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April 24, 2025

A New Jersey wildfire tore through thousands of acres—right after the state cut back on prescribed burns
The National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine recently appointed Christina Grozinger, Publius Vergilius Maro Professor of Entomology and director of the Huck Institutes of the Life Sciences at Penn State, to an 18-member study committee to examine the status of insects in North America. Credit: Christina Grozinger / Penn State. Creative Commons

April 24, 2025

Grozinger appointed to National Academies committee on insect declines
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

April 24, 2025

Beyond the double helix: Alternative DNA conformations in ape genomes

April 23, 2025

Forget "mood" rings, this invention just identified human emotions with nearly 90% accuracy

April 23, 2025

Is Your Air Actually Safe? 50 Million Americans Live in ‘Monitoring Deserts’

April 23, 2025

Clues from apple genes could sweeten the future of fruit

April 23, 2025

Alison Gernand, Penn State University – Vitamin D Matters During the First Trimester of Pregnancy

April 23, 2025

Your Insomnia Pills Could Be Increasing Your Risk of Disability

April 22, 2025

This sticker reads emotions (even the ones you try to hide)

April 22, 2025

Special Report: Earth's warming affecting Americans from coast to coast
Credit: bergamont/Getty Images. All Rights Reserved.

April 22, 2025

How do you like them apples? Apple genus evolution revealed
A team led by scientists at Penn State has created a stretchable, rechargeable sticker that can detect real emotions — by measuring things like skin temperature and heart rate — even when users put on a brave face. Credit: Courtesy Yangbo Yuan / Penn State. Creative Commons

April 21, 2025

High-tech sticker can identify real human emotions
Nelson Roque (left) and Alexis Santos (right) found that 58% of counties in the United States have no air-quality monitoring. Credit: Dennis Maney / Penn State. Creative Commons

April 21, 2025

How safe is the air to breathe? 50 million people in the US don't know

April 21, 2025

Experts warn against a popular remedy for insomnia — it may increase risk of disability
Focus on sanitation and clean water may improve control of endemic cholera

April 18, 2025

Focus on sanitation and clean water may improve control of endemic cholera
Increases in insomnia were followed by increased risk of movement and self-care disabilities, according to a new study by researchers in the Penn State College of Health and Human Development. Credit: Filmstax/Getty Images. All Rights Reserved.

April 17, 2025

Insomnia and sleep medication use connected to disability in older adults
Life Sciences Bridge in Springtime

April 16, 2025

Bridge funding available to address unexpected short-term gaps

April 16, 2025

To save our trees, we must burn down our forests
A new study used modern methods to reassess a foundational study in biology that explained how ecologically similar species of wood warblers coexist. The research team examined foraging behavior, physical characteristics, diet and evolutionary history of 13 warbler species, including the black-throated green warbler (Setophaga virens) pictured here, and found that how these songbirds coexist is more nuanced than originally proposed. Credit: Ronnie d'Entremont. All Rights Reserved.

April 16, 2025

Foraging on the wing: How can ecologically similar birds live together?
The study found that increased salt content in tomato plants reduces fruitworm caterpillar feeding and limits the number of eggs that moths lay on these plants. Credit: Sahil Pawar. All Rights Reserved.

April 15, 2025

Feeling salty? Increased salt stress reduces tomato pest activity
The four Penn State Goldwater Scholars are, clockwise from top left, Luc Schrauf, Elisabeth Groff, Zach Badinger and Megan von Abo. Credit: Provided. All Rights Reserved.

April 15, 2025

Four Penn State undergraduates earn Goldwater Scholarships
Five new research collaborations between Penn State and minority-serving institutions selected to receive seed funding via the Inter-Institutional Partnerships for Diversifying Research program

April 15, 2025

Immune system proteins involved in severe parasitic disease identified
Huck Director Christina Grozinger

April 14, 2025

Grozinger appointed to National Academies committee to study insect declines in North America

April 10, 2025

Penn State experts weigh in on measles outbreak, vaccines