Life Sciences
Categories
Not sure where to start? Choose a topic below.
Scientists issue warning about dangers beetle poses to Illinios ash trees
CHAMPAIGN, Ill. – Campers across Illinois are being asked to be firewood wary. There could be an unwanted pest hidden inside that could be devastating to the state’s 118 million ash trees if it emerges later this summer from unburned wood. The pest is the emerald ash borer (Agrilus planipennis), an exotic, half-inch-long beetle. It […]
Students sleep in professor’s class with their pillows and his blessing
CHAMPAIGN, Ill. – With final exams just around the corner, stress levels are rising for college students everywhere. But at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, students in kinesiology professor Weimo Zhu’s class are riding out the tension in the “horse position” – a meditative posture characterized by slightly bent knees and outstretched arms. The […]
Psychological reasoning begins earlier than had been thought, study shows
CHAMPAIGN, IL. – According to conventional wisdom, babies don’t begin to develop sophisticated psychological reasoning about people until they are about 4 years old. A study of 15-month-olds at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign proves otherwise. The findings, published in the April 8 issue of the journal Science, potentially could lead to an early […]
Avian flu, rabies among topics of infectious disease conference at Illinois
CHAMPAIGN, Ill. – Asian bird flu and rabies will be among the topics April 21-22 (Thursday-Friday) during the eighth annual Conference on New and Re-Emerging Infectious Diseases hosted by the University of Illinois College of Veterinary Medicine. Asian bird flu has killed at least 47 people in Southeast Asia, and although rabies in domestic animals […]
Christmas week snowstorm in Ohio river valley broke all records
CHAMPAIGN, Ill. – Even though spring and warm-weather thoughts are here, a chilling, soon-to-be published report says that December’s immense Midwest snowstorm was one to remember. The Dec. 22-23 storm broke all records for storm intensity, size, and damages, garnered national attention, and dumped record snowfall – not only across Illinois but also in the […]
Researchers improve design of genetic on-off switches
CHAMPAIGN, Ill. – Researchers at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign have set a new standard in the design and engineering of nuclear hormone receptor-based genetic on-off switches, without causing new problems or aggravating existing ones. The new technique, published online ahead of regular publication by the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, combines […]
Components in grapes inhibit enzyme key to proliferation of cancer cells
CHAMPAIGN, Ill. – Components in grapes, including some newly identified ones, work together to dramatically inhibit an enzyme crucial to the proliferation of cancer cells, say scientists at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. The work – done using advanced molecular tools with grape-cell cultures and the target enzyme for new anti-cancer strategies – helps […]
Weather forecasts may be predictors for prevalence of West Nile virus
CHAMPAIGN, Ill. – Weather forecasts could become barometers for predicting the potential threat of West Nile virus to humans and wildlife, according to scientists at two state agencies based at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. Researchers at the Illinois State Water Survey (ISWS) and the Illinois Natural History Survey (INHS) report a reliable link […]
Staying positive when helping a child with homework stimulates motivation
CHAMPAIGN, Ill. – Your child has a homework assignment, doesn’t understand it and is acting helpless. So what’s a parent to do? Help, but stay loving and make the process fun, say researchers at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. Reducing the negative from this commonly occurring, stress-filled evening ritual can pay off, says Eva […]
Unique weather a factor in record 2004 Midwest crop yields
CHAMPAIGN, Ill. – If farmers talk big about 2004 crops as they get ready to head out into the fields this spring, let them talk. Believe them. Last year’s crop season saw record yields in every major crop amid the closest-to-perfect weather conditions of the last century, scientists say. “Never before have corn, soybeans, sorghum, […]
Rare blue poppy among highlights of event at U. of I. Plant Biology Conservatory
CHAMPAIGN, Ill. – Area flower lovers are invited to get a close-up look at one of the world’s rare, true blue flowers, the Meconopsis (mee-koh-NOP-sis), known more widely as the Himalayan blue poppy, Saturday and Sunday (March 19-20) at the Plant Biology Conservatory at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. The “Himalayan Blue Poppy Show” […]
Carver Trust grant to advance molecular studies at Illinois
CHAMPAIGN, Ill. – Rapidly advancing tools let researchers amass oceans of biological data – so much so that fishing out the meaning is as daunting as climbing a mountain without gear. A new $3.15 million, three-year grant from the Roy J. Carver Charitable Trust, however, will make the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign a national […]