News

Microbiome Center to host ‘Changing Microbiomes’ symposium in early June

The inaugural Penn State microbiome symposium, titled “Changing Microbiomes Symposium,” will be held from May 31 to June 3, 2022, at the Mountain View Country Club at the Wyndham Garden Inn, 310 Elks Club Road, Boalsburg, Pennsylvania.

Alliance between College of Ag Sciences, University of Pretoria yields benefits

​Developing solutions to address threats to plant health is the centerpiece of a partnership between Penn State’s College of Agricultural Sciences and the University of Pretoria in South Africa. The partnership is designed to increase both organizations’ research, teaching and extension impact and growth opportunities, thereby increasing food security and environmental stewardship.

Huck Students Receive Alumni Awards

Two Huck IGDP students have been recognized as part of the 2021-22 Graduate School Alumni Association faculty and student awards in the Life & Health Sciences section.

How grasses like wheat can grow in the cold

A new, large-scale analysis of the relationships among members of the largest subfamily of grasses, which includes wheat and barley, reveals gene-duplication events that contributed to the adaptation of the plants to cooler temperatures.

Two graduate students in Penn State’s Department of Animal Science, Sophia Kenney, left, and Emily Van Syoc, center, have received recognition for their research. They are shown with Erika Ganda, assistant professor of food animal microbiomes. Credit: Contributed photo. All Rights Reserved.

Students in Department of Animal Science receive accolades for research

There are many opportunities to participate in undergraduate- and graduate-level research in Penn State’s College of Agricultural Sciences. Graduate students Emily Van Syoc and Sophia Kenney are among those reaping the numerous benefits.

A new molecular family tree of grasses

The evolutionary relationships among grasses — including important crop plants like wheat, rice, corn, and sugarcane — have been clarified in a new molecular study of the grass family tree. Having a clear picture of the relationships among the grasses can help understanding of how important crop traits like seed size or disease resistance evolves and eventually could inform manipulation of these traits to increase crop yields.

A dysfunctional safety lamp in Centralia, Pennsylvania, which was the site of a Buck Mountain anthracite vein fire in 1962 that continues to burn to this day. Credit: Pep Avilés, Laia Celma, and Cynthia White / Penn State. Creative Commons

New exhibition to examine the impact of extraction economies on climate change

A new exhibition examining the long-term spatial and ecological consequences of extraction economies and their impact on climate change will run 1/31–3/4 in the Penn State Stuckeman School’s Rouse Gallery as part of its Lecture and Exhibit Series.

Deer may be reservoir for SARS-CoV-2, study finds

The findings of a study by Penn State and Iowa researchers suggest that white-tailed deer may be a reservoir for the SARS-CoV-2 virus to continually circulate, and raises concerns of emergence of new strains that may prove a threat to wildlife and, possibly, to humans.

Pioneering Penn State virologist Marilyn Roossinck retires

After a fascinating and productive scientific career, Penn State professor Marilyn Roossinck, a trailblazing researcher in virology, has announced her decision to retire.

Vasant Honavar named Huck Chair in Biomedical Data Sciences and AI

Vasant Honavar, professor in the College of Information Sciences and Technology, has been named the Dorothy Foehr Huck and J. Lloyd Huck Chair in Biomedical Data Sciences and Artificial Intelligence by the University’s Huck Institutes of the Life Sciences.