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Research Press Release Archive

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A multi-page list of all research press releases since 1997

Viruses up their game in arms race with immune system: 14 August 2017 — In a classic example of the evolutionary arms race between a host and a pathogen, the myxoma virus -- introduced to control the rabbit population in Australia in 1950 -- has developed a novel and deadly ability to suppress the immune response of its host rabbits.
New, more sensitive sensor for evaluating drug safety: 03 August 2017 — A new technique for evaluating drug safety can detect stress on cells at earlier stages than conventional methods, which mostly rely on detecting cell death. The new method uses a fluorescent sensor that is turned on in a cell when misfolded proteins begin to aggregate -- an early sign of cellular stress.
Antibodies may reveal timing of previous influenza infection: 31 July 2017 — The amount of influenza-specific antibodies present in an individual’s blood can indicate not only if they experienced the flu, but potentially when -- a finding that could improve disease monitoring in the tropics, where flu season is unending.
Newly Described Algae Species Toughens Up Corals to Endure Warming Oceans: 14 July 2017 — Using innovative methods, researchers at Penn State University have identified a new species of stress-tolerant algae that associate with corals in a partnership that promotes the health and growth of coral reef ecosystems.
Malaria parasites sense and adapt to their host’s nutritional status: 05 July 2017 — A new study shows that the infectious agent responsible for malaria, the Plasmodium parasite, is able to sense its host’s nutritional status and actively adapt through changes in gene expression to reduce the number of offspring it produces.
Flexible flagella fight flow: Bacteria change a liquid’s properties and escape entrapment: 27 June 2017 — A flexible tail allows swimming bacteria to thin the surrounding liquid and to free themselves when trapped along walls or obstacles, according to Penn State researchers. This finding could influence how bacterial growth is controlled.
Genes, Ozone, and Autism: Increased risk for autism when genetic variation and air pollution meet: 22 June 2017 — A new analysis shows that individuals with high levels of genetic variation and elevated exposure to ozone in the environment are at an even higher risk for developing autism than would be expected by adding the two risk factors together.
Potential new target for antimalarial drugs identified: 14 June 2017 — A newly described protein could be an effective target for combatting drug-resistant malaria parasites. The protein, the transcription factor PfAP2-I, regulates a number of genes involved with the parasite’s invasion of red blood cells, a critical part of the parasite’s complex life cycle that could be targeted by new antimalarial drugs
New way to weigh a white dwarf: Use Hubble Space Telescope: 09 June 2017 — Astronomers have used, for the first time, a novel method to determine the mass of a nearby dead star. The new method is based on the bending of a beam of light near a massive object. Now, astronomers have achieved a solid estimate of the mass of a white dwarf by measuring the deflection of light rays as they pass near the star.
Research expedition continues monitoring impact of Deepwater Horizon oil spill on deep sea corals: 07 June 2017 — The 2010 Deepwater Horizon accident in the Gulf of Mexico resulted in the deaths of 11 oil rig workers and ultimately the largest marine oil spill in history. As this environmental disaster recedes into history, researchers from institutions across the U.S. continue to study its enduring ecological impacts.
Two-part system turns stem cells into whatever you want: 06 June 2017 — Whether using embryonic or adult stem cells, coercing these master cells to convert to the desired target cell and reproduce flawlessly is difficult. Now an international team of researchers has a two-part system that can convert the cells to the targets and then remove the remnants of that conversion, leaving only the desired DNA behind to duplicate.
New planet found to be hotter than most stars: 06 June 2017 — A newly discovered Jupiter-like world is so hot that even its nights are like the flame of a welding torch. The gas giant has a “year” only 1.5 days long, and may have a tail like a comet.
New gravity waves hit Earth after record-breaking trip through space: 01 June 2017 — Gravitational waves produced by the birth of a massive black hole, a record-breaking billions of light-years from Earth, have been detected by the Laser Interferometer Gravitational-wave Observatory (LIGO). The waves were generated when two smaller black holes collided and then merged to form a larger black hole with a mass about fifty times larger than our sun's.
Low cost, scalable water-splitting fuels the future hydrogen economy: 01 June 2017 — The "clean-energy economy" always seems a few steps away but never quite here. Fossil fuels still power transportation, heating and cooling, and manufacturing, but a team of scientists from Penn State and Florida State University have come one step closer to inexpensive, clean hydrogen fuel with a lower cost and industrially scalable catalyst that produces pure hydrogen through a low-energy water-splitting process.
Penn State DNA ladders: inexpensive molecular rulers for DNA research: 26 May 2017 — New, license-free DNA ladders will allow researchers to estimate the size of fragments of DNA for a fraction of the cost of currently available methods.
Lessons from Ebola: New approach improves disease outbreak management: 15 May 2017 — A new approach to information gathering could allow scientists to quickly identify the most effective way to manage a disease outbreak, an advance that could save lives. Developed by an international team of researchers led by Penn State scientists using insights from the 2014 Ebola outbreak, the method pinpoints critical pieces of missing information required to improve management decisions during an outbreak.
Penn State and Geisinger team up in new program to train next generation of biomedical scientists: 27 April 2017 — A new $2.4-million program for graduate students seeking to contribute to breakthrough discoveries in medicine and biology has been established at Penn State University. The new Biomedical Big Data to Knowledge Training Program (B2D2K) brings together researchers at Penn State and the Geisinger Genomic Medicine Institute to accelerate advances in the biomedical and life sciences.
Disease-associated genes routinely missed in some genetic studies: 20 April 2017 — Whole-exome DNA sequencing -- a technology that saves time and money by sequencing only protein-coding regions and not the entire genome -- may routinely miss detecting some genetic variations associated with disease, according to Penn State researchers who have developed new ways to identify such omissions.
Penn State University and Salus University Establish Strategic Alliance through Memorandum of Understanding: 12 April 2017 — Salus University Pennsylvania College of Optometry (Salus PCO) and Penn State University (Penn State) recently signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) to create an Early Assurance Admission Program.
Study reveals 10,000 years of genetic continuity in northwest North America: 05 April 2017 — A study of the DNA in ancient skeletal remains adds to the evidence that indigenous groups living today in southern Alaska and the western coast of British Columbia are descendants of the first humans to make their home in northwest North America more than 10,000 years ago.