Molecular Cellular And Integrative Biosciences News | Molecular, Cellular, and Integrative Biosciences

This study is the first to scientifically document use of ghost pipe in North America, along with the growing influence of social media and the internet on how and why people are turning to ghost pipe as a medicinal plant. Credit: Penn State. Creative Commons

Apr 25, 2025

Traditional forest medicinal plant ghost pipe used differently today

Driven by the internet and social media, consumption of a strange white plant known as ghost pipe is enjoying a resurgence — but with a twist.

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New research predicts the location of DNA sequences that can form structures besides the canonical double helix — non-B DNA — in the recently released telomere-to-telomere genomes of the great apes, finding that non-B DNA is enriched in newly deciphered genomic regions, including telomeres and centromeres. Image shows evolutionary relationships among the great apes, left from top to bottom, including chimpanzee, bonobo, human, gorilla and two orangutan species and illustrations of representative chromosomes, right, with canonical helical and non-B DNA. Credit: Dani Zemba and Makova Laboratory / Penn State. Creative Commons

Apr 24, 2025

Beyond the double helix: Alternative DNA conformations in ape genomes

Researchers used recently published telomere-to-telomere genomes of humans, chimpanzee, bonobo, gorilla and two orangutans to predict locations of DNA sequences that can form other structures besides the double helix.

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The National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine recently appointed Christina Grozinger, Publius Vergilius Maro Professor of Entomology and director of the Huck Institutes of the Life Sciences at Penn State, to an 18-member study committee to examine the status of insects in North America. Credit: Christina Grozinger / Penn State. Creative Commons

Apr 24, 2025

Grozinger appointed to National Academies committee on insect declines

The National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine recently appointed Christina Grozinger, Publius Vergilius Maro Professor of Entomology and director of the Huck Institutes of the Life Sciences at Penn State, to an 18-member study committee to examine the status of insects in North America.

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Apr 16, 2025

Immune system proteins involved in severe parasitic disease identified

New insights into the mechanisms that cause more severe cases of schistosomiasis — a disease caused by parasitic worms and second only to malaria in terms of potential harm — have been revealed by researchers at Penn State.

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Apr 10, 2025

Graduating senior reflects on undergraduate research experiences at Penn State

Maria Lovallo is a Penn State undergrad from Spring Mills, PA, majoring in Microbiology with a minor in Plant Pathology & Environmental Microbiology. She is also a teaching assistant in Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, and a member of the Huck Institutes’ One Health Microbiome Center.

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Apr 09, 2025

Complete genome sequences of six ape species unveiled

Differences among the DNA of seven ape species — including humans — are greater than originally thought, according to an international team led by researchers at Penn State, the National Human Genome Research Institute, and the University of Washington.

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The findings could help drive future research as well as help evaluate the costs and benefits of pesticide use in agroecosystems, the researchers said. Credit: Kym MacKinnon/Unsplash. All Rights Reserved.

Apr 10, 2025

Even sublethal insecticide dose may disrupt pollinator mating process

Insecticides can help protect crops against troublesome pests, but they also pose a risk for beneficial insects such as pollinators. A new study led by researchers at Penn State provided insight into how even sublethal doses of insecticides can negatively affect pollinators by disrupting the mating process.

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Urara Hasegawa, assistant professor at Penn State, demonstrates thermogels, special materials that can turn from a liquid into a solid when triggered by heat. New thermogels developed by Hasegawa and her team show promise as a next-generation biomaterials. Credit: Urara Hasegawa. All Rights Reserved.

Apr 09, 2025

‘Patchy’ thermogels show next-gen biomedical material potential, scientists say

Special biomedical materials that can be injected as a liquid and turn into a solid inside our bodies — called thermogels — could provide a less-invasive way to deliver drugs or treat wounds. Scientists at Penn State have developed a new design for these materials that further improves their properties and may hold particular promise for use in tissue regeneration, the researchers said.

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The U.S. National Science Foundation National Synthesis Center for Emergence in the Molecular and Cellular Sciences at Penn State recently announced its first cohort of working groups. The center is supporting 10 initial working groups which will conduct research in accordance with open science principles, producing peer-reviewed articles, public datasets and reproducible workflows. The working groups will reuse and integrate diverse datasets, creatively visualized in this illustration, to gain insights about emergent properties that could potentially answer fundamental scientific questions and lead to transformative discoveries. Credit: NicoElNino/Alamy Stock Photo. All Rights Reserved.

Apr 09, 2025

NCEMS working groups to answer molecular and cellular bioscience questions

The U.S. National Science Foundation National Synthesis Center for Emergence in the Molecular and Cellular Sciences at Penn State aims to drive multidisciplinary collaboration utilizing publicly available research data.

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Credit: guenterguni/Getty Images. All Rights Reserved.

Apr 09, 2025

Complete genome sequences of six ape species unveiled

Previously inaccessible regions reveal novel insights that may advance understanding of evolution and conservation genetics for endangered apes as well as human health.

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