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Illinois partnership with the JJK Foundation in St. Clair County set to provide more than $32 million in labor income creation throughout the state by 2026
CHAMPAIGN, Ill. — A study conducted by a University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign economist found that the activities of the Jackie Joyner-Kersee Foundation in St. Clair County, Illinois, will provide $32 million in labor income creation, 474 new jobs and $10.7 million in new tax revenue throughout the state of Illinois by 2026. The JJK Foundation […]
Study: Social networks can influence perception of climate-change risk
CHAMPAIGN, Ill. — A new paper co-written by a University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign urban and environmental economics expert shows that social networks can play a significant role in influencing the financial behaviors and perception of catastrophic risks brought about by climate change. New research from Yilan Xu (“E-Lan SHE”), a professor of agricultural and consumer economics at […]
How does bird flu infect so many species?
Recent reports of the first documented case of the H5N1 virus passing from birds to cows — and then from a cow to a person — have generated a lot of press in an age of worry about diseases “spilling over” from wildlife to agricultural animals and humans. Dr. James Lowe, a professor of veterinary […]
Seven Illinois professors elected AAAS Fellows
CHAMPAIGN, Ill. — Seven University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign professors have been elected 2023 Fellows of the American Association for the Advancement of Science. They are among the 502 scientists, engineers and innovators recognized for their scientifically and socially distinguished achievements by the world’s largest general scientific society. The new U. of I. fellows are computer science […]
What can researchers learn about ecosystems and the environment during the total solar eclipse?
Scientists across the U.S. and Mexico are engaging in a one-day data-gathering operation to record how the 2024 total solar eclipse affects various aspects of life on Earth. At the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign, crop sciences and plant biology professor Carl Bernacchi and his colleagues will focus on atmospheric and ecosystem-scale responses to the eclipse. […]
Study brings scientists a step closer to successfully growing plants in space
New, highly stretchable sensors can monitor and transmit plant growth information without human intervention, report University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign researchers in the journal Device. The polymer sensors are resilient to humidity and temperature, can stretch over 400% while remaining attached to a plant as it grows and send a wireless signal to a remote monitoring […]
Study: ‘Legacy’ phosphorus delays water quality improvements in Gulf of Mexico
The same phosphorous that fertilizes the thriving agriculture of the Midwest is also responsible for a vast “dead zone” in the Gulf of Mexico near the Mississippi Delta. Efforts to reduce the amount of phosphorus that enters the Mississippi River system are underway, but research led by the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign suggests that remnants […]
Microbial division of labor produces higher biofuel yields
CHAMPAIGN, Ill. — Scientists have found a way to boost ethanol production via yeast fermentation, a standard method for converting plant sugars into biofuels. Their approach, detailed in the journal Nature Communications, relies on careful timing and a tight division of labor among synthetic yeast strains to yield more ethanol per unit of plant sugars […]
Paper: Multistate foodborne illness outbreaks impact restaurant stock price, public perception
CHAMPAIGN, Ill. — As demand for food from restaurants soars in the U.S., so does the importance in understanding the impacts of foodborne illness outbreaks. A new paper co-written by a University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign expert in food marketing and food policy finds that outbreaks spanning multiple states bring swift financial losses, increased media attention […]
Genetic sequencing uncovers unexpected source of pathogens in floodwaters
CHAMPAIGN, Ill. — Researchers report in the journal Geohealth that local rivers and streams were the source of the Salmonella enterica contamination along coastal North Carolina after Hurricane Florence in 2018 – not the previously suspected high number of pig farms in the region. These findings have critical implications for controlling the spread of disease […]
Lightning sparks scientists’ design of ultraviolet-C device for food sanitization
CHAMPAIGN, Ill. — Scientists at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign have developed a portable, self-powered ultraviolet-C device called the Tribo-sanitizer that can inactivate two of the bacteria responsible for many foodborne illnesses and deaths. The Tribo-sanitizer’s UVC lamp is powered using the triboelectric effect – electricity that is generated when two dissimilar materials come into contact. […]
In TED Talk, Long describes three photosynthetic changes that boost crop yields
CHAMPAIGN, Ill. — In a newly released TED Talk, Stephen Long, a University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign professor of plant biology and crop sciences, detailed his and his colleagues’ efforts to boost photosynthesis in crop plants. He described three interventions, each of which increased crop yields by 20% or more. Long is the director of the […]