News
Jun 23, 2023
Extinct warbler’s genome sequenced from museum specimens
The Bachman’s warbler, a songbird that was last seen in North America nearly 40 years ago, was a distinct species and not a hybrid of its two living sister species, according a new study in which the full genomes of seven museum specimens of the bird were sequenced.
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Jun 20, 2023
Penn State researchers develop digital test to directly measure HIV viral load
A milliliter of blood contains about 15 individual drops. For a person with human immunodeficiency virus (HIV), each drop of blood could contain anywhere from fewer than 20 copies of the virus to more than 500,000 copies.
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Jun 20, 2023
Penn State researchers discover one-of-a-kind fish is local to lower Susquehanna
In an attempt to rescue a rare darter in the lower Susquehanna River, a Penn State research team, working with the Pennsylvania Fish and Boat Commission, has determined that the fish is a distinct subspecies found nowhere else.
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Jun 15, 2023
Animal scientist receives USDA grant to study reproductive dysfunction in cattle
A Penn State animal scientist has received a $650,000 grant from the U.S. Department of Agriculture to lead a team conducting research on reproductive dysfunction in cattle.
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Jun 15, 2023
Penn State researchers use ultrasound to control orientation of small particles
Acoustic waves may be able to control how particles sort themselves. While researchers have been able to separate particles based on their shape — for example, bacteria from other cells — for years, the ability to control their movement has remained a largely unsolved problem, until now.
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Jun 14, 2023
Penn State dairy cattle geneticist finds mutant gene threatening Holstein calves
In the fall of 2020, when Chad Dechow got a call from veterinarians in New York describing a strange condition affecting Holstein calves on two farms under their care, he was unfamiliar with the condition that came to be known as calf recumbency.
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Jun 12, 2023
Troy Ott named acting director of the Huck Institutes of the Life Sciences
Troy Ott , professor of reproductive physiology and associate director of the Huck Institutes of the Life Sciences, has been selected to serve as acting director of the Huck Institutes during the appointment of Andrew Read as interim senior vice president of research at Penn State. Ott’s position will be effective July 1.
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Jun 12, 2023
Penn State announces non-tenure-line faculty promotions, effective July 1, 2023
List of non-tenure-line faculty promotions at Penn State, effective July 1, 2023.
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Jun 12, 2023
Vaccine against deadly chytrid fungus primes frog microbiome for future exposure
A human's or animal’s microbiome — the collection of often beneficial microorganisms, including bacteria and fungi, that live on or within a host organism — can play an important role in the host’s overall immune response, but it is unclear how vaccines against harmful pathogens impact the microbiome.
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Jun 12, 2023
Masai giraffes more endangered than previously thought
Giraffes in eastern Africa may be even more endangered than previously thought. A new study led by researchers at Penn State revealed that populations of Masai giraffes separated geographically by the Great Rift Valley have not interbred — or exchanged genetic material — in more than a thousand years, and in some cases hundreds of thousands of years.
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