News

<p>Penn State’s Consortium on Moral Decision-Making and Moral Psychology Research Group recently hosted a conference to highlight interdisciplinary research on moral and ethical decision-making.</p>

January 13, 2025

Interdisciplinary research on ethics and morality focus of recent conference

<p>The development of new drugs is critical in treating cancer — if people have access to them. A team co-led by Penn State researchers identified cancer drugs launched between 1990 and 2022 and found that countries with higher gross national income per capita typically had more launches and shorter launch delays.</p>

January 13, 2025

Fewer delays, more launches of cancer drugs in higher income countries

<p>Penn State startup Fourth State Therapeutics has developed a cold plasma-based technology called the Plasma Patch, intended to tackle chronic wound treatment. Fourth State participated in Invent Penn State's Summer Founders Program and NSF I-Corps Short Course.</p>

January 13, 2025

Penn State startup tackles chronic wounds with 'Plasma Patch'

January 10, 2025

College of Ag Sciences graduate students receive research grant awards

<p>Mingyu Yu, doctoral candidate in materials science and engineering at Penn State, recently received the Graduate Student Research Award from the professional society AVS: Science and Technology of Materials, Interfaces and Processing for innovative research in two-dimensional materials.</p>

January 10, 2025

Graduate student’s materials science research recognized by national society

<p>The invasive emerald ash borer, according to the U.S. Department of Agriculture, was first found in the United States in southeast Michigan in 2002. In the decades since, the wood-boring beetle has spread east and west across the U.S. and Canada, killing tens of millions of ash trees, causing one of the costliest forest insect invasions to date. Researchers at Penn State are working with the U.S. Forest Service and other partners to identify and develop ash trees genetically able to withstand the beetles’ onslaught and strategize how to restore ash to forests.</p>

January 08, 2025

Ash tree variability may offer restoration path post-beetle decimation

<p>A swimming race taught Colin J. Neill a valuable professional lesson about good technique that he took with him as he became a systems and software engineer, then a professor and now chancellor at Penn State Great Valley. Although his students often found it challenging to learn new techniques, Neill often hears them express appreciation for their graduate education and how their studies accelerated their careers. </p>

January 08, 2025

Great Valley chancellor aims to improve students' techniques to accelerate careers

<p>Ferroelectrics are special materials with polarized positive and negative charges — like a magnet has north and south poles — that can be reversed when external electricity is applied. The materials will remain in these reversed states until more power is applied, making them useful for data storage and wireless communication applications. Now, turning a non-ferroelectric material into one may be possible simply by stacking it with another ferroelectric material, according to a team led by scientists from Penn State who demonstrated the phenomenon, called proximity ferroelectricity.</p>

January 08, 2025

Proximity effect: Method allows advanced materials to gain new property

<p>Knowing who may progress along the disease pathway is critical for early diagnosis and intervention, improved treatment and better disease management, according to a team led by researchers from the Penn State College of Medicine that has developed a new method to predict the progression of autoimmune disease among those with preclinical symptoms. </p>

January 07, 2025

Predicting the progression of autoimmune disease with AI

<p>Different species of bees may be attracted to different flower traits when it comes to deciding where they’re going to get their next meal, according to a recent study led by researchers at Penn State.</p>

January 06, 2025

Quantity over quality? Different bees are attracted to different floral traits

<p>The Penn State Neuroscience Institute, through the Huck Institutes of the Life Sciences and the Penn State College of Medicine, will host the Big Ten Neuroscience Annual Meeting on July 21 and 22 at the Nittany Lion Inn in State College. </p>

January 03, 2025

Fourth annual Big Ten Neuroscience Symposium to convene at Penn State

<p>A team of researchers from Penn State have found that household dogs are an overlooked transmission point for Salmonella, a pathogen that can cause diarrhea, fever and abdominal cramps, with some infections potentially having life-threatening complications. However, they said, better awareness of the risk and proper hygiene could potentially help mitigate cross-species infections.</p>
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December 23, 2024

Pet dogs often overlooked as spreader of antimicrobial-resistant Salmonella

<p>Researchers at the Penn State Extraterrestrial Intelligence Center have been awarded a three-year, $480,000 grant under the NASA Exoplanets Research Program to search for radio and laser signals from alien civilizations.</p>

December 19, 2024

Penn State Extraterrestrial Intelligence Center awarded NASA grant

<p>Despite their reputation as buzzing nuisances, flies serve a critical role as some of the Earth’s most prolific pollinators — and new research led by Penn State scientists suggests they are increasingly at risk due to rising global temperatures.</p>

December 19, 2024

Pollinators most vulnerable to rising global temperatures are flies, study shows

<p>Due to its massive scale of production, concrete’s environmental impact is significant: It accounts for 8% of the globe’s total annual carbon dioxide emissions. In the Penn State College of Engineering, researchers are working to reduce that number through innovations in manufacturing and carbon capture and storage.</p>

December 19, 2024

WATCH: Mixing up carbon-neutral concrete solutions in the College of Engineering

<p>Two new studies led by Penn State researchers analyzed the experiences of residents in a rural Pennsylvania community after the closure of several essential places.</p>

December 18, 2024

Rural communities may be especially impacted by essential places closing

<p>Teams from universities across the nation competed to solve a real-world industry challenge, retaining a multi-generational nursing staff, sponsored by the Penn State Health Milton S. Hershey Medical Center.</p>

December 17, 2024

Health Administration Case Competition challenged students across the US

<p>A multi-national, multi-institutional team led by Penn State researchers developed a new tool that enables doctors to examine placentas right at the bedside using just a phone. The tool could make placental examination more accessible, saving lives and improving health outcomes, the team said. </p>
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December 17, 2024

Placenta assessment tool aims to improve neonatal, maternal care

<p>As part of our regular "We Are!” feature, we recognize 14 Penn Staters who have gone above and beyond what’s asked of them in their work at the University. </p>

December 16, 2024

Sending a 'We Are!' to these Penn Staters — Dec. 16

<p>New studies by researchers at Penn State show that subtle activation of a small subset of neurons in one region of the brain can make male mice resilient to, and even reverse, the detrimental effects of chronic stress and that the changes involved are highly sex-specific.</p>

December 16, 2024

Brain regions that relieve effects of chronic stress in mice differ based on sex

<p>Matthew Krull, a doctoral student in mechanical engineering at Penn State, was recently awarded a four-year fellowship with NASA’s Advanced Air Vehicles Program.</p>
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December 13, 2024

Propelling forward: Mechanical engineering grad student awarded NASA fellowship

<p>Ayse Akyildiz, a doctoral student in Penn State’s College of Agricultural Sciences, recently returned from a research training trip to the Arctic, during which she and the other participants learned more about the region and the complex challenges it faces in a warming world.</p>

December 12, 2024

Ag student travels to Arctic for research training in a climate-changed region

<p>Prioritizing closing coal-fired power plants near vulnerable communities could significantly improve air quality and public health outcomes, according to a new multi-institutional study co-led by researchers at Penn State. </p>

December 11, 2024

Targeted coal plant closures may boost environmental, health outcomes

<p>Chelsea Russ, who graduated from Penn State in the spring of 2024 with a master’s degree in landscape architecture, will continue her research on the effects of climate change on the environment as a finalist for the 2025 National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration Knauss Fellowship. </p>

December 11, 2024

Stuckeman landscape architecture alumna follows passion for environmental issues

<p>The genome of a once-endangered songbird shows extensive signs of inbreeding, according to a new study by Penn State researchers. Because inbreeding can negatively impact survival and reproduction, the results could guide continuing conservation efforts for Kirtland’s warblers.</p>

December 11, 2024

Once-endangered Kirtland’s warblers show extensive signs of inbreeding in genome

<p>Starting in summer 2025, the National Taipei University of Technology in Taiwan will provide up to 10 scholarships annually for Penn State graduate students to engage in research and education collaboration at Taipei Tech. Applications for the graduate scholarship opportunities are open until Feb. 10, 2025. </p>

December 10, 2024

Penn State, Taipei Tech announce graduate scholarship opportunities

<p>Higher incomes are often correlated with healthier pregnancies and babies, but is it really the money that matters? Sedimentary rocks that formed 390 million years ago, surprisingly, help provide the answer, at least for those who live above the Marcellus Shale formation, according to a team led by researchers at Penn State.</p>

December 10, 2024

Increased area income improves birthweight rates, researchers find

<p>For the first time, scientists have observed a collection of particles, also known as a quasiparticle, that's massless when moving one direction but has mass in the other direction. The quasiparticle, called a semi-Dirac fermion, was first theorized 16 years ago, but was only recently spotted inside a crystal of semi-metal material called ZrSiS. The observation of the quasiparticle opens the door to future advances in a range of emerging technologies from batteries to sensors, according to researchers at Penn State.</p>

December 10, 2024

Particle that only has mass when moving in one direction observed for first time

<p>The shift from an awake state to unconsciousness is a phenomenon that has long captured the interest of scientists and philosophers alike, but how it happens has remained a mystery — until now. Through studies on rats, a team of researchers at Penn State has pinpointed the exact moment of loss of consciousness due to anesthesia, mapping what happens in different brain regions during that moment.</p>

December 10, 2024

Brain mechanisms underpinning loss of consciousness identified

<p>An exhibition "Defining the New Negro: Voices of the Harlem Renaissance a Century Later"<em> </em>invites visitors to explore the works of featured Black authors and artists and their efforts to redefine Black identity, life and culture. The exhibition will be on view until Apr. 7, 2025.</p>

December 09, 2024

Harlem Renaissance is focus of new Libraries Exhibition

<p>Older adults in India who reported low-quality sleep were three times more likely to be frail, according to a new study led by researchers in the Penn State College of Health and Human Development.</p>

December 09, 2024

Could a good night’s sleep help protect people from becoming frail?

<p>Kartik Khurana, a graduate student in the Penn State College of Information Sciences and Technology, leveraged networking and internships to land a full-time position. He will begin his cybersecurity career following graduation this December. </p>

December 05, 2024

IST graduate student offers job search tips for international students

December 05, 2024

Applications open for clinical and translational science training programs

<p>What’s the best way to precisely manipulate a material’s properties to the desired state? It may be straining the material’s very atoms, according to a team led by researchers at Penn State. The team discovered that “spray painting” atoms of potassium niobate, a material used in advanced electronics, could tune the resulting thin films with exquisite control. The finding, published in Advanced Materials, could drive environmentally friendly advancements in consumer electronics, medical devices and quantum computing, the researchers said. </p>

December 05, 2024

Straining a material’s atomic arrangement may make for cleaner, smarter devices

<p>Penn State graduate students will showcase their research in Penn State’s second annual Three Minute Thesis competition on Saturday, March 29, hosted by the Fox Graduate School. Community members are invited to attend, support participants, and vote for their favorite presentation.</p>

December 04, 2024

Finalists named for Penn State 2024-25 Three Minute Thesis competition

December 04, 2024

Student Leadership and Involvement seeking Student Achievement Award nominations

<p>Six Penn State materials researchers have received the 2024 Rustum and Della Roy Innovation in Materials Research Award, recognizing a wide range of research with societal impact. The award is presented by the Materials Research Institute and recognizes recent interdisciplinary materials research at Penn State that yields innovative and unexpected results. </p>

December 03, 2024

Materials Research Institute names 2024 Roy Award winners

<p>The Penn State Smeal College of Business is adding a dynamic hybrid MBA to its portfolio of graduate programs. Scheduled to launch in Fall 2025, prospective students are now able to apply for consideration for admission in the inaugural class.</p>

December 02, 2024

Penn State Smeal introduces dynamic hybrid MBA program

<p>An economic analysis led by researchers at Penn State found that the Northcentral Regional ATV Trail Connector generated over $23.5 million in economic revenue for area businesses over a two-year period.</p>

December 02, 2024

Pennsylvania ATV trail connector generated $23.5M in revenue over two years

<p>A delegation of Penn State faculty and graduate students who attended the 2024 United Nations Biodiversity Conference, known as COP16, in Cali, Colombia, share about the event and their experiences.</p>

December 02, 2024

Q&A: Penn State COP16 delegation contributes to biodiversity efforts

<p>Brief scientific literacy interventions like short videos focused on critical thinking skills can help to undermine conspiracy beliefs and behaviors, according to a study led by Penn State researchers.</p>

December 02, 2024

Brief scientific literacy interventions may quash new conspiracy theories

<p>Penn State and the U.S. National Science Foundation celebrated the official launch of the U.S. National Science Foundation National Synthesis Center for Emergence in the Molecular and Cellular Sciences with a ribbon cutting and ceremony at the Verne M. Willaman Gateway to the Life Sciences bridge in the Huck Institutes of the Life Sciences on Nov. 18. The event marked the physical dedication of the federally funded center, which was first announced in April.</p>

November 27, 2024

Heard on Campus: Launch of new center in molecular and cellular sciences, NCEMS

November 26, 2024

Better habitats for forest farming wild leeks could help future foraging demands

<p>Lydia Cowher has a passion to serve others, a big part of why she is working toward her second graduate degree online through Penn State World Campus.</p>

November 26, 2024

Spirit of service inspires this World Campus student’s academic journey

<p>Jack Carroll, distinguished professor in the College of Information Sciences and Technology, has published a new book on innovative teaching practices. Twenty faculty members from the College of IST, and seven alumni or current students contributed to the book.</p>

November 26, 2024

IST professor publishes second book on innovative teaching practices

<p>Following a career in higher education, Penn State alumna Linda Boehme Reilly recently made a gift of $200,000 to create an endowed graduate assistantship which will enable the J. Jeffrey and Ann Marie Fox Graduate School to support graduate students.</p>

November 25, 2024

Alumna makes $200,000 gift to provide graduate assistantship support

<p>Pollutants known as “contaminants of emerging concern” or chemicals that could potentially harm human health and have been found in the environment, including pesticides, ingredients from personal care products, pharmaceuticals and perfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS), are increasingly found in streams and lakes. A team led by researchers at Penn State recently demonstrated the accuracy and utility of a new method to find even very low levels of these substances in surface waters. They reported their findings in the Science of the Total Environment.</p>

November 22, 2024

Alternate stream water-testing method detects emerging contaminants

<p>Augmentative and alternative communication devices that make use of a new approach called visual scene displays have been proven to be an effective communication support for children with speech-related disabilities, according to a study by Penn State College of Education researchers.</p>

November 22, 2024

Q&A: Is video tech effective for children with speech-related disabilities?

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