Monday, November 28, 2011
Climate change and humans were responsible for extinction of the woolly mammoth and other large ice-age mammals, according to an international group of scientists. (more)
Monday, June 20, 2011
On May 13, 2011, Roger Geiger, distinguished professor of higher education at Penn State, spoke about the University's history as a land-grant institution at the initiation and awards ceremony of Penn State's Phi Beta Kappa chapter, Lambda of Pennsylvania. Following is a transcript of his talk. (more)
Friday, January 22, 2010
Stephan Schuster and Webb Miller opened new frontiers in molecular biology when they successfully sequenced the woolly mammoth genome last year. "This is really the first time that we have been able to study an extinct animal in the same detail as the ones living in our own time," explains Schuster, professor of biochemistry and molecular biology. The approach they developed may help explain past extinction events--and prevent future ones. (more)
Friday, May 01, 2009
Penn State professors Stephan Schuster and Webb Miller have been named among "The World's Most Influential People" by TIME Magazine. The May 11 issue of the magazine describes the "TIME 100" winners and their accomplishments. Schuster, a professor of biochemistry and molecular biology, and Miller, a professor of biology and of computer science and engineering, are leaders of a team that is the first to report the genome-wide sequence of an extinct animal, the woolly mammoth. They developed a novel approach for gene studies that reads ancient DNA highly efficiently. They also were the first to achieve the successful sequencing of genes from the extinct Tasmanian tiger. Their research has opened the door to the widespread, nondestructive use of museum specimens to learn why mammals become extinct and how extinctions might be prevented. (more)
Monday, January 12, 2009
All the genes that the exotic Tasmanian Tiger inherited only from its mother will be revealed by an international team of scientists in a research paper published today (Jan. 13) in the online edition of Genome Research. The research marks the first successful sequencing of genes from this carnivorous marsupial, which looked like a large tiger-striped dog and became extinct in 1936. The research also opens the door to the widespread, nondestructive use of museum specimens to learn why mammals become extinct and how extinctions might be prevented. "Our goal is to learn how to prevent endangered species from going extinct," said Webb Miller, a Penn State professor of biology and of computer science and engineering and a member of the research team that includes scientists from the United States, Sweden, Spain, Denmark, the United Kingdom and Germany. "I want to learn as much as I can about why large mammals become extinct because all my friends are large mammals," Miller said. "However, I am expecting that publication of this paper also will reinvigorate discussions about possibly bringing the extinct Tasmanian Tiger back to life." (more)
Tuesday, November 25, 2008
Fox News interviewed on Tuesday (Nov. 25) morning Stephan Schuster, Penn State professor of biochemistry and molecular biology and co-leader of a team that is the first to report the genome-wide sequence of an extinct animal. The research team -- co-led by Webb Miller, professor of biology and of computer science and engineering -- has worked to sequence the genetic makeup of the woolly mammoth. An online link to the interview is available in the full version of this article. (more)
Thursday, November 20, 2008
Researcher Stephan Schuster, Penn State professor of biochemistry and molecular biology and co-leader of a team that is the first to report the genome-wide sequence of an extinct animal, is scheduled to be featured on two national television news shows. The research team sequenced the genetic makeup of the woolly mammoth. Schuster appeared Thursday (Nov. 20) on the "CBS Evening News" and was interviewed for a future segment of ABC's morning news program, "Good Morning America." An online link to the CBS segment is available in the full version of this article. (more)
