News | The Huck Institutes (en-US)

New research helps explain why disease-associated genetic variants can lead to variable clinical outcomes, influenced both by the patterns of secondary variants, or genetic background, and by how cohorts of individuals in a study are ascertained. In a family, shown on left, secondary variants can influence the severity of clinical outcomes, which is indicated by intensity of blue shading, or which features are present between a parent and a child that both carry the primary variant. However, this relationship between secondary and primary variants is different if the primary variant was discovered in a biobank that includes mostly healthy individuals, in the middle, or people identified for a shared clinical feature, on right. Credit: Corrine Smolen/Girirajan Laboratory / Penn State. Creative Commons

Oct 07, 2025

Background genetic variants influence clinical features in complex disorders

New study reveals how the complex interplay of genetic background can lead to different clinical presentations in individuals that share a primary genetic variant.

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Morels, like this yellow or common morel, Morchella esculentoides, were one of the two most often collected wild mushroom species by respondents to the researchers' survey, with 13% reporting that they harvest them. Credit: Penn State. Creative Commons

Oct 07, 2025

Wild mushrooms harvesters in Mid-Atlantic region collect fungi, build community

Researchers see the emergence of ‘digital mycology community,’ as mushroom foragers seek guidance and band together into groups online to further their knowledge.

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Wenrui Hao, professor of mathematics, was named director of the Center for Mathematical Biology. Credit: Penn State. Creative Commons

Oct 06, 2025

Center for Mathematical Biology appoints new director

Wenrui Hao, professor of mathematics in the Penn State Eberly College of Science and 2025-26 Huck Leadership Fellow, has been named the new director for the Center for Mathematical Biology in the Huck Institutes of the Life Sciences.

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Oct 06, 2025

Core facilities open house welcomes new researchers

More than 120 researchers attended the first-ever Huck Core Facilities Open House last month, which featured informational posters, opportunities to talk with facilities staff, and even some interactive demonstrations.

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Oct 06, 2025

Penn State Center for Human Evolution and Diversity requests proposals for 2025-26 seed grants

The Penn State Center for Human Evolution and Diversity (CHED) is accepting seed grant proposals for the 2025–26 academic year to be submitted by Oct. 22.

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Charlene Shupp Espenshade, executive director of the Pennsylvania Friends of Agriculture Foundation, prepares to sample microgreens cultivated at Penn State’s College of Agricultural Sciences during the college’s recent Legislative Research Tour. She is joined by graduate students Auja Bywater and Rishi Ravichandran. Credit: Sean Duke / Penn State. Creative Commons

Oct 02, 2025

College of Ag Sciences research tour explores connection between food, health

Government and industry stakeholders got a literal taste of the future of agriculture by sampling hydroponically grown greens at one of several presentations during the Penn State College of Agricultural Sciences’ annual Legislative Research Tour, held Sept. 25 at the University Park campus.

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The International Union for Conservation of Nature is formally including all microbial life in its framework by establishing a Microbial Conservation Specialist Group (MCSG), that includes Penn State biologist Seth Bordenstein. Credit: CDC/Unsplash. All Rights Reserved.

Oct 01, 2025

New microorganism survival commission aims to fill critical conservation gap

Global group to examine potential extinction of microbes essential to planetary and human health.

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Oct 01, 2025

Penn State and Ghanaian researchers to host symposium, launch seed grant

The Penn State & Ghana Symposium: The Power of Partnership will take place from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. on Oct. 15 at the Millennium Science Complex, University Park. The symposium will feature short faculty talks highlighting existing Penn State-Ghana partnerships and opportunities for new collaborations. The event is free and open to the Penn State community.

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Researchers analyzed the genetic composition of 46 mammals, including lions, lemurs and porcupines, illustrated here. Credit: Provided by Yana Safanova . All Rights Reserved.

Sep 29, 2025

Population bottlenecks cause decline of mammals’ immunity, researchers find

Population bottlenecks caused by stark population loss due to illness or habitat destruction caused mammals’ disease immunity to decline, according to a new study led by computational biologists in the Penn State School of Electrical Engineering and Computer Science.

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The team found that a number of populations of Xanthomonas and Pseudomonas bacteria were present on the plants that had developed a resistance against bacterial speck, suggesting they play a role in suppressing the disease. Credit: Dan Gol/Unsplash. All Rights Reserved.

Sep 29, 2025

New clues in how plant microbiomes protect against bacterial speck disease

Bacterial speck is a common disease affecting tomatoes that can result in lower yields for growers. A new study led by researchers at Penn State gives new clues on how a plant’s microbiome can be used to combat the pathogen.

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