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Researchers reconstructed a high-resolution 3D image of a tick-borne Powassan virus. Credit: Courtesy of the Hafenstein lab at the University of Minnesota. All Rights Reserved.

Structure of tick-borne virus revealed at atomic resolution for the first time

Rates of the Powassan virus infections — which can cause seizures and paralysis — are increasing across commonwealth, nation.

Study first author Maureen Kahiu, who earned her master’s degree from Penn State with this research project, maneuvers a light box on a research fairway, used to take closeup photos of turfgrass damage resulting from fungicides that golf course managers use to suppress diseases such as dollar spot. Credit: Penn State. Creative Commons

Fungicides intended to suppress turfgrass diseases may damage fairways

Golf course managers have much more insight into which fungicides to use to suppress turfgrass diseases, such as the common and costly dollar spot disease, without damaging the grass on their fairways, thanks to a new study by researchers at Penn State.

Postdoctoral fellow Laurel Seemiller studies the biology and long-term consequences of adolescent alcohol usage.  Credit: Michelle Bixby / Penn State. Creative Commons

Q&A: Does adolescent alcohol use impact future risk of addiction?

Postdoctoral fellow Laurel Seemiller studies the biology and long-term consequences of adolescent alcohol usage. In this Q&A, Seemiller spoke about her research and her experience at Penn State.

Jason Keagy, assistant research professor of wildlife behavioral ecology, is shown on the bank of an Icelandic lake holding a fish trap during a collection of threespined sticklebacks in a previous study.  Credit: Janette Boughman. All Rights Reserved.

‘Scialog’ grant to study how rising ocean temperatures affect fish behavior

A wildlife behavioral ecologist at Penn State is part of a multi-institution team that received funding from Scialog: Neurobiology and Changing Ecosystems, a international three-year initiative that aims to spark new science exploring neurobiological responses to rapidly changing environments.

The arc of health frameworks grew over time from one that siloed human, agricultural and environmental ecosystems from each other to a One Health structure that focused on pathogen spillovers shaping the risk of disease across ecosystems. An expanded vision of One Health microbiome sciences from Penn State incorporates the ecology of all microbes. It emphasizes that the flow of both disease-causing and health-promoting microbes links humans, environment and agriculture together to shape the sustainability of ecosystem wellness and resilience. This One Health framework intentionally unifies the microbiome sciences to advance core disciplinary theories and principles with cross-system validation and comparative studies, according to the researchers. Credit: Provided by the researchers. All Rights Reserved.

Q&A: Unifying the microbiome sciences for global health and sustainability

Recently, members of Penn State's One Health Microbiome Center published an article in the American Society for Microbiology’s flagship journal, mBio. In this Q&A, a few of the paper’s authors discussed how the center is leading the charge to breakdown traditional disciplinary silos and expand the One Health focus to include more than just pathogenic microbial threats.

With a research portfolio encompassing biosensors, synthetic blood, advanced imaging and more, Dipanjan Pan aims to continuously innovate across disciplines. Credit: Penn State. Creative Commons

Huck Chair in Nanomedicine plans to take research from bench to bedside

As biomedical challenges grow more complex, Penn State’s Dipanjan Pan is pioneering a multifaceted approach to nanomedicine that spans basic research, clinical translation and entrepreneurial deployment.

Nikki Crowley, left, principal investigator and director of the Penn State Neuroscience Institute at University Park, Huck Early Career Chair in Neurobiology and Neural Engineering and assistant professor of biology and of biomedical engineering, and collaborator, Nanyin Zhang, right, Dorothy Foehr Huck and J. Lloyd Huck Chair in Brain Imaging and professor of biomedical engineering, along with other team members, will use a new five-year, $2.9 million grant from the National Institutes of Health to investigate the long-term effects of excess alcohol drinking during adolescence. Credit: Keith Hickey/Huck Institutes. All Rights Reserved.

$2.9M grant funds study on long-term effects adolescent binge drinking

An interdisciplinary team of researchers at Penn State will use a new five-year, $2,900,000 grant to investigate the long-term effects of excess alcohol drinking during adolescence.

The activation of Protein Kinase A (PKA) is a critical part in how the body responds to stress and starvation. Using a variety of imaging and biochemical techniques, a team of researchers from Penn State has revealed how the metabolic cycle that activates PKA resets itself between stressful events. Credit: Varun Venkatakrishnan/Anand Lab / Penn State. Creative Commons

Resetting the fight-or-flight response

New study reveals mechanism responsible for resetting key molecular cycle involved in response to stress and starvation.

This fossil leaf of a Kapur Paya tree (Dryobalanops rappa) from Brunei is the first fossil record of an endangered tropical tree species. Credit: Wang/Wilf. All Rights Reserved.

First fossil evidence of endangered tropical tree discovered

The finding offers new insights into Asia’s rainforest history, researchers say.

The lightweight and flexible electrode, which looks like a strand of hair, attaches directly to the scalp and delivers stable, high-quality recordings of the brain’s signals. Credit: Courtesy of the Zhou Lab / Penn State. Creative Commons

The future of brain activity monitoring may look like a strand of hair

A new hairlike electrode makes long-term, high-quality EEG monitoring less cumbersome and inconspicuous.