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June 09, 2021

Is COVID-19 herd immunity possible in Pa.? Q&A on vaccine rate, positive tests, more

June 07, 2021

How virus detectives trace the origins of an outbreak – and why it’s so tricky
A desert locust eats foliage in Samburu County in northeastern Kenya. IMAGE: FOOD AND AGRICULTURE ORGANIZATION OF THE UNITED NATIONS

June 05, 2021

PlantVillage team lauded for projects to protect food supply amid COVID, locusts

June 04, 2021

Scientists evolve a fungus to battle deadly honey bee parasite
A scanning electron microscope image showing SARS-CoV-2 (round gold objects), the virus that causes COVID-19, emerging from the surface of cells cultured in the lab. New research suggests that the experimental drug TEMPOL may be a promising oral antiviral treatment for COVID-19. The virus shown was isolated from a patient in the United States. The image was captured and colorized at NIAID's Rocky Mountain Laboratories in Hamilton, Montana. IMAGE: NATIONAL INSTITUTE OF ALLERGY AND INFECTIOUS DISEASES

June 03, 2021

A potential new antiviral drug for COVID-19
An international team of researchers has been awarded $4 million to identify naturally heat-tolerant corals. Project lead Christian Voolstra and a colleague collect samples underwater at Ducie Island, one of the world's most remote reefs in the world. IMAGE: PETE WEST

June 03, 2021

Penn State biologist and colleagues receive $4M to identify heat-tolerant corals
life sciences symposium anouncement

June 02, 2021

Huck Grad Students Hold Virtual Life Sciences Symposium

June 02, 2021

How to stay safe from 5 common but dangerous bugs this summer
In human brains, as global brain activity (blue) occurs, the arrows point to cerebral spinal fluid moving (orange and red). In these functional MRI images, the left brain demonstrates a weaker coupling, indicating Alzheimer's disease. A healthy coupling appears in the right images. IMAGE: XIAO LIU/PENN STATE

June 01, 2021

Coupled brain activity, cerebrospinal fluid flow could indicate Alzheimer's risk
The researchers discovered that a location on canine parvovirus (CPV) where dog antibodies bind — called an antibody binding site — overlaps with a location on CPV where the virus attaches to cells — called a receptor binding site — in a fashion that is similar to SARS CoV-2 and influenza viruses. As a result, when antibodies attach to this antibody binding site on the virus, they prevent the virus from then attaching to and infecting cells. The image shows an antibody attached to CPV. IMAGE: PENN STATE

June 01, 2021

New images of canine parvovirus may help predict how virus jumps to new species
Reef-building corals, such as elkhorn coral (Acropora palmata), staghorn coral (Acropora cervicornis), and their hybrid, all pictured here, co-evolve with the microscopic algae that live within their cells, according to a new study by Penn State biologists. IMAGE: LISA CARNE, FRAGMENTS OF HOPE BELIZE

May 27, 2021

Reef-building corals and microscopic algae within their cells evolve together

May 25, 2021

COVID-19 model consensus: Quiet summer, uncertain fall
Data 4 Action (D4A) Penn State student research assistants process blood samples so they will be ready for serology testing to detect the presence of antibodies to COVID-19. IMAGE: DAN LESHER/PENN STATE

May 24, 2021

Data 4 Action enriches student experience while documenting pandemic
A community of Pocillopora corals on a reef in Palau with light micrograph insets of Cladocopium pacificum nov. (left) and Cladocopium latusorum sp. nov. (right), two dinoflagellate symbionts critical to these coral animals' health and growth. IMAGE: CORAL PHOTO, TOM BRIDGE, JAMES COOK UNIVERSITY; ALGAE PHOTOS, KIRA TURNHAM, PENN STATE

May 24, 2021

Widespread coral-algae symbioses endured historical climate changes
Results from a late March 2020 survey conducted by Penn State College of Medicine researchers may be useful for refining health messaging approaches during COVID-19 resurgences and in planning for future pandemics. IMAGE: GETTY IMAGES | VALENTINRUSSANOV

May 18, 2021

Sufficient knowledge but sense of information overload evident early in pandemic
Current projects in the new facility are focused on retrieving ancient DNA — the code inside all living things — to understand how humans, animals and the environment have changed through time.

May 17, 2021

Photo Gallery: A New Home for Ancient DNA

May 17, 2021

New CDC Guidelines Say You Don’t Have to Wear a Mask When Riding Outdoors

May 17, 2021

As Brood X cicadas emerge, Northeast Pa. awaits their arrival

May 17, 2021

Why Aren't There Mammals in Super Vivid Colors Like There Are Birds and Bugs?
Mother fence lizards that experience stress during pregnancy give birth to male offspring with shortened telomeres, which is associated with shortened life spans, according to new research. IMAGE: TRACY LANGKILDE, PENN STATE

May 14, 2021

Maternal stress during pregnancy may shorten lifespans of male lizard offspring

May 13, 2021

So Far, Vaccines Remain Effective Against Variants
New research modeling the plant cell wall reveals that chains of cellulose bundle together within the cell wall and slide against each other when the cell is stretched, providing a unique combination of strength and extensibility. The image shows the cell wall model as it is stretched, including its primary components cellulose (purple), xyloglucan (green), and pectin (yellow). IMAGE: COSGROVE LAB, PENN STATE

May 13, 2021

What makes plant cell walls both strong and extensible?
A Penn State-led team of scientists has developed a diagnostic test for early detection of citrus greening, a disease that causes green, misshapen and bitter citrus fruit — making it unmarketable and threatening the $3.35 billion U.S. citrus industry. IMAGE: DAVID BARTELS, USDA ANIMAL AND PLANT HEALTH INSPECTION SERVICE

May 10, 2021

CRISPR/Cas technology could enable early diagnosis of devastating citrus disease

May 08, 2021

Will My Sense Of Smell Ever Return? Olfactory Insights From COVID And Beyond