News

Vector-borne diseases shaped human history and reveal race disparities

Vector-borne diseases (VBDs), such as plague, malaria and yellow fever, have significantly shaped society and culture, according to an international team of researchers. In a study published in Ecology Letters on Jan. 27, the team used historical evidence interpreted through an ecological lens to illustrate how VBDs have influenced human history, with particular attention to how VBDs have reinforced and exacerbated racism.

Vaccines against 10 diseases prevented 37 million deaths in last 20 years

Vaccine programs in low- and middle-income countries have prevented 37 million deaths in the last 20 years – 36 million of which have been in children under age five. These are the findings, published Jan. 28 in The Lancet, of the most comprehensive study of the impact of vaccination programs ever undertaken.

Two members of Eberly College honored for extraordinary efforts during pandemic

Matthew Ferrari, Huck Career Development Professor and Associate Professor of Biology, was one of two people honored with Dean’s Special Awards for their efforts to support the Eberly College of Science and the University in response to COVID-19.

Grozinger receives National Academy's Prize in Food and Agriculture Sciences

Christina Grozinger, Publius Vergilius Maro Professor of Entomology in Penn State's College of Agricultural Sciences, will be honored by the National Academy of Sciences for helping the world understand how to address the crisis of global declines in pollinator populations.

Penn State researchers co-author book teaching 'Skills to Obstruct Pandemics'

A team led by Penn State faculty and students, along with expert collaborators, has co-authored a guide that teaches the essential knowledge and skills to help interrupt the transmission of COVID-19 and other infections.

'Anti-antibiotic' allows for use of antibiotics without driving resistance

An inexpensive, FDA-approved drug — cholestyramine — taken in conjunction with an antibiotic prevents the antibiotic from driving antimicrobial resistance, according to new research by scientists at Penn State and the University of Michigan. The team’s findings appear today (Dec. 1) in the journal eLife.

Penn State COVID experts urge students to consider avoiding family gatherings

A pair of University experts, speaking for the clinical and research arms of Penn State's COVID-19 response, have called for caution as students prepare to return home at the end of the semester.

Could SARS-CoV-2 evolve resistance to COVID-19 vaccines?

Similar to bacteria evolving resistance to antibiotics, viruses can evolve resistance to vaccines, and the evolution of SARS-CoV-2 could undermine the effectiveness of vaccines that are currently under development, according to a paper published Nov. 9 in the open-access journal PLOS Biology by David Kennedy and Andrew Read from Penn State.

Penn State researcher part of project to develop novel COVID-19 vaccine

A researcher in Penn State's College of Agricultural Sciences is part of a team of scientists working to develop a unique COVID-19 vaccine that uses a bovine adenovirus as a safe and effective delivery vehicle.

Bacteria virus combo may be cause of neonatal brain infections in Uganda

A newly identified bacteria and a common virus may be the underlying cause of infection-induced hydrocephalus in Uganda, according to an international team of researchers.