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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.

Jul 10, 2025

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.

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Anton Bankevich and Yana Safonova, two assistant professors of computer science at Penn State, helped develop a specialized algorithm to analyze and verify complex genome sequences. Credit: Caleb Craig/Penn State. All Rights Reserved.

Jun 12, 2025

Understanding us: Researchers apply algorithm to decode complex genome sequences

Two assistant professors of computer science at Penn State helped develop a specialized algorithm to analyze and verify complex genome sequences.

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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.

Jun 11, 2025

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.

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Jun 09, 2025

Two Penn State doctoral students selected for industry internship in Germany

The One Health Microbiome Center (OHMC) in the Huck Institutes of the Life Sciences at Penn State is sending two doctoral students to Hilden, Germany, for a seven-week industry internship at the headquarters of QIAGEN, a global leader in biotechnology for life sciences diagnostics, equipment and research.

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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

May 29, 2025

Resetting the fight-or-flight response

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

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New research predicts the location of DNA sequences that can form structures besides the canonical double helix — non-B DNA — in the recently released telomere-to-telomere genomes of the great apes, finding that non-B DNA is enriched in newly deciphered genomic regions, including telomeres and centromeres. Image shows evolutionary relationships among the great apes, left from top to bottom, including chimpanzee, bonobo, human, gorilla and two orangutan species and illustrations of representative chromosomes, right, with canonical helical and non-B DNA. Credit: Dani Zemba and Makova Laboratory / Penn State. Creative Commons

Apr 24, 2025

Beyond the double helix: Alternative DNA conformations in ape genomes

Researchers used recently published telomere-to-telomere genomes of humans, chimpanzee, bonobo, gorilla and two orangutans to predict locations of DNA sequences that can form other structures besides the double helix.

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Credit: bergamont/Getty Images. All Rights Reserved.

Apr 23, 2025

How do you like them apples? Apple genus evolution revealed

A new comparison and analysis of the genomes of species in the genus Malus, which includes the domesticated apple and its wild relatives, revealed the evolutionary relationships among the species and how their genomes have evolved over the past nearly 60 million years.

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Movement of Zika virus through a tunneling nanotube formed between two cells. An imaging technique called immunofluorescence assay shows the co-localization of viral structural proteins, the capsid protein in red and envelope protein in green, indicative of virus particles in the tunneling nanotube. Credit: Provided by the Jose Lab / Penn State. Creative Commons

Mar 17, 2025

Tunnel-building virus: How Zika transmits from mother to fetus

A team of researchers from Penn State and Baylor College of Medicine found that the Zika virus builds tiny tunnels, called tunneling nanotubes, to stealthily transport material needed to infect nearby cells, including in placental cells.

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