Still Life
Commencement across Penn State: Spring 2012
Spring commencement 2012 under way
Penn State, Moroccan students problem-solve together
Finals Week Spring Semester 2012
Children explore career options at University Park
Painting the Lines at Beaver Stadium
Did They Get It Right? - RedTails
Iconic Penn State elm taken down over spring break 2012
We ... are Penn State (December 19, 2011)
Disease stricken matching elm tree slated for removal
Penn State's creamery, from the cow to the cone
People in Malawi who are uncertain about their HIV status are more eager to start families than those who are certain of their HIV status, according to researchers. (more)
A unique and innovative analysis of how social media can affect the spread of a disease has been designed and implemented by a scientist at Penn State studying attitudes toward the H1N1 vaccine. Marcel Salathe, an assistant professor of biology, studied how users of Twitter -- a popular microblogging and social-networking service -- expressed their sentiments about a new vaccine. He then tracked how the users' attitudes correlated with vaccination rates and how microbloggers with the same negative or positive feelings seemed to influence others in their social circles. The research is considered the first case study in how social media sites affect and reflect disease networks, and the method is expected to be repeated in the study of other diseases. The results will be published in the journal PLoS Computational Biology. (more)
Drug use, risky sexual behavior and violence among South African youth may be reduced thanks to Penn State researchers, who will look at expanding a leisure education and life skills program to 56 South African high schools. The researchers, led by Linda Caldwell, professor of recreation, park, and tourism management, and Edward Smith, associate director of the Penn State Prevention Research Center for the Promotion of Human Development, received a $2.8 million grant from the National Institute on Drug Abuse. (more)
It is hard to image a world where HIV/AIDS treatments are not widely available; where domestic and sexual violence are considered a part of everyday life; where most children become orphans and are left to raise themselves. In Africa, such a world is reality. In the next episode of "Conversations from Penn State," diplomat, author and humanitarian, Stephen Lewis, addresses the ongoing HIV/AIDS crisis in Africa and the need for international reform. (more)
It has been 28 years since the first case reports of individuals with a newly recognized immunodeficiency disorder called AIDS were described. Soon thereafter the viral cause of AIDS, the human immunodeficiency virus (HIV), was discovered. This discovery led to the development of tests that could quickly and accurately diagnose HIV infection. We then began to watch as the epidemic spread not only in the United States and other developed nations, but to a much greater extent in the developing world, particularly on the African continent where the combination of a deadly infection coupled with an often non-existent health care infrastructure resulted in untold misery and hardship, says the newest edition of The Medical Minute, a service of the Penn State Milton S. Hershey Medical Center. (more)
In observance of AIDS Awareness Month, Penn State Harrisburg is hosting a public presentation by filmmaker Brad Lowery and a showing of his acclaimed "No One Will Ever Know" on Dec. 3. The 12:30 p.m. film presentation and discussion are free and open to the public in the Gallery Lounge of Olmsted Building. For information, call 717-948-6273. (more)
On Dec. 9, Joan Kaufman, director of the AIDS Public Policy Training Project at Harvard's Kennedy School of Government, will present "Pressing Issues in China's Health Care System: Addressing AIDs and other Critical Challenges." The lecture will begin at 5:15 p.m. in room 112 of the Lewis Katz Building on Penn State's University Park campus. (more)
Increased schooling across sub-Saharan Africa may be lowering new HIV infections among younger adults, according to sociologists, suggesting a shift in a decades-long trend where formal education is considered an AIDS risk factor. While education in general has a positive impact on global public health, when it comes to HIV and AIDS in sub-Saharan Africa, education has had a completely opposite effect. (more)
Increasing the production of naturally occurring proteins that contain selenium in human blood cells slows down multiplication of the AIDS virus, according to biochemists. "We have found that increasing the expression of proteins that contain selenium negatively affects the replication of HIV," said K. Sandeep Prabhu, Penn State assistant professor of immunology and molecular toxicology. "Our results suggest a reduction in viral replication by at least tenfold." (more)
A recent project gave two IST researchers access to unfiltered data on an African-American blog, allowing them to examine how members of the black community are connecting online to discuss HIV and AIDS. (more)
