Research News at Penn State's Eberly College of Science
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- Record-Breaking High-Energy Particles from Space Detected by Telescope Buried in the Antarctic Ice
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17 May 2013 — A massive telescope buried in the Antarctic ice has detected 28 extremely high-energy neutrinos -- elementary particles that likely originate outside our solar system. Two of these neutrinos had energies many thousands of times higher than the highest-energy neutrino that any man-made particle accelerator has ever produced, according to a team of IceCube Neutrino Observatory researchers that includes Penn State scientists. These new record-breaking neutrinos had energies greater than 1,000,000,000,000,000 volts or, as the scientists say, 1 peta-electron volt (PeV).
- Probing Question: Do Women Dominate the Field of Forensic Science?
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8 May 2013 — Exhuming corpses, analyzing bloodstained clothing, collecting "crime scene insects" (yes, maggots)...these are some of the grittier realities of life as a forensic scientist. Yet defying the stereotype that females tend to be squeamish about such things, an entire generation of young women have become entranced by the profession, inspired in part by characters such as Abby Sciuto on the television drama NCIS. In fact, they've pursued this career in such numbers that—unlike almost every other scientific discipline—one could argue that the booming field of forensic science is a female domain. Has forensic science, in fact, become a woman's field?
- Gene Offers Clues to New Treatments for a Harmful Blood Clotting Disorder
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7 May 2013 — A gene associated with both protection against bacterial infection and excessive blood clotting could offer new insights into treatment strategies for deep-vein thrombosis -- the formation of a harmful clot in a deep vein. The gene produces an enzyme that, if inhibited via a specific drug therapy, could offer hope to patients prone to deep-vein clots, such as those that sometimes form in the legs during lengthy airplane flights or during recuperation after major surgery.