News
Jun 30, 2013
Infectious disease research gets a boost from websites, blogs, and social media
While public health officials around the world are on alert about the pandemic potential of new disease threats, a team that includes Penn State University biologist Marcel Salathe is developing innovative new systems and techniques to track the spread of infectious diseases, with the help of news websites, blogs, and social media.
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Jun 02, 2013
David Hughes consulted in production of post-apocalyptic video game "The Last of Us"
Sony and video game developer Naughty Dog have consulted Huck Institutes affiliate David Hughes in making their new PlayStation game "The Last of Us," set in a post-apocalyptic world brought on by a Cordyceps-type fungus pandemic.
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May 21, 2013
Mosquito behavior may be immune response, not parasite manipulation
What appears to be parasite manipulation may simply be part of malaria-carrying mosquitoes' immune response, according to a group of Penn State entomologists including Huck Institutes affiliates Lauren Cator, Simon Blanford, Courtney Murdock, Tom Baker, Andrew Read, and Matt Thomas.
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May 21, 2013
Getting to the bottom of the zombie ant phenomenon
While unraveling a dramatic case of mind control, Huck Institutes affiliate David Hughes is taking calls from Hollywood and gaining new insights into the role behavior plays in spreading disease.
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Mar 26, 2013
Declaring a truce with our microbiological frienemies
Research by Huck Institutes affiliate Eric Harvill suggests that managing bacteria and other microorganisms in the body, rather than just fighting them, may be lead to better health and a stronger immune system.
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Mar 13, 2013
Penn State open online course "infects" learners, causing a "virtual pandemic"
In a free new online course, "Epidemics: the Dynamics of Infectious Diseases," offered by the Eberly College of Science at Penn State, students and members of the public will learn about how infectious diseases spread by playing a real-time epidemic game " a "virtual apocalypse," which instructors will run in parallel with the more traditional lessons.
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Feb 17, 2013
Microbes team up to boost plants' stress tolerance
While most farmers consider viruses and fungi potential threats to their crops, these microbes can help wild plants adapt to extreme conditions, according to Marilyn Roossinck.
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Feb 17, 2013
Wild plants are infected with many viruses and still thrive
Researchers have studied viruses as agents of disease in humans, domestic animals, and plants, but a study of plant viruses in the wild may point to a more cooperative, benevolent role of the microbe, according to Marilyn Roossinck.
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Feb 06, 2013
Social media abuzz about how to breed super queen bees
While honey bee populations dwindle across the globe, Christina Grozinger and other Penn State researchers aim to use communication technologies to spread revolutionary beekeeping techniques that will help offset the effects of Colony Collapse Disorder (CCD).
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Jan 20, 2013
Nine Huck Institutes faculty members featured in Discovery U videos
Peter Hudson, Scott Selleck, David Hughes, Melissa Rolls, Paula Droege, Tracy Langkilde, Phil Bevilacqua, Stephen Schaeffer, and Robert Paulson talk about research that's driving scientific discovery at Penn State.
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