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Microfluidic chambers advance the science of growing neurons
CHAMPAIGN, Ill. – Researchers at the University of Illinois have developed a method for culturing mammalian neurons in chambers not much larger than the neurons themselves. The new approach extends the lifespan of the neurons at very low densities, an essential step toward developing a method for studying the growth and behavior of individual brain […]
How drones find queens: Odorant receptor for queen pheromone identified
CHAMPAIGN, Ill. – The mating ritual of the honey bee is a mysterious affair, occurring at dizzying heights in zones identifiable only to a queen and the horde of drones that court her. Now a research team led by the University of Illinois has identified an odorant receptor that allows male drones to find a […]
Restless legs syndrome affects nearly 2 percent of U.S./U.K. children
CHAMPAIGN, Ill. – Restless legs syndrome is a common problem in children 8 years of age and older in the United States and the United Kingdom, according to a new report from an international team of researchers. Nearly 2 percent of children aged 8 to 17 are affected, and a significant proportion of those experience […]
Do higher corn prices mean less adherence to ecological principles?
CHAMPAIGN, Ill. – Expectations of higher corn prices are leading some farmers to neglect or ignore integrated pest management strategies, and their behavior could undermine the very technologies that sustain them, University of Illinois researchers report today at the American Chemical Society meeting in Boston. Integrated pest management (IPM) is a set of principles developed […]
Team tracks antibiotic resistance from swine farms to groundwater
CHAMPAIGN, Ill. – The routine use of antibiotics in swine production can have unintended consequences, with antibiotic resistance genes sometimes leaking from waste lagoons into groundwater. In a new study, researchers at the University of Illinois report that some genes found in hog waste lagoons are transferred – “like batons” – from one bacterial species […]
Simulated relationships offer insight into real ones
CHAMPAIGN, Ill. – Is it me, or are you a less than ideal partner? For psychologists studying how people manage romantic relationships, that’s not an easy question to answer. What if one of the partners is deeply afraid of intimacy? Could she be acting in ways that undermine the relationship? Or is her partner contributing […]
Hepatitis C helicase unwinds DNA in a spring-loaded, 3-step process
CHAMPAIGN, Ill. – The process by which genes are duplicated is mysterious and complex, involving a cast of characters with diverse talents and the ability to play well with others in extremely close quarters. A key player on this stage is an enzyme called a helicase. Its job is to unwind the tightly coiled chain […]
New protein synthesis not essential to memory formation
CHAMPAIGN, Ill. – New research from the University of Illinois challenges the premise that the brain must build new proteins in response to an experience for that experience to be recorded in long-term memory. The findings, published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, could alter basic assumptions about the role of protein […]
Researchers use new approach to predict protein function
CHAMPAIGN, Ill. – In a paper published online this month in the journal Nature Chemical Biology, researchers report that they have developed a way to determine the function of some of the hundreds of thousands of proteins for which amino acid sequence data are available, but whose structure and function remain unknown. The research team, […]
Researchers find gene that spurs development of the epididymis
CHAMPAIGN, Ill. – Human sperm cells travel up to 6 meters in their transit from testes to penis, and most of that journey occurs in the epididymis, a tightly coiled tube that primes the cells for their ultimate task: fertilization. In a paper released this week in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, […]
Cytokine resistance contributes to pathology of type 2 diabetes
CHAMPAIGN, Ill. – In a study appearing this month in the Journal of Immunology, researchers at the University of Illinois describe how an impaired anti-inflammatory response plays a role in the pathology of type 2 diabetes. Type 2 diabetes is classified as a metabolic disorder, but a growing number of researchers are beginning to think […]
Simulations unravel outer membrane transport mechanism
CHAMPAIGN, Ill. – Using X-ray data and advanced computer simulation and visualization software, researchers at the University of Illinois have painstakingly modeled a critical part of a mechanism by which bacteria take up large molecules. Their findings provide a rare window on the complex interplay of proteins involved in the active transport of materials across […]