News | The Huck Institutes (en-US)

Sep 18, 2019

New tool in fight against malaria

Redesigning molecules originally developed to treat the skin disease psoriasis could lead to an effective new drug against malaria, according to an international team of researchers.

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Sep 17, 2019

Research suggests how environmental toxin produced by algae may lead to ALS

Can a computer be used to explain why an environmental toxin might lead to neurodegenerative disease? According to Penn State College of Medicine researchers, a computer generated-simulation allowed them to see how a toxin produced by algal blooms in saltwater might cause Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis (ALS).

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Sep 17, 2019

Francesca Chiaromonte named Huck Chair in Statistics for the Life Sciences

Francesca Chiaromonte, professor of statistics at Penn State, was recently named Lloyd and Dorothy Foehr Huck Chair in Statistics by the University’s Huck Institutes of the Life Sciences.

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Sep 16, 2019

Novel use of laser technology reveals interactions between roots, soil organisms

A novel use of a custom laser system — developed in Penn State’s College of Agricultural Sciences eight years ago — allows researchers to see how soil organisms affect plant roots.

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Sep 11, 2019

Gene therapy helps functional recovery after stroke

A new gene therapy turns glial cells—abundant support cells in the brain—into neurons, repairing damage that results from stroke and significantly improving motor function in mice.

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Sep 10, 2019

New DAWG Chews On Microbiome Datasets

Mara Cloutier is passionate about researching microbiomes and opening up this rapidly expanding field of study to others through the Data Analysis Working Group.

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Sep 10, 2019

Mechanical engineering professor to forge frontier of biomolecular computing

Joseph Najem has joined the Penn State Department of Mechanical Engineering as an assistant professor, where he will continue his work researching and developing multifunctional biomolecular materials.

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An improved understanding of how the microorganism Methanosarcina acetivorans produces methane will allow researchers to measure how much methane will be generated from rice paddies and make other predictions of future climate change.

Sep 04, 2019

Methane-producing microorganism makes a meal of iron

Manipulating iron could alter production of this greenhouse gas

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A new look at the prevalence of the widespread and often fatal sheep and goat plague virus in Tanzania reveals that livestock managed in a system where they are the sole source of an owners’ livelihood are more likely to become infected than livestock managed in a system where the owners’ livelihood is supplemented by agriculture.

Sep 03, 2019

Livestock disease risk tied to herd management style in Tanzania

A new study provides an updated picture of the prevalence of the sheep and goat plague virus (PPRV), a widespread and often fatal disease that threatens 80 percent of the world’s sheep and goats, in Northern Tanzania.

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Aug 28, 2019

New insights into genetic basis of bird migration

A gene newly associated with the migratory patterns of golden-winged and blue-winged warblers could lend insight into the longstanding question of how birds migrate across such long distances.

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