When a disease-causing virus or other organism is transmitted from one species to another, most of the time the infection sputters and dies out. On rare occasions, the infection can perpetuate transmission in the new host species and cause a pandemic. For example, scientists are keeping a close eye on H5N1, highly pathogenic avian influenza, which causes bird flu and has been found in cows and humans. But is there a way to anticipate when infections will die out on their own and when they wil...| phys.org
Electricity flows through wires to deliver power, but it loses energy as it moves, delivering less than it started with. But that energy loss isn't a given. Scientists at Penn State have found a new way to identify types of materials known as superconductors that allow power to travel without any resistance, meaning no energy is lost.| phys.org
One of the defining features of an arctic environment is permafrost, which covers almost 10% of Earth's surface and remains entirely frozen year round. With temperatures reaching more extreme levels more frequently, the U.S. Department of Defense (DoD) has awarded a two-year, $957,013 grant to Penn State Professor Ming Xiao, to investigate the effect on permafrost and how its melting could expose contaminants to the environment.| phys.org
Creating meaningful opportunities for students to help shape their own education isn't simply a matter of inviting them to speak up. According to new research led by Penn State College of Education Professor Dana Mitra, it requires a careful balance of teacher mindsets, relationships and practical skills—what the study terms cognitive mindsets, emotive "heartsets" and intention-building skillsets.| phys.org
Similar to humans, plants can become infected with more than one virus at a time, opening the door for more severe infections and new disease variants. But these mixed infections are often under-studied and poorly understood.| phys.org
For seaside communities reducing their pollution, nitrogen is a prime target. Often found in agricultural runoff and human waste, nitrogen and the nitrogen-containing nitrate molecule can enter coastal waters as a critical nutrient for algae. Its abundance leads to a surplus of algal blooms, upsetting delicate balances of plant and marine life.| phys.org
For small-scale farmers up against floods, droughts and other dramatic climate events, diversifying income sources can mean financial safety—a lifeline as crop-growing conditions destabilize. But in Nepal, where natural hazards rank among the most severe in the world, how farmers perceive climate-related risks often leads them to double down on agriculture instead of exploring other livelihoods, according to a study led by a Penn State researcher.| phys.org
Corn was domesticated from its ancestor teosinte in central Mexico beginning about 9,000 years ago by humans selectively breeding the wild plant, transforming its small, hard-shelled kernels into the large, palatable ears of corn we know today. Over the centuries, root traits of corn—now the most widely planted crop in the U.S., and second globally (by acreage)—evolved in response to both changing environmental conditions and human agricultural practices.| phys.org
New computer simulations that model every atom of a protein as it folds into its final three-dimensional form support the existence of a recently identified type of protein misfolding.| phys.org
If an extraterrestrial intelligence were looking for signs of human communications, when and where should they look? In a new study, researchers at Penn State and NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Southern California analyzed when and where human deep space transmissions would be most detectable by an observer outside our solar system and suggest that the patterns they see could be used to guide our own search for extraterrestrial intelligence (SETI).| phys.org