Center For Infectious Disease Dynamics News | Center for Infectious Disease Dynamics

Three Penn State researchers have been awarded the highest honor the United States government bestows on early-career scientists and engineers. They are (from left to right): Catherine Berdanier, associate professor of mechanical engineering; Margarita Lopez-Uribe, Lorenzo L. Langstroth Early Career Professor and associate professor of entomology; and Lauren Zarzar, professor of chemistry. Credit: Penn State. Creative Commons

Jan 27, 2025

Three faculty receive Presidential Early Career Award for scientists, engineers

Three Penn State researchers have been awarded the Presidential Early Career Award for Scientists and Engineers (PECASE), the White House announced on Jan. 14.

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Researchers attached QR codes to the backs of thousands of bees to track when and for how long they left their hives. Credit: Provided by the researchers. All Rights Reserved.

Jan 23, 2025

‘Buzz me in:’ Bees wearing itty bitty QR codes reveal hive secrets

Researchers attached QR codes to the backs of thousands of bees to track when and for how long they left their hives.

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Christina Grozinger was appointed the new director of the Huck Institutes of the Life Sciences at Penn State. Credit: Christina Grozinger / Penn State. Creative Commons

Jan 21, 2025

Christina Grozinger to lead Huck Institutes of the Life Sciences as director

Christina Grozinger, Publius Vergilius Maro Professor of Entomology and director of the Center for Pollinator Research, has been named the new director of the Huck Institutes of the Life Sciences at Penn State.

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Through a series of experiments, the research team led by Scott Medina, right, William and Wendy Korb Early Career Professor of Biomedical Engineering at Penn State, replaced the water-based solution commonly used in protein-based medications with a perfluorocarbon oil and tested five different proteins with a range of health-related functions such as antibodies and enzymes. Credit: Penn State. Creative Commons

Jan 17, 2025

Discovery could eliminate need to refrigerate vaccines and protein-based drugs

A new storage technique can keep protein-based drugs and vaccines stable without keeping them cold. The discovery, led by researchers at Penn State, could eliminate the need for refrigeration for hundreds of life-saving medicines like insulin, monoclonal antibodies and viral vaccines.

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PlantVillage, a Penn State-based research lab, is working with smallholder farmers in Africa, Asia and the Americas to adapt to climate-related challenges. To guide its expansion and commercial efforts, PlantVillage participated in the Invent Penn State NSF I-Corps regional short course, which helps researchers start on the path toward commercializing their innovations. Credit: Katie DeFiore / Penn State. Creative Commons

Jan 14, 2025

PlantVillage empowers farmers around the world to combat climate change

UN-supported Penn State research-based non-profit expands into for-profit sector with help from Invent Penn State NSF I-Corps programming

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Jan 13, 2025

College of Ag Sciences graduate students receive research grant awards

Thirteen graduate students in Penn State’s College of Agricultural Sciences received research grants recently awarded by the Northeast Sustainable Agriculture Research and Education (SARE) program, organized by the U.S. Department of Agriculture.

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PSAA Presents is every Penn Stater’s home for all of the virtual and in-person programming that the Penn State Alumni Association offers. Credit: Penn State Alumni Association. All Rights Reserved.

Jan 13, 2025

Virtual speaker to discuss impact and potential of PlantVillage on Jan. 21

The next Virtual Speaker Series from the Penn State Alumni Association will highlight PlantVillage, an AI-enabled "land grant in a phone" that uses data sharing to help farmers adapt to climate change and manage emerging pests and diseases.

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The study focused on the horned-face bee, which helps pollinate crops like apples and blueberries, and the alfalfa leafcutting bee, which pollinates alfalfa. Credit: Alain C./Flickr. All Rights Reserved.

Jan 07, 2025

Quantity over quality? Different bees are attracted to different floral traits

When it comes to deciding where they’re going to get their next meal, different species of bees may be attracted to different flower traits, according to a study led by researchers at Penn State and published in PNAS Nexus.

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Salmonella infections in dogs may be an overlooked transmission vector to humans, researchers reported in a new study. Credit: SeventyFour/Getty Images. All Rights Reserved.

Jan 02, 2025

Pet dogs often overlooked as spreader of antimicrobial-resistant Salmonella

A team of Penn State researchers have found that household dogs are an overlooked transmission point for zoonotic pathogens such as nontyphoidal Salmonella.

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Flies play a crucial role as pollinators, second only to bees in terms of the volume of crops and habitat they pollinate. Pictured here is a blue fly pollinating common milkweed (Asclepias syriaca). Credit: Martha B. Moss/Penn State Extension Master Gardener / Penn State. Creative Commons

Jan 02, 2025

Pollinators most vulnerable to rising global temperatures are flies, study shows

New research led by Penn State scientists suggests flies are increasingly at risk due to rising global temperatures.

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