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Life Sciences Graphic image of a beetle with a human face on its back, along with the title for the Insect Fear Film Festival.

Insect-human hybrids are onscreen at Insect Fear Film Festival

CHAMPAIGN, Ill. — Insect-human hybrids provide the scares at the 2026 Insect Fear Film Festival at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign. The festival, which is hosted by the Entomology Graduate Student Association, takes place Feb. 28 at Foellinger Auditorium. It is free and open to the public. Insect-human hybridization has long been a theme for […]

Social Sciences Diptych image with book cover of "Dracula Urbanism and Smart City Mania" and headshot of David Wilson.

Illinois professor’s book explores ‘Dracula Urbanism,’ the dark side of smart city development

CHAMPAIGN, Ill. — City development is increasingly associated with creating “smart cities” that use technology for managing city services, home construction and attracting resources. But those strategies come with negative consequences to a city’s poor residents, said David Wilson, a University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign professor of geography and geographic information science. Wilson is a critical […]

Campus News Honors Research News The Alma Mater statue with a dusting of snow

Three Illinois faculty named Sloan Foundation Fellows

CHAMPAIGN, Ill. — Three scientists at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign have received Sloan Foundation Fellowships from the Alfred P. Sloan Foundation. Mathematics professor Benjamin Castle, physics professor Jacob Covey and microbiology professor Wei Qin are among the 126 early-career research scientists whose “creativity, innovation, and research accomplishments make them stand out as the next […]

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.

Social Sciences Line drawing of a couple embracing while watching fireworks in the sky

Savoring pleasurable moments strengthens couples’ bonds   

CHAMPAIGN, Ill. — Couples who spend more time savoring the pleasurable moments they share are happier together, argue less and are more confident their relationship will last, University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign researchers say in a new study. “Savoring involves slowing down to become aware of and focus on positive experiences,” said first author Noah Larsen, […]

Humanities Photo of Brenda Straka, a University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign psychology professor who studies how people navigate exclusion and discrimination.

Study: Demographic forms can undermine sense of belonging in Latino Americans

The way Latino Americans’ identity is represented on demographic forms can undermine their fundamental sense of belonging in the U.S., says new research by a University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign psychology professor.

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.

Humanities Diptych image with the book cover of "Indifferent Cities" and a photo of Angel Garcia.

Illinois English professor explores his lost family history in new poetry collection

CHAMPAIGN, Ill. — Poet Ángel García examines his disrupted family lineage in his new collection of poetry, seeking answers about where he came from and trying to fill the many gaps in his family’s story. “Indifferent Cities” is the second book by García, a University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign English professor. The book was the winner […]

Arts Photo of a woman in a long, pink-colored dress posing onstage with a man aiming a box fan at her.

January Dance performances continue celebration of Black dance

CHAMPAIGN, Ill. — The January Dance performance of the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign dance department features works that are inspired by supermodels, reflect the struggle for racial justice and imagine the spell a group of women are conjuring in a forest. January Dance is Jan. 29-31 at Krannert Center for the Performing Arts. It is […]

Expert Viewpoints Social Sciences Professor Bayat wearing a burgundy scarf and jacket

Will the mass protests in Iran succeed in regime change?

Asef Bayat is a sociology professor and the Catherine and Bruce Bastian Professor of Global and Transnational Studies at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign with expertise in global social movements and revolutions in the Middle East. A native of Iran, Bayat spoke with News Bureau research editor Sharita Forrest about the mass protests currently erupting […]

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