Research

Top News
Top news RSS feed
protein synthesis

Mechanical force controls the speed of protein synthesis

5/16/18

As cells create proteins, the proteins modulate synthesis speed by exerting a mechanical force on the molecular machine that makes them, according to a team of scientists who used a combination of computational and experimental techniques to understand this force.

header photo

Wasp warriors: Entomologists on samurai mission to slay stink bugs

5/16/18

Hillary Peterson is every brown marmorated stink bug's worst nightmare. The Penn State doctoral degree student does not intend to rest professionally until she and other entomologists devise a way to reduce burgeoning populations of the invasive insect, originally from Asia, which are damaging crops and aggravating people. The goal of their research is to develop biological controls to interfere with the pest's reproduction.

Grace Hampton Gullah basketry

Mending the Gap

5/15/18

Art, culture, sport, and a new kind of volunteer bring old and young together to strengthen the social fabric.

wedding cake topper split

Love hurts: Spats with spouse may worsen chronic pain, other symptoms

5/15/18

For patients with chronic conditions like arthritis or diabetes, arguments with a spouse may have physical repercussions, according to researchers. They found that in two groups of older individuals — one group with arthritis and one with diabetes — the patients who felt more tension with their spouse also reported worse symptoms on those days.

Anopheles stephensi mosquito

Altered body odor indicates malaria even if microscope doesn't

5/14/18

Typhoid Mary may have infected a hundred or more people, but asymptomatic carriers of malaria infect far more people every year through mosquito vectors. An international team of researchers is working toward a way to identify malaria patients including infected individuals who show no malaria symptoms.

Genetic fixer-uppers may help predict bladder cancer prognosis

5/14/18

Mutations in genes that help repair damage to DNA may aid in predicting the prognosis of patients with bladder and other related cancers, according to researchers, who found that bladder cancer patients who had mutations in their ATM or RB1 genes — proteins that help repair DNA damage when they’re functioning normally — tended not to live as long as patients without the mutations.

spiritual

Researcher examines religion and patient-therapist relationships

5/10/18

Stephanie Winkeljohn Black, assistant professor of psychology in Penn State Harrisburg’s School of Behavioral Sciences and Education, sees a gap between how mental health counselors manage religious beliefs and the type of understanding and care that their clients need. She has made closing that gap a mission.

microRNA stem-loop

MicroRNAs show signs of promise for prostate cancer screening tests

5/10/18

Early detection of prostate cancer is important, but screenings can be intrusive and inaccurate. A team of researchers are exploring whether MicroRNAs can be used to detect the presence of prostate cancer. While their initial tests that used MicroRNAs failed to offer significant results after statistic readjustments, the team says new technology, techniques, and further testing may offer additional insights on how MicroRNAs can be used for a nonintrusive way to find prostate cancer.

Berks Trimatis team working on their project

Berks engineering team selected for the Great Social Enterprise Pitch

5/9/18

A team from Penn State Berks has been selected as one of 10 finalists in the Great Social Enterprise Pitch, an idea incubator and business plan competition for concepts that use a business model and revenues to have a positive social or environmental impact. The student-faculty team, Trimatis, recycles plastic waste for use in 3-D printing. Working with the Langan LaunchBox, they were able to develop their business plans

Pages