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Life sciences Physical sciences Two men in front of projected microscope images.

A heart of stone: Study defines the process of and defenses against cardiac valve calcification

CHAMPAIGN, Ill. — The human body has sophisticated defenses against the deposition of calcium minerals that stiffen heart tissues, researchers at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign and collaborators at UCLA Health and the University of Texas at Austin found in a new study that provides the first detailed, step-by-step documentation of how calcification progresses. “Heart […]

Life sciences Zeynep Madak-Erdogan photo portrait.

Study links neighborhood violence, lung cancer progression

CHAMPAIGN, Ill. — Scientists have identified a potential driver of aggressive lung cancer tumors in patients who live in areas with high levels of violent crime. Their study found that stress responses differ between those living in neighborhoods with higher and lower levels of violent crime, and between cancerous and healthy tissues in the same […]

Life sciences The researchers in a laboratory.

Gut microbes from aged mice induce inflammation in young mice, study finds

CHAMPAIGN, Ill. — When scientists transplanted the gut microbes of aged mice into young “germ-free” mice — raised to have no gut microbes of their own — the recipient mice experienced an increase in inflammation that parallels inflammatory processes associated with aging in humans. Young germ-free mice transplanted with microbes from other young mice had […]

Life sciences The research team standing on stairs.

New antibiotic kills pathogenic bacteria, spares healthy gut microbes

CHAMPAIGN, Ill. — Researchers have developed a new antibiotic that reduced or eliminated drug-resistant bacterial infections in mouse models of acute pneumonia and sepsis while sparing healthy microbes in the mouse gut. The drug, called lolamicin, also warded off secondary infections with Clostridioides difficile, a common and dangerous hospital-associated bacterial infection, and was effective against […]

Life sciences Portrait of researchers in a laboratory. They are sitting in front of two computer monitors displaying data and visualizations of their experiments.

By listening, scientists learn how a protein folds

CHAMPAIGN, Ill. —  By converting their data into sounds, scientists discovered how hydrogen bonds contribute to the lightning-fast gyrations that transform a string of amino acids into a functional, folded protein. Their report, in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, offers an unprecedented view of the sequence of hydrogen-bonding events that occur when […]

Life sciences A colored microscope image depicting a green nerve surrounded by red and blue muscle cells.

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 […]

Expert viewpoints Photo of Dr. Lowe standing near a cattle feed lot.

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 […]

Honors A collage of the portraits of the five honorees.

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 […]

Engineering a gif showing molecules in motion

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, […]

Life sciences Photos of birds seen in the study. Clockwise, from top left: ring-necked pheasant, common redpoll, common nighthawk, red-bellied woodpecker and dickcissel.

Illinois study: Backyards, urban parks support bird diversity in unique ways

CHAMPAIGN, Ill. — Researchers tracked bird diversity in public parks and private backyards in twin cities in Illinois with significantly different development histories and green space management practices. They found that birds rely on both public and private spaces in different seasons and for different reasons. The study linked park management practices aimed at conservation […]

Announcements Portraits of all seven professors named new fellows of the AAAS

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 […]

Honors Diptych image with headshots of Alison Bell and Paul Hardin Kapp.

Two Illinois professors awarded Guggenheim Fellowships

CHAMPAIGN, Ill. — Two University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign professors have been awarded 2024 Guggenheim Fellowships. This year’s Illinois fellows are evolution, ecology and behavior professor Alison Bell and architecture professor Paul Hardin Kapp. They are among 188 writers, scholars, artists and scientists chosen through a rigorous peer-review process from nearly 3,000 applicants, according to the […]

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