Featured Stories
Q&A: Tips to protect against ticks
May is Lyme Disease Awareness Month, and Pennsylvania consistently ranks as one of the top states in the nation for reported cases of Lyme disease and other tick-borne illnesses. However, there are ways to protect people, pets and livestock against ticks and the pathogens they carry, according to Erika Machtinger, associate professor of entomology in Penn State’s College of Agricultural Sciences.
Full Article
Dipanjan Pan named Huck director for innovation and entrepreneurship ecosystems
Penn State’s Huck Institutes of the Life Sciences has named Dipanjan Pan, Dorothy Foehr Huck & J. Lloyd Huck Chair Professor in Nanomedicine and professor of materials science and engineering and of nuclear engineering, to serve as the Huck’s first director for innovation and entrepreneurship ecosystems.
Full Article
Plant genes influence bacterial evolution in legume-bacteria partnership
In a recently published study, Penn State researchers described the complex relationship between plant host genes and rhizobial genes, and how plant genes strongly influence which rhizobial strains plants chose from a diverse mixture.
Full Article
News
May 18, 2026
Worker bumble bees help determine which baby bee will become queen
Every bumble bee colony has a queen, but a new study led by researchers at Penn State suggests the process of determining which baby bee reigns supreme may be less monarchal than the royal title suggests. The study explored why some bumble bee larvae become workers and others become queens, despite coming from the same eggs.
May 15, 2026
Stretchy implants could stick to arteries to treat high blood pressure
High blood pressure, formally known as hypertension, is a leading cause of heart disease in the United States, impacting nearly half of all adults. Approximately one in 10 of these patients experience drug-resistant hypertension that can be difficult to address, but according to researchers at Penn State, tiny devices that gently shock one of the body's most critical arteries could offer effective treatment.
May 12, 2026
College of Ag Sciences, FAO mark one-year anniversary of Youth Food Lab
Penn State’s College of Agricultural Sciences welcomed a delegation from the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations, or FAO, to University Park last week to mark the first anniversary of the World Food Forum Youth Food Lab North America at Penn State partnership and to explore opportunities to deepen collaboration on global agrifood systems, innovation and education.
News
May 18, 2026
Worker bumble bees help determine which baby bee will become queen
Every bumble bee colony has a queen, but a new study led by researchers at Penn State suggests the process of determining which baby bee reigns supreme may be less monarchal than the royal title suggests. The study explored why some bumble bee larvae become workers and others become queens, despite coming from the same eggs.
May 15, 2026
Stretchy implants could stick to arteries to treat high blood pressure
High blood pressure, formally known as hypertension, is a leading cause of heart disease in the United States, impacting nearly half of all adults. Approximately one in 10 of these patients experience drug-resistant hypertension that can be difficult to address, but according to researchers at Penn State, tiny devices that gently shock one of the body's most critical arteries could offer effective treatment.
May 12, 2026
College of Ag Sciences, FAO mark one-year anniversary of Youth Food Lab
Penn State’s College of Agricultural Sciences welcomed a delegation from the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations, or FAO, to University Park last week to mark the first anniversary of the World Food Forum Youth Food Lab North America at Penn State partnership and to explore opportunities to deepen collaboration on global agrifood systems, innovation and education.
May 11, 2026
Q&A: Is AI democratizing global health or reinforcing old inequities?
Artificial intelligence is rapidly transforming the tools that are central to global health decision-making in areas like disease control policies, financing and vaccination strategies, such as infectious disease modeling. This brings new opportunities to the modeling landscape, but could also exacerbate existing disparities, according to Matt Ferrari, professor of biology and director of the Center for Infectious Disease Dynamics at the Huck Institutes of Life Sciences at Penn State.
Events
Wednesday May
20
Perspectives in Structural Molecular Biology / Matrix Representation of Protein Folding Patterns
Center for Structural Biology Seminar
Center for Structural Biology
Wednesday May
20
Huck Center for Structural Biology Retreat
Center for Structural Biology
Wednesday May
20
The neural bases of mosquito-host and flower interactions
Huck Distinguished Lecture Series
Center for Brain Behavior and Cognition , Center for Chemical Ecology , Center for Infectious Disease Dynamics , Center for Malaria Research , Distinguished Lectures in Life Science , Insect Biodiversity Center , Neuroscience Institute , Plant Institute
Events
Wednesday May
20
Huck Center for Structural Biology Retreat
Center for Structural Biology
Wednesday May
20
Perspectives in Structural Molecular Biology / Matrix Representation of Protein Folding Patterns
Center for Structural Biology Seminar
Center for Structural Biology
Wednesday May
20
The neural bases of mosquito-host and flower interactions
Huck Distinguished Lecture Series
Center for Brain Behavior and Cognition , Center for Chemical Ecology , Center for Infectious Disease Dynamics , Center for Malaria Research , Distinguished Lectures in Life Science , Insect Biodiversity Center , Neuroscience Institute , Plant Institute
Wednesday May
20