Huck Institutes of the Life Sciences

05/28/2026

The annual Life Sciences Symposium is one of the highlights of the Huck's academic calendar. This year's edition—its 10th anniversary—was a resounding success, with invited speakers, expert panels, practical workshops, graduate student posters from across the university, and a visit from the Nittany Lion himself.

See our Flickr album for a full visual recap of the day: https://bit.ly/4dOKCkO

05/27/2026

A vital tool for healthcare practitioners, electroencephalography (EEG) systems measure electrical activity in the brain through electrodes placed on the scalp, but getting reliable readings can be surprisingly difficult. Hair interferes with contact between the electrodes and skin, and the gels used to improve those connections often dry out over time, weakening signal quality.

Researchers at Penn State have developed a reusable material designed to solve both problems at once. The material is a thermoreversible semiconducting ionic biogel, meaning it becomes liquid when gently heated so it can move through hair and reach the scalp, then returns to a stable gel as it cools, keeping its conducting and semiconducting character. The researchers said the technology could improve wearable brain-monitoring systems and eventually help create more natural touch experiences in virtual reality, prosthetic limbs and other human-computer interfaces.

Electroencephalography (EEG) systems measure electrical brain activity through electrodes placed on the scalp, but getting reliable readings can be surprisingly difficult as hair interferes with contact between the electrodes and skin, and the gels used to improve those connections often dry out ove...

05/26/2026

Q&A: Ebola outbreak and public health emergency

The World Health Organization declared an international public health emergency due to an outbreak of Ebola in the Democratic Republic of the Congo. The outbreak, which has already killed more than 100 people, took longer to identify as the virus species is different than the species typically responsible for Ebola outbreaks. There is no vaccine for this species of Ebolavirus, but researchers are testing the effectiveness of a vaccine for a different species of the virus.

Associate Professor of Biology Nita Bharti, a virus expert and a member of the Center for Infectious Disease Dynamics, and postdoctoral researcher Kelsee Baranowski did a Q&A with Penn State News about Ebola and this most recent outbreak:

In this Q&A, Nita Bharti, associate professor of biology at Penn State, and postdoctoral scholar Kelsee Baranowski discuss what Ebola is, how it affects people and why this outbreak matters to people around the world.

05/22/2026

A five-year, $3.2m NIH grant to a team from Penn State and the University of Wisconsin—including Huck faculty Janine Kwapis and Istvan Albert—will support inquiry into the neural mechanisms underlying post-traumatic stress disorder. Around 7% of Americans experience PTSD at some point in their life.

“Fear is an important aspect of survival, but an exaggerated response, such as with PTSD and other anxiety disorders, can cause harm if it interferes with normal functioning,” said Kwapis, Paul Berg Early Career Professor in the Biological Sciences in the Penn State Eberly College of Science and leader of the research team. “We want to know what’s happening during a traumatic event that persistently changes how our brain functions and how that differs between men and women.”

A team of researchers from Penn State and the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee has been awarded a five-year, $3.2 million grant from the U.S. National Institutes of Health’s National Institute of Mental Health to explore the regulatory mechanisms in the brain that produce a biological fear memory...

05/21/2026

Last week's One Health Microbiome Symposium had everything from poster sessions and panel talks to bread sniffing and rhino p**p. Check out our full Flickr album for more than 200 photos from the two-day event:

https://www.flickr.com/photos/huckinstitutes/albums/72177720333754327

05/20/2026

Hantavirus has been in the news lately, with an outbreak on the cruise ship MV Hondius infecting at least 11 people and resulting in three deaths. But is there a danger of hantavirus spreading to become the next pandemic like covid-19? Assistant Professor Sagan Friant, a member of the Center for Infectious Disease Dynamics and leader of a working group on rodent-borne diseases, tackles that question in this video.

05/19/2026

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.

A new study led by researchers at Penn State explored why some bumble bee larvae become workers and others become queens, despite coming from the same eggs.

05/18/2026

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.

Full Story:

Researchers at Penn State have developed a new class of 3D-printed bioelectronics made of soft, stretchy materials, as well as an adhesive component that helps the device painlessly stick to biological tissue. The team reported that their new design, which they call CaroFlex and tested in a rodent m...

05/14/2026

Penn State’s College of Agricultural Sciences welcomed a delegation from the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations 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.

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 opp...

05/13/2026

Is AI democratizing global health or reinforcing old inequities?

Matt Ferrari, professor of biology, director of the Center for Infectious Disease Dynamics, and scientific co-chair of the Measles Analytics Hub, spoke with Penn State News about how artificial intelligence is changing the tools available to researchers:

Artificial intelligence (AI) is transforming global health and infectious disease science, bringing new opportunities but could also exacerbate existing disparities, according to Matt Ferrari, professor of biology. In this Q&A, Ferrari spoke about the promises and pitfalls of AI and large language m...

05/12/2026

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 recognition of Lyme Disease Awareness month, Erika Machtinger, associate professor of entomology in Penn State’s College of Agricultural Sciences, offered practical tips on protecting against ticks in this Q&A.