News
Jan 10, 2017
Penn State Lectures on the Frontiers of Science: Free public science minicourse starts Jan. 21
"The Quest for One Healthy Planet" is the 2017 theme of the annual Penn State Lectures on the Frontiers of Science.
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Jan 08, 2017
An ecological invasion mimics a drunken walk
A theory that uses the mathematics of a drunken walk describes ecological invasions better than waves, according to Tim Reluga, associate professor of mathematics and biology, Penn State.
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Jan 08, 2017
Researchers receive $3.6 million to study genetics of plant disease resistance
A $3.6 million grant from the National Science Foundation will support a new research project aimed at pinpointing the genes that confer disease resistance in cacao.
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Jan 03, 2017
New technique uses immune cells to deliver anti-cancer drugs
Some researchers are working to discover new, safer ways to deliver cancer-fighting drugs to tumors without damaging healthy cells. Others are finding ways to boost the body's own immune system to attack cancer cells. Researchers at Penn State have combined the two approaches by taking biodegradable polymer nanoparticles encapsulated with cancer-fighting drugs and incorporating them into immune cells to create a smart, targeted system to attack cancers of specific types.
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Jan 02, 2017
Fungus-infecting virus could help track spread of white-nose syndrome in bats
A newly discovered virus infecting the fungus that causes white-nose syndrome in bats could help scientists and wildlife agencies track the spread of the disease that is decimating bat populations in the United States, a new study suggests.
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Jan 02, 2017
Research suggests climate change affecting plants above ground more than below
Shifts in plant-growth patterns have been widely reported in response to global warming, and it is well documented that warming generally advances aboveground plant growth, but warming's influence on root phenology is unclear. Most terrestrial biosphere models assume that root and shoot growth occur at the same time and are influenced by warming in the same manner, but recent studies suggest that this is not the case.
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Dec 15, 2016
Announcing new Galaxy-based Science Gateways at Penn State
The Institute for CyberScience is now offering consulting services for Penn State researchers interested in building Galaxy-based Science Gateways integrating advanced cyber-infrastructure components (e.g., data collections, instruments, supercomputers, and analytical tools) behind user-friendly interfaces for high-performance computing (HPC) resources.
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Dec 13, 2016
Oxygen can wake up dormant bacteria for antibiotic attacks
Bacterial resistance does not come just through adaptation to antibiotics, sometimes the bacteria simply go to sleep. An international team of researchers is looking at compounds that attack bacteria's ability to go dormant and have found the first oxygen-sensitive toxin antitoxin system.
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Dec 07, 2016
Grants from NSF power super-resolution microscope, probe cell walls in plants
A new super-resolution microscope and some of the first dynamic imaging experiments it enables are being supported by two grants totaling nearly $1.5 million awarded to Penn State researchers by the National Science Foundation.
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Dec 07, 2016
Key regulator of bone development identified
Loss of a key protein leads to defects in skeletal development including reduced bone density and a shortening of the fingers and toes -- a condition known as brachydactyly. ThIS discovery, made by researchers at Penn State University, redefines the role of the Speckle-type POZ Protein (Spop) during bone development and provides a new potential target for the diagnosis and treatment of bone diseases such as osteoporosis.
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