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NSF funds new iBioFoundry at Illinois
CHAMPAIGN, Ill. — A newly funded U.S. National Science Foundation iBioFoundry at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign will build on more than a decade of research at the U. of I. to integrate synthetic biology, laboratory automation and artificial intelligence to advance protein and cellular engineering. This is one of five new biofoundries to be […]

Illinois researchers’ project seeks to learn from Indigenous practices in music, engineering
CHAMPAIGN, Ill. — An interdisciplinary research project has led to new ways of making music and of approaching engineering design through interactions with Indigenous communities in Bolivia and Sierra Leone. University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign music professor and professional French horn player Bernhard Scully and engineer and Carle Illinois College of Medicine teaching professor of biomedical […]

Researchers clarify how soft materials fail under stress
CHAMPAIGN, Ill. — Understanding how soft materials fail under stress is critical for solving engineering challenges as disparate as pharmaceutical technology and landslide prevention. A new study linking a spectrum of soft material behaviors — previously thought to be unrelated — led researchers to identify a new parameter they call the brittility factor, which allows […]

Researchers introduce programmable materials to help heal broken bones
CHAMPAIGN, Ill. — Natural materials like bone, bird feathers and wood have an intelligent approach to physical stress distribution, despite their irregular architectures. However, the relationship between stress modulation and their structures has remained elusive. A new study that integrates machine learning, optimization, 3D printing and stress experiments allowed engineers to gain insight into these […]

Nerves prompt muscle to release factors that boost brain health
CHAMPAIGN, Ill. — Exercise prompts muscles to release molecular cargo that boosts brain cell function and connection, but the process is not well understood. New research from the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign found that the nerves that tell muscles to move also prompt them to release more of the brain-boosting factors. “The molecules released from […]

Five Illinois faculty elected to American Academy of Arts and Sciences
CHAMPAIGN, Ill. — Five University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign faculty members have been elected members of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences, one of the oldest honorary societies in the United States. Nancy M. Amato, Rashid Bashir, Alison Bell, Charles Gammie and Paul Selvin are among the 250 inductees for 2024. Founded in 1780, the academy recognizes scientists, artists, scholars and leaders […]

Electron videography captures moving dance between proteins and lipids
CHAMPAIGN, Ill. — In a first demonstration of “electron videography,” researchers have captured a microscopic moving picture of the delicate dance between proteins and lipids found in cell membranes. The technique can be used to study the dynamics of other biomolecules, breaking free of constraints that have limited microscopy to still images of fixed molecules, […]

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 […]

Wearable sensors for Parkinson’s can improve with machine learning, data from healthy adults
CHAMPAIGN, Ill. — Low-cost, wearable sensors could increase access to care for patients with Parkinson’s disease. New machine-learning approaches and a baseline of data from healthy older adults improve the accuracy of the results from such sensors, University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign researchers and clinical collaborators found in a new study. “This study demonstrates that the expansion […]

Nothing is everything: How hidden emptiness can define the usefulness of filtration materials
CHAMPAIGN, Ill. — Voids, or empty spaces, exist within matter at all scales, from the astronomical to the microscopic. In a new study, researchers used high-powered microscopy and mathematical theory to unveil nanoscale voids in three dimensions. This advancement is poised to improve the performance of many materials used in the home and in the […]

Electrochemistry helps clean up electronic waste recycling, precious metal mining
CHAMPAIGN, Ill. — A new method safely extracts valuable metals locked up in discarded electronics and low-grade ore using dramatically less energy and fewer chemical materials than current methods, report University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign researchers in the journal Nature Chemical Engineering. Gold and platinum group metals such as palladium, platinum and iridium are in high […]

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 […]