News | The Huck Institutes (en-US)

Using a new method to turn stripped-down plant cells into other types of cells, a team led by Sarah Pfaff, postdoctoral scholar in biology at Penn State, explored how structures called banding patterns in cell walls can increase their stability. They also studied how the assembly of these patterns goes astray in mutant plants, which could inform methods to break down plant cells for biofuels. Credit: Michelle Bixby / Penn State. Creative Commons

Oct 31, 2024

Stem cell-like approach in plants sheds light on specialized cell wall formation

New method reprograms isolated plant cells to form other cell types.

Full Article

Rangelands offer potential for natural climate solutions — storing vast quantities of carbon in rangeland soils while also supporting the livelihoods of communities. Credit: Conservation South Africa. All Rights Reserved.

Oct 31, 2024

$1.3M NSF grant to fund research into restoration of degraded ecosystems

An international team of researchers led by Ida Djenontin, assistant professor of geography at Penn State, was recently awarded a $1.3 million grant from the U.S. National Science Foundation’s Dynamics of Integrated Socio-Environmental Systems program to investigate the socioecological outcomes of restoration in degraded woodlands ecosystems.

Full Article

Oct 31, 2024

Huck researchers reflect on the 2024 Nobel Prize in Chemistry

This month, the Nobel Prize in Chemistry was awarded to three scientists credited with historic breakthroughs surrounding proteins and their structures. Three Huck researchers working on similar challenges chime in with their thoughts.

Full Article

Oct 30, 2024

Panel discussion to highlight art and science collaborations

Faculty and postdoctoral scholars exhibiting their work in the “Synergies in Art and Science” exhibition at the Borland Project Space (BPS) will participate in a panel discussion, open to the public, on Friday, Nov. 8, noon–1:30 p.m., in the BPS, 125 Borland.

Full Article

Christine Kirchhoff (left), associate professor of civil and environmental engineering and associate professor of law, policy and engineering, poses with two of the members of the Civic SciTech Traineeship, a new initiative of COPA-STEP that matches trainees with governmental offices to develop civic science tools. Vijay Bhaskar Chiluveru (center), a recent graduate of the master’s program in energy and mineral engineering in Penn State's College of Earth and Mineral Sciences, and Soumita Mukherjee (right), a doctoral candidate in informatics in the College of Information Sciences and Technology, will work on developing civic science tools for air quality monitoring and heat island mapping in Allentown. Credit: Poornima Tomy/Penn State . All Rights Reserved.

Oct 30, 2024

New initiative in Law, Policy and Engineering trains state governor’s fellows

Faculty and staff in Penn State’s Law, Policy, and Engineering initiative (LPE) were recently tapped by the governor’s office to lead a two-day training program in September in Harrisburg on science and technology policy.

Full Article

Oct 30, 2024

Physiology Conference to feature celebration marking 50 years of Noll Lab research

Penn State and the American Physiological Society will celebrate a half century of research at the groundbreaking Noll Laboratory, welcoming attendees of the Integrative Physiology of Exercise (IPE) conference with commemorative “Noll@50” events centered around the landmark facility.

Full Article

Oct 30, 2024

Kantor appointed to the executive board of the Society of Nematologists

Mihail Kantor, assistant research professor of nematology, has been appointed to the executive board of the Society of Nematologists (SON). A nonprofit, international organization dedicated to advancing the science of nematology in its fundamental and economic aspects, SON is the highest professional organization for nematology and fosters knowledge across all areas of nematology.

Full Article

Oct 29, 2024

Penn State’s Neurosciences Biorepository expands access to University Park

The Neuroscience Biorepository, a collection of specimens and data housed at the Penn State College of Medicine, will be expanding its availability to researchers at University Park.

Full Article

Joseph Cotruvo, Jr., professor of chemistry at Penn State, and Wonseok Choi, a graduate student, have been researching ways to separate rare earth elements using re-engineered bacterial proteins that are found in nature. Credit: Michelle Bixby / Penn State. Creative Commons

Oct 29, 2024

Bacterial protein discovered, engineered to better separate rare earth metals

A newly discovered protein naturally houses an unusual binding site that can differentiate between rare earth elements, and researchers at Penn State have made it even better.

Full Article

Jill Arriola, left, and Daniel Guarin collecting cores at the inlet to the John Heinz National Wildlife Refuge at Tinicum, which houses the largest remaining freshwater tidal marsh in Pennsylvania. Credit: Lisa Emili. All Rights Reserved.

Oct 29, 2024

Microplastics increasing in freshwater, directly related to plastic production

Microplastics have been steadily increasing in freshwater environments for decades and are directly tied to rising global plastic production since the 1950s, according to a new study by an interdisciplinary team of Penn State researchers.

Full Article