News | The Huck Institutes (en-US)

A team led by scientists at Penn State has created a stretchable, rechargeable sticker that can detect real emotions — by measuring things like skin temperature and heart rate — even when users put on a brave face. Credit: Courtesy Yangbo Yuan / Penn State. Creative Commons

Apr 21, 2025

High-tech sticker can identify real human emotions

A team led by scientists at Penn State has created a stretchable, rechargeable sticker that can detect real emotions — by measuring things like skin temperature and heart rate — even when users put on a brave face.

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Nelson Roque (left) and Alexis Santos (right) found that 58% of counties in the United States have no air-quality monitoring. Credit: Dennis Maney / Penn State. Creative Commons

Apr 21, 2025

How safe is the air to breathe? 50 million people in the US don't know

More than half of counties in United States have no air-quality monitoring, according to study by researchers from Penn State.

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Image caption: A new study investigated the impacts of cholera interventions in the city of Kalemie in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, where the disease is endemic, meaning it persists to some extent constantly. The study found that the presence of the nearby Lake Tanganyika, pictured here, plays a considerable role in shaping cholera transmission in the area. Credit: MONUSCO/Abel Kavanagh. All Rights Reserved.

Apr 18, 2025

Focus on sanitation and clean water may improve control of endemic cholera

Pathogens that persist in hosts and environments may require tailored management strategies, according to new study of endemic cholera interventions in Sub-Saharan Africa.

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Increases in insomnia were followed by increased risk of movement and self-care disabilities, according to a new study by researchers in the Penn State College of Health and Human Development. Credit: Filmstax/Getty Images. All Rights Reserved.

Apr 17, 2025

Insomnia and sleep medication use connected to disability in older adults

Increases in insomnia were followed by increased risk of movement and self-care disabilities, according to a new study by researchers at Penn State.

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Apr 16, 2025

Bridge funding available to address unexpected short-term gaps

The Huck Institutes of the Life Sciences is currently offering limited, short-term “Bridge Funding” to address immediate and unexpected funding gaps impacting ongoing research projects.

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A new study used modern methods to reassess a foundational study in biology that explained how ecologically similar species of wood warblers coexist. The research team examined foraging behavior, physical characteristics, diet and evolutionary history of 13 warbler species, including the black-throated green warbler (Setophaga virens) pictured here, and found that how these songbirds coexist is more nuanced than originally proposed. Credit: Ronnie d'Entremont. All Rights Reserved.

Apr 16, 2025

Foraging on the wing: How can ecologically similar birds live together?

New study uses modern molecular and evolutionary techniques to reassess a foundational, 67-year-old study in warblers.

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The four Penn State Goldwater Scholars are, clockwise from top left, Luc Schrauf, Elisabeth Groff, Zach Badinger and Megan von Abo. Credit: Provided. All Rights Reserved.

Apr 15, 2025

Four Penn State undergraduates earn Goldwater Scholarships

Four Penn State undergraduates were named Goldwater Scholars for 2025-26, based on their outstanding academic merit and research experience. Goldwater Scholars are selected for their potential as leaders in the fields of natural sciences, mathematics and engineering.

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The study found that increased salt content in tomato plants reduces fruitworm caterpillar feeding and limits the number of eggs that moths lay on these plants. Credit: Sahil Pawar. All Rights Reserved.

Apr 15, 2025

Feeling salty? Increased salt stress reduces tomato pest activity

Increased soil salinity can reduce damage from prominent tomato pests such as the tomato fruitworm, according to researchers at Penn State. They published their findings in the Journal of Plant, Cell and Environment.

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Apr 15, 2025

Immune system proteins involved in severe parasitic disease identified

New insights into the mechanisms that cause more severe cases of schistosomiasis — a disease caused by parasitic worms and second only to malaria in terms of potential harm — have been revealed by researchers at Penn State.

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Apr 14, 2025

Grozinger appointed to National Academies committee to study insect declines in North America

Huck Institutes director Christina Grozinger has been appointed to the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine’s Committee on the Status of Insects in North America.

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