Agriculture

Would replacing food stamps with food boxes reduce hunger?

Craig Gundersen, the Soybean Industry Endowed Professor of Agricultural Strategy at the University of Illinois College of ACES, is an agricultural economist who studies the causes and consequences of food insecurity and the impact of food assistance programs on public health. He spoke with News Bureau business and law editor Phil Ciciora about the Trump […]

Life sciences Researchers used neuroimaging to study how iron deficiency influences piglet brain development. The findings may have implications for human infant brain development.

Researchers used neuroimaging to study how iron deficiency influences piglet brain development. The findings may have implications for human infant brain development.

Neuroimaging reveals lasting brain deficits in iron-deficient piglets

CHAMPAIGN, Ill. — Iron deficiency in the first four weeks of a piglet’s life – equivalent to roughly four months in a human infant – impairs the development of key brain structures, scientists report. The abnormalities remain even after weeks of iron supplementation begun later in life, the researchers found. The discovery, reported in the […]

Life sciences May Berenbaum, left, and Ling-Hsiu Liao found that honey bees have a slight preference for food laced with the fungicide chlorothalonil at certain concentrations.

May Berenbaum, left, and Ling-Hsiu Liao found that honey bees have a slight preference for food laced with the fungicide chlorothalonil at certain concentrations.

Agricultural fungicide attracts honey bees, study finds

CHAMPAIGN, Ill. — When given the choice, honey bee foragers prefer to collect sugar syrup laced with the fungicide chlorothalonil over sugar syrup alone, researchers report in the journal Scientific Reports. The puzzling finding comes on the heels of other studies linking fungicides to declines in honey bee and wild bee populations. One recent study, […]

Agriculture American bittersweet, left, has red berries encased in orange capsules, while oriental bittersweet, right, has red berries encased in bright yellow capsules.

American bittersweet, left, has red berries encased in orange capsules, while oriental bittersweet, right, has red berries encased in bright yellow capsules.

Many Midwestern retailers sell mislabeled invasive vines

CHAMPAIGN, Ill. — Gardeners hoping to celebrate the beauty of American bittersweet – a native vine that produces orange berries in the fall and is used for wreaths – may be unwittingly buying an invasive bittersweet instead. That’s because many Midwestern retailers are selling oriental bittersweet with labels misidentifying it as the native plant, researchers […]

Life sciences From left, Matthew Hudson, Arian Avalos, Gene Robinson and their colleagues found genomic signatures associated with the evolution of gentle behavior in Puerto Rico’s Africanized honey bees.

From left, Matthew Hudson, Arian Avalos, Gene Robinson and their colleagues found genomic signatures associated with the evolution of gentle behavior in Puerto Rico’s Africanized honey bees.

Genomic study explores evolution of gentle ‘killer bees’ in Puerto Rico

CHAMPAIGN, Ill. — A genomic study of Puerto Rico’s Africanized honey bees – which are more docile than other so-called “killer bees” – reveals that they retain most of the genetic traits of their African honey bee ancestors, but that a few regions of their DNA have become more like those of European honey bees. […]

Agriculture With expansion, the sugarcane-to-ethanol industry in Brazil could reduce global carbon dioxide emissions by as much as 5.6 percent, an international team reports.

With expansion, the sugarcane-to-ethanol industry in Brazil could reduce global carbon dioxide emissions by as much as 5.6 percent, an international team reports.

Scientists: Expanding Brazilian sugarcane could dent global CO2 emissions

CHAMPAIGN, Ill. — Vastly expanding sugarcane production in Brazil for conversion to ethanol could reduce current global carbon dioxide emissions by as much as 5.6 percent, researchers report in the journal Nature Climate Change. This would be a massive undertaking, involving the conversion of hundreds of thousands of square miles — at its most ambitious, more […]

Life sciences Researchers from the Illinois Natural History Survey have surveyed fish in the Illinois River since 1957. Here, the team uses electricity to stun the fish for capture.

Researchers from the Illinois Natural History Survey have surveyed fish in the Illinois River since 1957. Here, the team uses electricity to stun the fish for capture.

Illinois sportfish recovery a result of 1972 Clean Water Act, scientists report

CHAMPAIGN, Ill. — Populations of largemouth bass, bluegill, catfish and other sportfish are at the highest levels recorded in more than a century in the Illinois River, according to a new report. Their dramatic recovery, from populations close to zero near Chicago throughout much of the 20th century, began just after implementation of the Clean […]

Agriculture Like a Hydra, some plants grow bigger and boost their chemical defenses after being clipped.

Some plants grow bigger – and meaner – when clipped, study finds

CHAMPAIGN, Ill. — Some plants behave like the mythical monster Hydra: Cut off their heads and they grow back, bigger and better than before. A new study finds that these “overcompensators,” as they are called, also augment their defensive chemistry – think plant venom – when they are clipped. Clipping removes the primary stem and […]

Expert viewpoints Photo of Craig Lemoine, the director of the Financial Planning Program at the College of ACES

Is our flood insurance model broken?

Losses from Hurricane Harvey are projected to be in the billions of dollars, likely making it the costliest natural disaster in U.S. history. Craig Lemoine is a professor at the College of ACES and director of the Financial Planning Program. Lemoine, also a certified financial planner, spoke with News Bureau business and law editor Phil […]

Expert viewpoints Photo of Craig Lemoine, the director of the Financial Planning Program at the College of ACES

Should states be in the lottery business?

A Massachusetts hospital worker recently claimed the record-breaking $758 million Powerball jackpot. The buzz surrounding the potential payout helped drive ticket sales, but at what cost to states and taxpayers? Craig Lemoine is an associate teaching professor at the College of ACES and director of the Financial Planning Program. Lemoine, also a certified financial planner, […]

Life sciences A new study of stress responses in largemouth bass found that those that are less likely to strike at a fishing lure also tend to experience higher cortisol levels after a stressful encounter.

A new study of stress responses in largemouth bass found that those that are less likely to strike at a fishing lure also tend to experience higher cortisol levels after a stressful encounter.

Study links fish stress hormones to whether they take the bait

CHAMPAIGN, Ill. — Take a fish out of water and its stress hormones will go up. Adrenaline and noradrenaline, the “fight or flight” hormones, peak first, followed more gradually by cortisol. A new study finds that largemouth bass whose cortisol levels rise most after a brief bout of stress are inherently harder to catch by […]

Life sciences Socially unresponsive bees share something fundamental with autistic humans, new research finds.

Study finds parallels between unresponsive honey bees, autism in humans

CHAMPAIGN, Ill. — Honey bees that consistently fail to respond to obvious social cues share something fundamental with autistic humans, researchers report in a new study. Genes most closely associated with autism spectrum disorders in humans are regulated differently in unresponsive honey bees than in their more responsive nest mates, the study found. The findings, […]

Agriculture

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