berg Professor of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology and the Director of the Center for Cellular Dynamics, has been recognized for outstanding leadership of the Molecular, Cellular, and Integrative Biosciences graduate program.

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Feb 12, 2021

Researchers awarded $1.5M to create stem cell predictive model

Stem cells are the building blocks of the body, according to Penn State researchers. Though similar to one another at their origins, stem cells take on unique characteristics as they mature, becoming specialized cells throughout the body — such as bone, muscle, ligament, tissue or other organ cells.

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Feb 10, 2021

Andrew Patterson receives Society of Toxicology Achievement Award

The Society of Toxicology has named Tombros Early Career Professor Andrew Patterson of Penn State as the recipient of its 2021 Achievement Award, recognizing his significant contributions to the field of toxicology within 15 years of obtaining the highest earned degree.

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Feb 08, 2021

Unusual DNA folding increases the rates of mutations

DNA sequences that can fold into shapes other than the classic double helix tend to have higher mutation rates than other regions in the human genome. New research by a team of Penn State scientists shows that the elevated mutation rate in these sequences plays a major role in determining regional variation in mutation rates across the genome.

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