News
Nov 15, 2010
Computations 19x faster with new adaptive algorithm
Researchers using a new algorithmic process for a heuristic embedding strategy they call "Adaptive GDDA-BLAST" can now see the results of their computations 19 times faster than with their previous computational method. The new method has the added benefits of detecting structural homology in highly divergent protein sequences and isolating secondary structural elements of transmembrane and ankyrin-repeat domains, with possibly wide-ranging impacts on human health and disease studies.
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Nov 01, 2010
Institute for CyberScience Faculty Fellows Program
The ICS Faculty Fellows Program is now accepting applications for 2011 for internal funding.
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Oct 17, 2010
Huck Institutes' graduate programs ranked among the nation's best
Three of the Huck Institutes' graduate programs were ranked among the nation's best in the latest report from the National Research Council (NRC). The NRC study ranked 5,000 doctoral programs from 212 universities in over 60 fields.
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Oct 15, 2010
Root decomposition study calls for new experimental methods
Observations made in a new study of root decomposition dynamics to be enableded by the Ecological Society of America later this year were in some cases directly opposed to classic hypotheses, suggesting that true understanding of the contributions of root turnover to carbon and nutrient cycling requires a fundamental shift in experimental methods.
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Oct 10, 2010
Possible new target found in fight against malaria
A team of Penn State researchers has determined the dynamic expression and cellular localization of the PfMYST protein, and provided experimental evidence about its role in transcription regulation, cell cycle progression and DNA damage repair, providing a possible new target in the fight against a drug-resistant and extremely virulent form of malaria.
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Sep 18, 2010
Sequencing chocolate genome helps farmers in the developing world
The sequencing and analysis of the genome for Theobroma cacao, the chocolate tree, has been completed by an international team that included Mark Guiltinan, Siela Maximova, Stephan C. Schuster, John E. Carlson, Zi Shi, Michael Axtell, Zhaorong Ma, and Yufan Zhang of the Huck Institutes. The team sequenced the cacao Criollo type that produces a fine flavored chocolate, using a specimen that was collected in the Mayan mountains of Belize. The identification of various gene families that impact specific plant qualities and disease resistance could lead to accelerated breeding programs which would have a beneficial impact on the economy of many developing countries in which cocoa is of great economic importance.
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Sep 06, 2010
Scientists capture first-ever atomic view of key genetic processes
Using a 3-D visualization method called X-ray crystallography, Song Tan, associate professor of biochemistry and molecular biology has built the first-ever image of a protein interacting with the nucleosome -- DNA packed tightly into space-saving bundles organized around a protein core. The research, performed at the Penn State Center for Eukaryotic Gene Regulation of the Huck Institutes, is expected to aid future investigations into diseases such as cancer.
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Aug 12, 2010
Pulsed UV light shows promise in delivering a safer egg
Pulsed UV light has the ability to reduce Salmonella Enteritidis on eggshells by 99.999998%, greatly increasing public food safety, without affecting the quality of the egg, the strength of its shell or damaging its natural protective layer, the cuticle, Penn State researchers, including Ali Demirci of the Huck Institutes, found.
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Aug 03, 2010
Ancient gene family linked to the future of epileptic seizures
A potassium-channel gene belonging to an ancient gene family more than 542 million years old is opening new avenues in epilepsy research, and may one day allow researchers to develop more effective drugs with fewer side effects for the treatment of epileptic seizures.
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Aug 03, 2010
Carnivorous mice spread deadly plague in prairie dog towns
The abundance of the carnivorous grasshopper mouse determines whether or not prairie dog colonies live or die by the thousands from plague. This discovery, reported in a recent study co-authored by Dr. Marcel Salathe, a new member of the Center for Infectious Disease Dynamics at the Huck Institutes, may have critical ramifications on understanding plague dynamics in Africa and Asia.
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