News

Explore the discoveries and breakthroughs advancing the life sciences

Find By:

Credit: Patrick Mansell / Penn State. Creative Commons

Penn State names seven new distinguished professors for 2023

The Penn State Microbiome Center presents "The Invisible Extinction" on March 2 at the State Theatre. Credit: A Microbe Media Production's The Invisible Extinction. All Rights Reserved.

Free film and panel discussion reveals 'invisible' crisis of the microbial world

New grant will help empower small farms with sustainable practices

Penn State College of Medicine researchers’ findings are among the latest evidence suggesting that people diagnosed with COVID-19 may experience a range of health issues in the time period following their illness. Credit: Getty Images | Tempura . All Rights Reserved.

COVID-19 survivors may have higher risk of developing diabetes

To learn more about chocolate and its effects on us, we spoke with Joshua Lambert, professor of food science at Penn State. Lambert’s research focuses on diet, specifically adopting dietary practices to prevent cancer, obesity and inflammation. He has worked extensively with cocoa, the key ingredient in chocolate. Credit: Marco Verch/Creative Commons. All Rights Reserved.

Q&A: Is chocolate healthy?

Do wood and pellet stoves really save people money on energy bills?

The Last of Us depicts a parasitic fungus evolving to control humans. Could a fungal pandemic happen in real life?

Researchers have worked out the mechanism of transcription pausing in some bacteria by determining the structures of RNA polymerase in a complex with a DNA template, an RNA product, and a protein factor using cryo-electron microscopy (cryo-EM). The nucleotide addition cycle of bacterial RNA polymerase (RNAP) is depicted by cartoon models of template DNA (tDNA, green), RNA (red), trigger loop (TL, magenta), bridge helix (BH, blue), incoming NTP (red) and Mg2+ (yellow spheres) together with the conformational changes of RNAP (swiveling, folding Trigger loop) associated with each step of the nucleotide addition cycle. NusG and non-template DNA (ntDNA, light green) interaction (center panel) inhibits the RNAP swiveling, the Trigger loop folding allosterically thus pauses RNA synthesis. Credit: Murakami Laboratory / Penn State. Creative Commons

DNA stuck in the gears of the RNA production machine

No need for checking: Smart diapers will let you know when babies need changing

Scientists Have Created A Smart Diaper That Sends Mobile Alerts To Parents When Their Baby Needs to Changing

Penn State College of Medicine researchers confirmed exercise can lead to meaningful reductions in liver fat for patients with nonalcoholic fatty liver disease. Credit: Getty Images | filadendron. All Rights Reserved.

150 minutes of aerobic exercise per week reduces liver fat, study finds

Six new Penn State researchers have become cofunded faculty members of the Institutes of Energy and the Environment. Credit: Brenna Buck. All Rights Reserved.

Six faculty members join the Institutes of Energy and the Environment

Through innovative research and a student-centered approach to interdisciplinary education, the College of Information Sciences and Technology aims to deliver on the college's founding mission of preparing leaders for the Information Age.  Credit: Penn State / Penn State. Creative Commons

Information Sciences and Technology faculty, staff recognized with annual awards

Researchers Developed A "Smart Diaper" That Sends Notifications To Parents’ Phones

A new AI-based tool from Penn State researchers is designed to help improve access to health care for pregnant and neonatal mothers. Credit: Jjumba Martin. All Rights Reserved.

New AI tool helps provide better care to pregnant women in Kenya

Raymond Hohl, director of the Penn State Cancer Institute, listens as Abigail Haworth, a graduate student from the University Park campus, describes her research poster, titled, "Real-time Multimodal Imaging for Cancer Diagnostics." Credit: Penn State College of Medicine / Penn State. Creative Commons

2022 Penn State Cancer Research Day: An event for trainees, by trainees

No more crying babies! Scientists develop a smart NAPPY that sends an alert to your smartphone when it needs changing

A Penn State-led research team integrated four humidity sensors between the absorbent layers of a diaper to create a “smart diaper,” capable of detecting wetness and alerting for a change. Credit: Huanyu “Larry” Cheng/Penn State / Penn State. Creative Commons

New sensor enables 'smart diapers,' range of other health monitors

The February episode of the "Growing Impact" podcast features a seed grant project that is focused on turning agricultural and municipal wastes into bioproducts, primarily low-carbon biofuels. Credit: Brenna Buck. All Rights Reserved.

'Growing Impact' podcast discusses making fuels from waste

Penn State study shows many causes of Honey bee colony loss

Bears May Rub Against Trees for Protection From Parasites

On the first Friday of February, many Americans wear red to kick off American Heart Month and bring attention to the prevalence of heart disease — the leading cause of death in the United States. Penn State statistician Xiang Zhu works with international collaborations to study the genetics of heart disease in as diverse a sample as possible to improve our understanding of disease risk and ultimately to improve heart health for everyone. Credit: U.S. Department of Health & Human Services. All Rights Reserved.

Improving heart health by diversifying genetic data

Penn State alumnus Herman Pontzer, associate professor of evolutionary anthropology at Duke University, will deliver Penn State's 2023 Darwin Day lecture on Feb. 22. Credit: Courtesty of Herman Pontzer. All Rights Reserved.

'Burn' author Herman Pontzer to deliver 2023 Darwin Day Lecture

Rashonda Harris Credit: Rashonda Harris. All Rights Reserved.

Rashonda Harris to become the next assistant vice president for Research