Neuroscience News | Neuroscience | The Huck Institutes (en-US)

Aug 19, 2025

Eberly College introduces Science Matters: Spotlight Sessions outreach events

The Penn State Eberly College of Science is introducing a new series of outreach events — titled Science Matters: Spotlight Sessions — to provide a unique opportunity for the community to engage directly with the brilliant minds working on the front lines of discovery to create positive, real-world impact.

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Aug 05, 2025

Huck names new associate director for graduate education

Penn State Professor of Anthropology David Puts has been named the associate director for graduate education at the Huck Institutes of the Life Sciences.

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Aug 01, 2025

HGSAC co-chairs recognized for symposium success

The outgoing co-chairs of the Huck Graduate Student Advisory Committee, the body representing graduate students in the six Huck-run degree programs, were recognized for their service at a recent meeting of the Huck Executive Committee.

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Researchers developed a proof-of-concept device capable of detecting a biomarker implicated in endometriosis with unprecedented sensitivity from menstrual blood. The device is similar to a pregnancy test, showing two lines if the biomarker is detected in the sample. Credit: Provided by Dipanjan Pan / Penn State. Creative Commons

Jul 23, 2025

Next-gen tech can detect disease biomarker in period blood

Proof-of-concept, at-home device can detect biomarker for endometriosis — a debilitating uterine disease — in 10 minutes; advancement makes early detection easier, more accessible, researchers say.

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Nanyin Zhang, the Dorothy Foehr Huck and J. Lloyd Chair in Brain Imaging and professor of biomedical engineering, of electrical engineering and of engineering science and mechanics; Patrick Drew, professor of engineering science and mechanics, of biomedical engineering, of neurosurgery and of biology; and Nikki Crowley, associate professor of biology and of biomedical engineering, Huck Early Career Chair in Neurobiology and Neural Engineering and director of the Penn State Neuroscience Institute at University Park, received a three-year, $1.2 million grant from the W.M. Keck Foundation to gain insight into the purpose of dreams. Credit: Keith Hickey/Penn State. All Rights Reserved.

Jul 17, 2025

When dreams turn dark: Neuroscientists to study nightmares and mental health

Dreams, and likely nightmares, are experienced universally across humans and animals, but neuroscientists still do not know why. Now, with a three-year, $1.2 million grant from the W.M. Keck Foundation, an interdisciplinary team of researchers at Penn State will study the underlying mechanisms of nightmares and their relationship with anxiety-related mental health disorders, such as post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD).

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Credit: Keith Hickey / Penn State. Creative Commons

Jul 16, 2025

Optical tweezers help elevate single-molecule research at Penn State

The instrument, supported by a new NIH infrastructure grant, uses laser light to ‘tweeze’ tiny objects like DNA molecules and proteins.

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Graduate student Chad Smies and postdoctoral scholar Jiyeon “Joan” Baek manipulate a solution that will be used to visualize protein expression in the mouse brain. Credit: Michelle Bixby / Penn State. Creative Commons

Jul 14, 2025

The breadth of the brain

Researchers in the Penn State Neuroscience Institute study the brain’s many aspects in a variety of ways, with implications from mental health to aging and disease.

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A flexible, skin-like sensor can monitor movement and electrical signals inside the body, with the potential to aid healing and bladder control. Credit: Huanyu “Larry” Cheng and Jennifer M. McCann. All Rights Reserved.

Jul 10, 2025

Skin-like sensor monitors internal, external body movement, electrical signals

A new skin-like sensor developed by an international team led by researchers at Penn State could help doctors monitor vital signs more accurately, track healing after surgery and even help patients with bladder control issues.

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

Jul 08, 2025

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.

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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.

Jul 07, 2025

‘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.

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