Life Sciences

Read recognized with 2018 President’s Award for Academic Integration
Andrew Read
Bernhard Lüscher awarded Faculty Scholar Medal for Outstanding Achievement
Bernhard Lüscher
Wendy Hanna-Rose receives Eisenhower Award for Distinguished Teaching
Wendy Hanna-Rose
Penn State–developed plant-disease app recognized by Google
A Tanzanian cassava farmer, left, learns to use a plant disease mobile app developed as part of the PlantVillage initiative led by Penn State researchers. Credit: Penn State
New insights into how cellulose is built could indicate how to break it apart for biofuels
Using the model plant species Arabidopsis thaliana, also known as thale cress, a team of researchers from Penn State have identified the main proteins that prepare plants to create cellulose – a compound used in a variety of manmade materials.
Marker Lectures in Genetic Engineering scheduled for March 12 and 13
Fred Winston
New crystal structures reveal a mysterious mechanism of gene regulation by the "magic spot"
In 1969, Cashel and Gallant identified a magic spot (MS) that appeared on a chromatogram (left) made from bacteria that had been starved a key nutrient. This magic spot was later identified as ppGpp and shown to influence the expression of over 500 genes in response to stress. An innovative crystallization technique now has allowed researchers to determine the structure of ppGpp in complex with bacterial RNA polymerase and DksA (upper right). CREDIT: Murakami Laboratory, Penn State
Squire Booker selected as Holder of the Eberly Distinguished Chair in Science
Squire Booker
The Russell E. Marker Lectures in Evolutionary Biology set for February 19th and 20th, 2018
Anne Stone
Deep-sea fish use hydrothermal vents to incubate eggs
Eggs of deep-sea skates have been discovered near the hottest type of hydrothermal vents, where super-heated water emerges out of the sea floor. These vents, called black smokers, emit dark, sulphurous plumes. Credit: Ocean Exploration Trust
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