News

The Sepia Rainbow: The fascinating story of human skin

Nina Jablonski’s focus on skin began with a request to give a lecture. It was 1991, and she and her husband and collaborator George Chaplin had recently moved from Hong Kong to take positions at the University of Western Australia.

Penn State, Harvard team up to enhance science education for minority students

Jablonski and Gates hoping to inspire love of STEM through genetics and genealogy research

Headed for the field: Commercializing a new diagnostic test for cows

Troy Ott, professor of reproductive physiology in the College of Agricultural Sciences, is developing a blood test that dairy farmers and livestock veterinarians can use to tell whether a cow failed to conceive after insemination.

Rice Research to Production short course helps young scholars advance their careers in rice science

Getting their feet wet in rice paddies, three Asia Rice Foundation USA (ARFUSA) grant winners and other scholars learn how rice is connected to the international community.

Penn State receives prestigious HEED Award for diversity

Penn State has received the 2015 Higher Education Excellence in Diversity (HEED) Award from INSIGHT Into Diversity magazine, the oldest and largest diversity-focused publication in higher education.

Gut bacteria could be blamed for obesity and diabetes

An excess of bacteria in the gut can change the way the liver processes fat and could lead to the development of metabolic syndrome, according to health researchers.

Molecular motor grows cell's microtubules

Motor proteins that pause at the ends of microtubules and produce pushing forces can also stimulate their growth, according to researchers at Penn State.

Response to environmental change depends on individual variation in partnership between corals and algae

New research reveals that some corals are more protective than others of their partner algae in harsh environmental conditions.

Bees to scientists: "We're more complicated than you think"

Chemical signaling among social insects, such as bees, ants and wasps, is more complex than previously thought, according to researchers at Penn State and Tel Aviv University, whose results refute the idea that a single group of chemicals controls reproduction across numerous species.

New technology discovered for brain repair: Chemical transformation of human glial cells into neurons

For the first time, researchers have used a cocktail of small molecules to transform human brain cells, called astroglial cells, into functioning neurons for brain repair.