NEWS

Students handle brains in a NW Noggin session. The brain is a lot to wrap your mind around. The 3-pound mass of fatty tissue is the most complex structure known to humankind, but thanks to the NW Noggin program run by two Portland...

Portland State University faculty have received a $1 million grant from the National Science Foundation to help students transferring from community colleges to achieve STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering and Math) degrees. More than half of the money will go to student scholarships. The...

Viruses are the most abundant and one of the least understood biological entities on Earth. They might also exist in space, but as of yet scientists have done almost no research into this possibility. Portland State University biology professor Ken Stedman and colleagues are trying to...

Oregon shore crabs exhibit risky behavior when they’re exposed to the antidepressant Prozac, making it easier for predators to catch them, according to a new study from Portland State University (PSU). The study, published in the journal Ecology and Evolution, illustrates how concentrations...

The skillful coupling of chemistry and art by Portland State University professor Tami Lasseter Clare has helped save valuable pieces of artwork from being lost to peeling, flaking, fading and cracking. Clare’s use of cutting-edge conservation science to preserve fine art recently led...

Researchers at Portland State University found benzene and other potentially cancer-causing chemicals in the vapor produced by butane hash oil, a cannabis extract. Their study raises health concerns about dabbing, or vaporizing hash oil – a practice that is growing in popularity, especially...

Portland State researchers studying centuries-old trees in South America have found a tight correlation between wildfires and a warm weather fluctuation that has become more frequent in recent decades – and will continue to be more frequent as the climate warms. PSU geography professor...

A new study by scientists at Portland State University and the National Snow and Ice Data Center (NSIDC) at the University of Colorado Boulder has found that the effects of climate change, which are apparent in other parts of the Antarctic continent, are not yet observed for glaciers in the...

Portland State University researchers and the National Science Foundation (NSF) have publically released high-resolution maps of the McMurdo Dry Valleys, a globally unique Antarctic polar desert. The PSU scientists led a team of researchers supported by the NSF to map the area using LIDAR...

Weeks after Portland and Multnomah County committed to transition to 100 percent renewable energy by 2050, six teams of PSU researchers and city representatives reported on their own efforts to reduce carbon emissions and prepare for climate change at the 2017 Portland Climate Action...

Portland State biologist Ken Stedman has received a $540,000 grant from NASA to study the evolution of viruses, which may shed light on how viruses form, adapt and infect hosts. The study stems from a bizarre virus Stedman discovered in a hot spring at Lassen Volcanic National Park five...

Portland State University researchers have found that only about half the genes in a specific virus affecting single cell organisms is needed to infect a host. This means the virus can undergo major mutations without losing its ability to survive and infect. The research, headed by PSU...