Eberly College of Science

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Alumnus receives $5M to develop groundbreaking HIV/heroin vaccine

1/17/13

A Penn State alumnus who attended both Penn State Hazleton and University Park, has won an award that will pay him $5 million to research his proposal to develop a vaccine against HIV that also prevents heroin addiction.

Gary R. Matyas, a 1978 Penn State graduate in biophysics, captured the 2012 Avant-Garde Award for Medications Development from the National Institute on Drug Abuse with his plan to attack twin scourges.

"There is a strong correlation between heroin abuse and HIV infection, especially in developing countries," Matyas said of the Human Immunodeficiency Virus that causes AIDS. "The possibility of creating a combination heroin/HIV vaccine provides an important opportunity to address both a unique treatment for heroin abuse as well as continuing the quest to develop an effective preventive HIV vaccine."

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Free lecture to look at 'Races, Faces and Human Genetic Diversity'

1/10/13

A free public lecture titled "Races, Faces and Human Genetic Diversity" will take place at 11 a.m. Jan. 19, in 100 Thomas Building. The speaker will be Mark D. Shriver, a professor of anthropology and genetics at Penn State.

The event is the first of six lectures in the 2013 Penn State Lectures on the Frontiers of Science, a free minicourse for the general public with the theme "Your Genes: How They Contribute to Who You Are." No registration is required. The lectures take place from 11 a.m. to about 12:30 p.m. on six consecutive Saturday mornings, in 100 Thomas Building.

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Lectures to focus on 'Your Genes: How They Contribute to Who You Are'

1/10/13

"Your Genes: How They Contribute to Who You Are" is the theme of the 2013 Penn State Lectures on the Frontiers of Science, which will take place in January and February. This series of six public lectures on consecutive Saturday mornings is designed as a free minicourse for the general public. The lectures will take place from 11 a.m. to about 12:30 p.m., in 100 Thomas Building on the Penn State University Park campus, beginning Jan. 19. More information is available at http://science.psu.edu/frontiers.

Science Seminars: Jan. 14 to 20

1/9/13

Eberly College of Science is planning the following Science Seminars:

Monday, Jan. 14

"Rising Above The Crowd: Identification of Wall-Related Genes that Confer Enhanced Growth in Arabidopsis Thaliana," Charles Anderson, Penn State, 12:10 p.m., 108 Wartik Laboratory, host: Michael Axtell, Intercollege Graduate Program in Plant Biology (814-867-0241).

"No More Nucleophiles: Direct, Selective Cross Coupling of Electrophiles," Daniel Weix, University of Rochester, 2:30 p.m., 102 Chemistry Building, host: Scott Phillips, Department of Chemistry (814-867-2502).

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Slavkovic gains membership to International Statistical Institute

1/7/13

Aleksandra Slavkovic, an associate professor of statistics and public health sciences at Penn State, has been honored with membership in the International Statistical Institute. Members are elected "by virtue of their distinguished contributions to the development or application of statistical methods, or to the administration of statistical services, or the development and improvement of statistical education."

Slavkovic conducts research focusing on developing and applying statistical methods for issues of data privacy and data confidentiality. One goal of her research is to limit the release of sensitive information from statistical databases about individuals and groups, while allowing for accurate statistical analysis of the data. Slavkovic is a lead investigator on the National Science Foundation Cyber-Enabled Innovation and Discovery program for a research project on integrating statistical and computational approaches to privacy.

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NASA, Penn State give New Year's gift of space images

1/3/13

A large new collection of space photos taken at wavelengths that are invisible to the human eye and blocked by Earth's atmosphere has been released as a New Year's gift to the people of Earth by NASA and Penn State. The images were captured by a telescope on board NASA's Swift satellite, whose science and flight operations are controlled by Penn State's Mission Operations Center using the Ultraviolet/Optical Telescope, which resulted from Penn State's collaboration with the Mullard Space Science Laboratory of the University College-London. The telescope is one of just a few that study ultraviolet light, much of which is blocked by Earth's atmosphere.

To see the complete story, go to http://science.psu.edu/news-and-events/2013-news/Siegel1-2013.

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Study shows how stars look young when they're not

12/20/12

The aging of star clusters is linked more with their lifestyle than with how old they actually are, according to a new NASA/European Space Agency Hubble Space Telescope study coauthored by Steinn Sigurdsson, professor of astronomy and astrophysics at Penn State.

"Our observations of star clusters have shown us that, although they all formed more than 10 billion years ago, some of them are still young at heart," Sigurdsson said. "We now can see how fast the clusters are racing toward their final collapse. It is as if each cluster has its own internal clock, some of which are ticking slower than others." Sigurdsson is a Penn State theorist working in collaboration with the European Research Council's Cosmic-Lab project. The study is published in the current issue of the journal Nature. More information is online at http://bit.ly/VT0Fhe.

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New tool is probing the structure of the Milky Way's heart

12/20/12

The discovery that hundreds of stars are rapidly moving together in long, looping orbits around the center of our galaxy has been announced by a team of scientists including a Penn State astronomer and others collaborating in the Sloan Digital Sky Survey III (SDSS-III).

"The stars near the nucleus of the Milky Way appear to form a bar-like structure thousands of light years in size," said Donald Schneider, a distinguished professor of astronomy and astrophysics at Penn State and coauthor of the study. "In this investigation, we were able to accurately measure the motions of a set of stars located in the galaxy's bar and to gain some insight into the dynamics of the central, dense regions of the Milky Way." Schneider is the survey coordinator and scientific publications coordinator for the SDSS-III.

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Mao receives American Heart Association Scientist Development Grant

12/13/12

Yingwei Mao, an assistant professor of biology at Penn State, has been honored with a National Scientist Development Grant from the American Heart Association. The grant supports highly promising beginning scientists in their progress toward independence by encouraging and adequately funding research projects that can bridge the gap between completion of research training and readiness for successful competition as an independent investigator.

Yingwei Mao's research focuses on how particular genetic defects play a role in the onset of mental illnesses such as schizophrenia, depression, autism and bipolar disorder. Recently, Mao and his colleagues pinpointed the specific neurological effects of deficits within a gene that is disrupted in schizophrenia -- the DISC1 gene.

Crowded into Cells

12/13/12

Using large macromolecules called polymers, professors of chemistry Christine Keating and Philip Bevilacqua created primitive cell-like structures and infused them with RNA-- he genetic coding material that is thought to precede the appearance of DNA on Earth. They then demonstrated how these molecules would react chemically under conditions that might have been present on the early Earth.

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Penn State mourns alumni leader and philanthropist J. Lloyd Huck

12/7/12

Penn State has lost an alumnus whose leadership and philanthropy have helped the University to become a pioneer in the life sciences. J. Lloyd Huck, the retired chairman of the board of pharmaceutical firm Merck & Company and a former chairman of Penn State's Board of Trustees, died in State College, Pa., this week at the age of 90. With his wife and fellow Class of 1943 member Dorothy Foehr Huck, he established endowments in fields ranging from molecular biology to nutrition, leading to the creation of the Huck Institutes of the Life Sciences.

"Few institutions are fortunate enough to have such visionary advocates as Lloyd and Dottie Huck," said Penn State President Rodney Erickson. "Through Lloyd's decades of service to the University, he guided Penn State on an ambitious path, and through the Hucks' philanthropy, they have enabled our students and faculty to fulfill that ambition.

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Flexible silicon solar-cell fabrics may soon become possible

12/6/12

For the first time, a silicon-based optical fiber with solar-cell capabilities has been developed that is capable of being scaled up to many meters in length. The research, led by a Penn State University chemist, opens the door to the possibility of weaving together solar-cell silicon wires to create flexible, curved or twisted solar fabrics. More information and high-resolution images are online at http://www.science.psu.edu/news-and-events/2012-news/Badding12-2012. The information is published in the early online edition of the journal Advanced Materials.

Pages

Biting the Plant that Feeds You

9/1/98

She's part pilgrim and part vampire, purplish black and pear-shaped. Moments after her April birth, the aphid creeps along the smooth witch hazel leaf until she finds a suitable intersection of veins. She thrusts her needle mouth into the junction and begins to feed, sucking the sweet sap from the plant.

Getting to the bottom of the zombie ant phenomenon

5/21/13

Rainforest ecologist David Hughes has a special interest in parasites, especially those that accomplish their ends by mind control: invading the brain of a hapless host -- ants, in this case -- and causing that creature to do its bidding. Scientists like Hughes say 'zombie ants' offer new insights into the role behavior plays in spreading disease.

Science Seminars: May 20 to 26

5/17/13

MONDAY, May 20
None

TUESDAY, May 21
None

WEDNESDAY, May 22
"Decomposition of Fine Root Organic Matter Among Temperate Tree Species," Marc Goebel, Penn State, 9 a.m., 519 Wartik Laboratory, Intercollege Graduate Program in Ecology (814-867-0371).

Sensor descends down a hole in the ice as part of the installation of the IceCube telescope.

Record-breaking high-energy particles detected by telescope buried in Antarctic

5/17/13

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).

Chromatin and the PAD4 enzyme

Gene offers clues to new treatments for a harmful blood clotting disorder

5/7/13

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. The research, which was led by Yanming Wang, a Penn State associate professor of biochemistry and molecular biology, and Denisa Wagner, senior author with decades of research on thrombosis at the Boston Children's Hospital and the Harvard University Medical School, will be published in the Online Early Edition of the journal Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences during the week ending May 10.

female student crossing police line at mock crime scene

Probing Question: Do women dominate the field of forensic science?

5/7/13

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. 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.

AMON globe logo

AMON: An Eye on the Universe

5/6/13

AMON stands for Astrophysical Multimessenger Observatory Network. Its mission is to form a network of high-energy observatories across the globe that will search for previously unseen astrophysical signals and send alerts to more traditional telescopes in order to corroborate the possible celestial events.

Josh Laughner College of A&A 2013 Student Marshal

College marshal composes both musical compositions, chemical equations

5/6/13

What happens when a student has strong interests in two vastly different fields of study? How does the student choose a path? Josh Laughner decided not to choose and successfully pursued degrees in both chemistry and music.

Laughner, a resident of Wadsworth, Ohio, recently graduated as the Penn State College of Arts and Architecture student marshal, having earned the highest overall grade-point average in the college. He earned a bachelor of music composition in addition to a bachelor of science in chemistry from the Eberly College of Science.

Undergraduate Thesis Award finalists

Undergraduate Thesis Award winner, finalists announced

5/2/13

The Penn State University Libraries announce the results of the 2013 Outstanding Undergraduate Thesis Award. Top winner of the $1000 award is Katherine Liss, nursing, for her thesis "Heart Failure Patients' Experiences of Living with Heart Failure."

Science Seminars: May 6 to 12

5/2/13

MONDAY, MAY 6

"Poisson Limit Theorem for Gibbs-Markov Systems," Xuan Zhang, adviser: Manfred Denker, Penn State, 10 a.m., 106 McAllister Building, Department of Mathematics (814-865-7527).
“My Protein Folds Faster than Yours: Using Protein-folding Rates to Test Protein-folding Theories,” Kevin Plaxco, University of California at Santa Barbara, 4 p.m., 101 Althouse Laboratory, host: Scott Selleck, Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology (814-867-4373).

man and woman posing near big horn sheep

Scientists make strides toward restoring bighorn sheep in the American West

5/2/13

As pneumonia continues to limit recovery of the once nearly extinct bighorn sheep population in the western United States, a research team including scientists from Penn State’s Huck Institutes of the Life Sciences has made key discoveries that lead to a better understanding of the disease and how it might be more effectively controlled.