Huck Institutes of the Life Sciences names 2025-26 seed grant recipients
| psu.edu
Eight projects, featuring research teams representing a dozen departments across the University, have been selected to receive seed funding from the Huck Institutes of the Life Sciences
Propel Penn State Seed Fund accepting applications for fall investment cycle
| psu.edu
The Propel Penn State Seed Fund, administered by the Farrell Center for Corporate Innovation and Entrepreneurship at the Penn State Smeal College of Business, is now accepting startup applications for the fall 2025 investment cycle. The deadline to apply is Sept. 29.
CTSI’s resources enable clinical discoveries, researcher says
| psu.edu
Despite upticks in tick-borne infections, research has been limited by the lack of real-world data on co-infections and mortality outcomes in large, diverse populations. Penn State researcher Paddy Ssentongo said that changed with the help of the Clinical and Translational Science Institute.
Tidal marshes trap microplastics, raising risks for ecosystems and people
Freshwater tidal marshes, critical for wildlife and coastal protection, are now serving as microplastic catch basins, according to a team of researchers at Penn State. They recently found that these marshes trap large amounts of diverse plastics, with concentrations and ecological risks increasing downstream.
Ancient DNA reveals mastodons migrated, evolved in response to shifting climate
| psu.edu
Mastodons, the elephant-like Ice Age giants, migrated vast distances in response to shifting climates and were far more genetically diverse than previously known, according to an ancient DNA analysis of the remains of several mastodons, including those that roamed along the Pacific and Atlantic coasts of North America.
Penn State Smeal taps Lesser to lead Center for the Business of Sustainability
| psu.edu
The Penn State Smeal College of Business has announced the appointment of Travis Lesser as the new director of the Center for the Business of Sustainability.
Penn State showcases work to protect Chesapeake Bay during commission's visit
| psu.edu
Leaders from the Chesapeake Bay Commission visited Penn State's University Park campus Sept. 4-5 to experience the impactful work being done at Penn State and in Centre County to help protect the overall health of the Chesapeake Bay ecosystem.
Resilient reefs: How soft corals survive bleaching and warming oceans
| by Todd LaJeunesse, Caleb Butler
As stony corals decline from heat and pollution, soft-bodied octocorals are taking over and fundamentally changing these vital habitats. Powered by unique algae partnerships, their resilience is helping scientists understand which species might endure warming seas — and what that means for the future of reefs.
Sept. 17 seminar: Environmental, market effects of commercial organic waste ban
| psu.edu
Doctoral candidate Yuhui Jeong will lead a seminar on housing prices amid a Massachusetts regulation on food waste. The seminar, the second in the Initiative for Energy and Environmental Economics and Policy's fall series, will take place on Sept. 17.
EarthTalks: Turning waste into sources of critical minerals, rare earth elements
| psu.edu
Sarma Pisupati, director of the Center for Critical Minerals at Penn State, will give a public talk as part of the EarthTalks series. His presentation, “Securing Domestic Critical Mineral Supply Chains: Penn State’s Efforts from Lab to Pilot-Scale," will take place on Sept. 15.
Targeting the rumen microbiota for reduced methane production
| isappscience.org
This episode features Prof. Alex Hristov, PhD, from Penn State University, talking about the microbiota of ruminants and how it can be targeted for reduced methane production.
Black holes everywhere! Ten years of LIGO and gravitational waves
| psu.edu
A decade after the first detection of gravitational waves with the LIGO detectors, researchers have “heard” the clearest evidence for a theorem proposed by Stephen Hawking in 1971 that merging black holes must grow their collective surface areas.