Not all wines are created equal; neither are all wine tasters. A wine expert's acute sense of taste may mean that expert ratings and recommendations are irrelevant to wine consumers who were not born with the ability to discern small differences in a broad range of tastes, according to a team of international researchers. "What we found is that the fundamental taste ability of an expert is different," said John Hayes, assistant professor, food science, and director of Penn State's sensory evaluation center.

Green tea may slow down weight gain and serve as another tool in the fight against obesity, according to Penn State food scientists. Obese mice that were fed a compound found in green tea along with a high-fat diet gained weight significantly more slowly than a control group of mice that did not receive the green tea supplement, said Joshua Lambert, assistant professor of food science in agricultural sciences. In addition to lower weight gain, the mice fed the green tea supplement showed a nearly 30 percent increase in fecal lipids, suggesting that the EGCG was limiting fat absorption, according to Lambert.

Road maintenance may accidentally spread the seeds of invasive plants, according to Penn State researchers. "The road graders that are used during these operations can act like a plow, pushing seeds along the road," said Emily Rauschert, senior project associate and applied ecologist in crop and soil sciences. "They can pick up seeds of an invasive grass and spread them several orders of magnitude further than the natural dispersal." The researchers created a computer simulation based on field experiments that showed how road regrading in the spring could play a role in the rapid spread of Japanese stilt grass -- an invasive plant that can grow up to 5 feet tall -- in the Rothrock State Forest area. The plant is considered a threat because its dense growth can prevent trees and native plants from growing. "Initially, this plant wasn't present locally," Rauschert said. "But within 10 years or so foresters noticed that the plant had spread throughout the area."

Robert Crassweller, professor of horticulture in Penn State's College of Agricultural Sciences, is part of a $3.8 million, multiuniversity research project to evaluate the wine quality of grapes, with an eye toward improving grape and wine sustainability and economic vitality in the eastern United States. Crassweller will help to evaluate the horticultural characteristics and adaptability of grape varieties grown at Penn State's Fruit Research and Extension Center in Biglerville and Lake Erie Regional Grape Research and Extension Center in North East for production in Pennsylvania. He also will work with the Penn State Extension enologist to evaluate wines made from the grapes.

A large group of students majoring in toxicology or in immunology and infectious disease in Penn State's College of Agricultural Sciences are flocking to the new global health minor. These students are exploiting a rare opportunity to combine specialized coursework in molecular biosciences with courses -- and an international field experience -- in global health and related issues, according to James Endres Howell, program coordinator for the toxicology and immunology and infectious disease majors.