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
Rockne P. Harmon, former senior deputy district attorney for Alameda County in California, will present a lecture hosted by the Penn State Forensic Science program of the Eberly College of Science. The lecture, titled "Solving Cold Cases through Familial DNA Searching: Issues and Answers," will begin at 12:20 p.m. on Thursday, 12 April 2012 in the 129 Waring Building at the Penn State University Park campus. The free public lecture is sponsored by the Penn State Eberly College of Science.
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A software program developed by a Penn State synthetic biologist could provide biotechnology companies with genetic plans to help them turn bacteria into molecular factories, capable of producing everything from biofuels to medicine. (more)
Scientists at Penn State have used large-scale DNA sequencing data to investigate, for the first time, a longstanding evolutionary assumption: that DNA mutation rates are influenced by life-history traits, including metabolic rate and the length of time between generations. The research team found, for example, a higher rate of DNA mutations in the male sperm versus the female egg. One of the many implications of this research is that life-history traits of extinct species now could be discoverable. (more)
Scientists at Penn State have achieved a major milestone in the attempt to assemble, in a test tube, entire chromosomes from their component parts. The achievement reveals the process a cell uses to package the basic building blocks of an organism's entire genetic code -- its genome. The evidence provided by early research with the new procedure overturns three previous theories of the genome-packaging process and opens the door to a new era of genome-wide biochemistry research. A paper describing the team's achievement will be published in the journal Science on May 20. (more)
The first signs of spring mark the return to downtown State College of Research Unplugged, a non-traditional lecture series where experts from varying fields lead conversations with community members. All six Research Unplugged talks will be held Wednesdays from noon to 1 p.m., at the Penn State Downtown Theatre on Allen Street. On March 23, join sociology professor Sam Richards and colleague Danna Jayne Seballos of the "World in Conversation Project" to find out "Why Race Still Matters: Creating Conversations in 21st Century Classrooms." (more)
Beth Shapiro, the Shaffer Career Development Assistant Professor of Biology at Penn State University, has won a David and Lucile Packard Foundation fellowship to explore the origins and evolution of viruses. (more)
Law professor David H. Kaye shares his insights into how the the use of DNA evidence has impacted our legal system. While its use has far-reaching implications, Kaye points out that "DNA is only a tool. It gives information depending on the nature of the samples and how well the analysis is done," and lawyers and judges need to understand the science behind DNA analysis. (more)
New Penn State research about human development and human genetic diseases reveals that jumping elements, some of which cause genetic diseases, become incorporated in the genome at different stages of human development. The density of transposable (jumping) elements between sex chromosomes in primates may have important consequences for the studies of human genetic diseases, say researchers Erika Kvikstad, a 2009 Penn State doctoral graduate in genetics, and Kateryna Makova, an associate professor of biology. (more)
Comparing the DNA of modern and ancient humans can show us similarities and differences in our basic biology, said Webb Miller, professor of biology and computer science. It can tell us which prehistoric populations died out completely, and which contributed genes to modern humans. It can even be used to reconstruct the appearance of ancient humans. (more)
"At the time the Egyptians were building the pyramids, there were still mammoths to be found in Northern Siberia. So we barely missed them."
--Stephan Schuster, professor of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, at the Research Unplugged discussion on Wednesday, March 31. (more)
