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Earth and Environmental Sciences One large and one inset photo. Inset shows Terio in Gombe Park under trees where chimpanzees are seen. Larger photo of Goodall looking up into the trees.

Following in the footsteps of Jane Goodall: A wildlife pathologist’s story

Dr. Karen Terio works to understand, diagnose, treat and prevent disease in a host of animals, from dolphins to turtles to chimpanzees and cheetahs.

Health and Medicine Photo illustration showing breathalyzer and phone app.

Study: People using mobile breathalyzers changed their drinking behavior

People who repeatedly used DIY breathalyzers changed their drinking behavior and improved the accuracy of self-assessments of blood-alcohol levels, study finds.

Announcements Photo of Robinson standing under an arch.

Robinson to be inducted into the American Philosophical Society

Gene Robinson will be inducted into the American Philosophical Society in April, 2026.

Earth and Environmental Sciences Photo of the researchers standing in front of a projected image of a permafrost slump.

Team tracks vegetation recovery from sudden permafrost collapse

Some Arctic regions regain their “greenness” within a decade of a sudden permafrost collapse, while others can take a century or more to recover, researchers report.

Health and Medicine

RNA barcodes enable high-speed mapping of connections in the brain

Researchers mapped connections among thousands of neurons in the mouse brain with unprecedented speed and resolution thanks to RNA “barcodes.”

Earth and Environmental Sciences Photo of hollowed-out coral on a reef in Moorea. The coral is coated in brown and red algae.

Still standing but mostly dead: Recovery of dying coral reef in Moorea stalls

The hollowed-out skeletons of a bleached reef in the Pacific Ocean are changing scientists’ understanding of the factors that promote — or hinder— coral reef recovery.

Life Sciences In his lab, microbiology Professor Wei Qin shows off a culture tray and a colorimetric assay that highlights the microbes’ metabolic activity. Qin’s work focuses on an abundant microbial group that populates the deep ocean where warming and iron limitation have a major impact on ocean circulation and climate change. Photo taken at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign on Wednesday, Feb. 11, 2026. (Photo by Fred Zwicky / University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign)

New study finds deep ocean microbes already prepared to tackle climate change

Deep-sea waters are warming due to heat waves and climate change, and it could spell trouble for the oceans’ delicate chemical and biological balance. A new study demonstrates that the microbes may already be adapting well to warmer, nutrient-poor waters. Researchers predict that these surprisingly adaptable archaea will play an important role in reshaping ocean chemistry in a changing climate.

Life Sciences Physical Sciences graphic shows a cartoon of a cell dividing.

Team simulates a living cell that grows and divides

Scientists simulate a full life cycle of a living bacterial cell, opening a new window on the essential processes of life.

Engineering Photo from the lab of four containers. 1) a plastic bottle, 2) a beaker with shredded plastic, 3) a capped bottle with pyruvate and 4) a flask with blue dye.

Microbial assembly line makes plastic upcycling programmable

Scientists have built a microbe-driven upcycling pipeline that converts plastic waste into a variety of useful products.

Agriculture Photo of a cornfield alongside solar arrays.

Illinois team tests the costs, benefits of agrivoltaics across the Midwest

A new study examines the agricultural and economic trade-offs that come with installing solar arrays on working farms across the Midwest.

Behind the Scenes Photo of the author working in the laboratory.

Splitting hairs to keep the public safe

Graduate student Lance Jones works to identify potentially infectious ticks found in Illinois.

Life Sciences Graphic image of a beetle with a human face on its back, along with the title for the Insect Fear Film Festival.

Insect-human hybrids are onscreen at Insect Fear Film Festival

CHAMPAIGN, Ill. — Insect-human hybrids provide the scares at the 2026 Insect Fear Film Festival at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign. The festival, which is hosted by the Entomology Graduate Student Association, takes place Feb. 28 at Foellinger Auditorium. It is free and open to the public. Insect-human hybridization has long been a theme for […]

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