Strategic Communications and Marketing News Bureau

Health and Medicine

Health and Medicine Yue (Darcy) Lu standing with one elbow on her knee with flowering spring trees in the background.

Nature videography replicates the mental health benefits of outdoor activities

CHAMPAIGN, Ill. — New research led by a scholar at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign suggests that watching and creating videography of scenic locations cultivates nature-based mindfulness — conveying the same cognitive and emotional benefits as outdoor activities and fostering a deep sense of connection with nature. Yue (Darcy) Lu, an Illinois doctoral student in […]

Health and Medicine Photo illustration showing breathalyzer and phone app.

Study: People using mobile breathalyzers changed their drinking behavior

People who repeatedly used DIY breathalyzers changed their drinking behavior and improved the accuracy of self-assessments of blood-alcohol levels, study finds.

Uncategorized Health and kinesiology professor Laura Rice seated before a large monitor and keyboard with a wheelchair in the background.

Falls are prevalent concern among people who use wheelchairs, scooters

CHAMPAIGN, Ill. — More than 98% of adults who predominantly used wheelchairs and scooters for mobility reported some level of concern about falling, researchers at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign and University of Illinois Chicago found in a recent study. These individuals’ concerns were assessed as part of the ongoing development of an interactive fall […]

Health and Medicine

RNA barcodes enable high-speed mapping of connections in the brain

Researchers mapped connections among thousands of neurons in the mouse brain with unprecedented speed and resolution thanks to RNA “barcodes.”

Expert Viewpoints A woman with glasses and a green shirt sits in front of a large screen showing data, with a wheelchair in the background.

How can someone prevent or prepare for falls?

Disability and fall expert Laura Rice answers questions about the risk factors of falls, how to reduce those risks and how to best brace oneself for a fall.

Health and Medicine Prof. Sandraluz Lara-Cinisomo, center, and researchers Melany Romero, left, and Sudhamshi Beeram on a study investigating links between postpartum depression and pain during and after childbirth in racial/ethnic minority women.

Postpartum depression linked with seven pain-related risk factors

CHAMPAIGN, Ill. — A woman’s risk of developing postpartum depression is influenced by several pain-related factors before and after childbirth, including poor pain management, their prenatal mental health and the quality of patient-provider communication, researchers at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign say. Health and kinesiology professor Sandraluz Lara-Cinisomo and her co-authors, graduate students Sudhamshi Beeram […]

Health and Medicine A group of people standing in a lab

Alzheimer’s gene boosts seizures, but pathway can be targeted, study finds

CHAMPAIGN, Ill. — The gene most strongly correlated with Alzheimer’s disease also boosts seizure activity by decreasing levels of ions pumps and energy-producing enzymes in neurons, a new study by researchers at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign found. Furthermore, the energy-making pathway was stimulated and seizures reduced in mouse models of Alzheimer’s disease by administration […]

Health and Medicine Photo of Jacob S. Sherkow, a professor of law and of medicine at Illinois.

Paper: FDA-required drug labels shouldn’t be treated as evidence of patent infringement

Drug labels required by the U.S. FDA are intended to guide the safe and effective use of prescription drugs, but the hyperbolic claims of patent infringement by drug companies is tantamount to “patent gamesmanship,” said Jacob S. Sherkow, a professor of law and of medicine at Illinois.

Health and Medicine Sara Gerke, the Richard W. & Marie L. Corman Scholar at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign and expert in legal issues surrounding cutting-edge medical developments.

New paper urges caution as FDA plans to phase out animal testing in drug development

Replacing animal testing with alternate methodologies in preclinical drug trials holds potential for the development of cheaper, safer pharmaceuticals, but such a novel approach needs to be implemented judiciously and with caution.

Health and Medicine Social Sciences Sociology professor Christina Kamis standing on a stairwell in a campus building.

Your neighborhood, plus emotional stress, may be aging you prematurely

CHAMPAIGN, Ill. — While scientists have long known that living in a disadvantaged neighborhood is associated with biological symptoms of accelerated aging, emotional distress accounts for a significant portion of these effects, researchers found in a recent study. “Consistent with a chains-of-risk framework — the theory that later-life health conditions are triggered by sequential, linked […]

Health and Medicine Illinois professors Mikihiro Sato and Toni Liechty found that access to parks and recreation facilities and residents' physical activity.

Study: Access to parks linked with greater physical activity for some, but not all, residents

Access to parks linked with greater physical activity for some, but not all, residents

Expert Viewpoints Nutritional sciences professor Dr. Sharon Donovan discusses the recommendations in the 2025-2030 Dietary Guidelines recently issued by the federal government.

What does research tell us about the advice in the new US nutrition guidelines?

Dr. Sharon M. Donovan is a professor of nutritional sciences and the Melissa M. Noel Endowed Chair in Nutrition and Health, whose work centers on childhood obesity prevention and optimizing health throughout the lifespan. Donovan, who was a co-creator of the previous federal Dietary Guidelines for Americans released in 2020, spoke with News Bureau research […]

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