The Penn Stater Magazine

The Penn Stater Daily — Oct. 8, 2013

October 8, 2013 at 9:34 am Mary Murphy Leave a comment

From news to features, your daily dose of everything Penn State

Precious medal: Some cool news for fans of legendary punk rocker Patti Smith: She’s this year’s recipient of the Penn State Institute for the Arts and Humanities‘ Medal for Distinguished Achievement. “An Evening with Patti Smith” is slated for Oct. 15 at Eisenhower Auditorium; Smith will accept the award and perform. For tickets ($15 for students, $35 for general admission), call 1-800-ARTS-TIX.

Autism news: A new study by a team of Penn State researchers may change the direction of autism research. Led by life sciences faculty member Scott Selleck, the team discovered that duplications of sections of DNA are more common in people with autism—and more duplications are associated with more severe autism symptoms. These genetic changes are also responsible for other problems, like digestive issues, that often accompany autism, says Selleck in the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette: “I don’t think autism is only caused by changes in genes that are exclusive to the nervous system, because developmental biology doesn’t work that way.”

Plame speak: Former CIA agent turned author Valerie Plame ’85 is racking up good reviews for her debut fiction novel, Blowback, released earlier this month. In an interview with The Daily Beast, Plame talks about government surveillance, “scary” nuclear scenarios, and finding love in the CIA. She also reveals that Blowback’s main character, CIA officer Vanessa Pierson, is not (surprise, surprise) entirely fictional.

Hockey state of mind: After months (years?) of anticipation, the men’s hockey team kicks off its inaugural season in just four days. This article from yesterday’s Patriot-News takes a look at how Penn State hockey’s debut will impact the state of Pennsylvania — namely, an entire generation of PA kids who, on Friday, may be exposed to college hockey for the first time.

LOL for SNL: Is it just me, or has Saturday Night Live been really funny lately? Last week’s premiere earned many a solid chuckle in my household, and the latest episode’s take on Miley-gate was spot on. In yesterday’s Daily Collegian, Penn State alumnus and SNL director Don Roy King ’69 offered some behind-the-scenes tidbits, detailing what it takes to put each show together. Says King: “We go on air at 11:30 p.m. and it just sort of flies and remarkably seems to never crash.”

Have a cow: Oh, and for absolutely no reason at all, here’s an adorable baby cow, born yesterday afternoon in the Penn State Dairy Barns.

Via Twitter @penn_state

Mary Murphy, associate editor

Entry filed under: Uncategorized. Tags: Don Roy King, Patti Smith, Scott Selleck, Valerie Plame.