Center For Chemical Ecology News | Center for Chemical Ecology

Mar 02, 2023

Wasps harness power of pitcher plants in first-ever observed defense strategy

As the saying goes, “When life gives you lemons, turn that tartness into little translucent balls in which to grow your young.”

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Feb 02, 2023

New sensor enables 'smart diapers,' range of other health monitors

Waaahhh! While babies have a natural mechanism for alerting their parents that they need a diaper change, a new sensor developed by researchers at Penn State could help workers in daycares, hospitals and other settings provide more immediate care to their charges.

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Jan 20, 2023

In-place manufacturing method improves gas sensor capabilities, production time

When used as wearable medical devices, stretchy, flexible gas sensors can identify health conditions or issues by detecting oxygen or carbon dioxide levels in the breath or sweat.

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Jun 30, 2022

Jared Ali named director of the Penn State Center for Chemical Ecology

Jared Ali, Dorothy Foehr Huck and J. Lloyd Huck Chair of Chemical Ecology and associate professor of entomology in the College of Agricultural Sciences, has been named director of the Penn State Center for Chemical Ecology (CCE).

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Jul 29, 2022

Laser writing may enable ‘electronic nose’ for multi-gas sensor

Environmental sensors are a step closer to simultaneously sniffing out multiple gases that could indicate disease or pollution, thanks to a Penn State collaboration. Huanyu “Larry” Cheng, assistant professor of engineering science and mechanics in the College of Engineering, and Lauren Zarzar, assistant professor of chemistry in Eberly College of Science, and their teams combined laser writing and responsive sensor technologies to fabricate the first highly customizable microscale gas sensing devices.

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Jun 27, 2022

Jared Ali named Huck Chair of Chemical Ecology

Jared Ali, associate professor of entomology in Penn State's College of Agricultural Sciences, has been named the Dorothy Foehr Huck and J. Lloyd Huck Chair of Chemical Ecology by the University’s Huck Institutes of the Life Sciences.

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Jun 02, 2022

Managing habitat for flowering plants may mitigate climate effects on bee health

Warm, wet weather conditions and changing climate negatively influence the nectar intake and nutritional health of honey bees, but maintaining large tracts of grassy natural habitat with flowering plants around apiaries may help to mitigate the detrimental effects of climate, according to a new study by an international team of researchers.

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Apr 22, 2021

Little crop of horrors

An international team of researchers has received a grant from the Human Frontier Science Program to investigate how carnivory-related genes, such as those involved in digestion, could help crops not only avoid pests, but also thrive in low-nutrient environments.

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Feb 18, 2021

Silencing the alarm

An enzyme in the saliva of certain insects prevents their food plants from warning neighboring plants of an attack.

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Jul 24, 2019

Plants defend against insects by inducing 'leaky gut syndrome'

Plants may induce "leaky gut syndrome" — permeability of the gut lining — in insects as part of a multipronged strategy for protecting themselves from being eaten, according to researchers at Penn State.

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