News

The findings are a step in identifying beneficial microorganisms that potentially could be used to improve mushroom harvests and prevent disease, the researchers said. Credit: Harshal S. Hirve/Unsplash. All Rights Reserved.

Harnessing mushroom microbiomes for better crop development

Microorganisms collected from the material in which button mushrooms are grown may benefit the development of future fungi crops, according to a study led by researchers in Penn State’s College of Agricultural Sciences and published in the journal Fungal Biology.

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

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.

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.

Credit: nortonrsx/Getty Images. All Rights Reserved.

Predicting the progression of autoimmune disease with AI

A new artificial intelligence model more accurately predicts who — among those with preclinical symptoms of autoimmune disease — will proceed to advanced disease stage.

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.

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.

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

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.

A led by Penn State researchers compared two treatments for a common uterine infection, called clinical metritis, that can lead to serious health problems for dairy cows. One treatment was based on antibiotics and the other was not. Both treatments had a similar clinical cure rate in mild cases of the disease. Credit: Penn State. Creative Commons

New treatment for dairy cows could help fight antibiotic resistance, study finds

A concentrated sugar solution could be just as effective as antibiotics at treating a common infection in dairy cows, according to a new study led by researchers at Penn State.

Credit: Dina Constantinides. All Rights Reserved.

The stories that defined 2024 for the One Health Microbiome Center at Penn State

The One Health Microbiome Center has grown, and 2024’s most popular articles below highlight the determination and innovative research by Center members in the gut microbiome, nutritional sciences, food science and agriculture, in addition to headlines featuring partnerships and internships paving the way for future success.

Q&A: How do microbiomes influence the study of life?

Microorganisms — bacteria, viruses and other tiny life forms — may drive biological variation in visible life as much, if not more, than genetic mutations, creating new lineages and even new species of animals and plants, according to Seth Bordenstein, director of Penn State’s One Health Microbiome Center within the Huck Institutes of the Life Sciences.

The oral microbiome differs with lifestyle, according to a new study led by Penn State biologists. The research team gathered saliva samples from Nepali people over a range of subsistence strategies— from nomadic hunter gatherers to farmers to industrialized groups. Credit: Aashish Jha/New York University Abu Dhabi. All Rights Reserved.

Microbes in mouth reflect lifestyle choices

New study in Nepal reveals that oral microbiomes differ among traditional foragers, agriculturalists and industrialists, and with behaviors like smoking and diet