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Space shuttle Columbia’s last flight formed clouds over Antarctica
CHAMPAIGN, Ill. – A burst of mesospheric cloud activity over Antarctica in January 2003 was caused by the exhaust plume of the space shuttle Columbia during its final flight, reports a team of scientists who studied satellite and ground-based data from three different experiments. The data also call into question the role these clouds may […]
Technique provides new look on response of diseased canine heart
CHAMPAIGN, Ill. – Using newly available biological technology, researchers have developed the first molecular portrait of multiple gene activity in diseased heart tissue taken from dogs near death from a devastating disease. The discovery sheds new light on the heart’s response to dilated cardiomyopathy (DCM), a disease of large-breed dogs. New microscopic technology allows researchers […]
DNA constraints control structure of attached macromolecules
CHAMPAIGN, Ill. – A new method for manipulating macromolecules has been developed by researchers at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. The technique uses double-stranded DNA to direct the behavior of other molecules. “Nature uses DNA as a building block to construct genes for storing information,” said Scott Silverman, a professor of chemistry at Illinois. […]
Macromolecules on surface control mobility in phospholipid bilayers
CHAMPAIGN, Ill. – Phospholipid bilayers serve as the framework in biological membranes in which other components are embedded. Fundamental not only in biology, lipid bilayers are also essential in applications such as biosensors and nanoreactors. Forming a fluid film like the skin of a soap bubble, lipid molecules are free to move around the membrane […]
‘Strange’ physics experiment is unraveling structure of proton
CHAMPAIGN, Ill. – An international team of nuclear physicists has determined that particles called strange quarks do, indeed, contribute to the ordinary properties of the proton. Quarks are subatomic particles that form the building blocks of atoms. How quarks assemble into protons and neutrons, and what holds them together, is not clearly understood. New experimental […]
Superconducting nanowires show ability to measure magnetic fields
CHAMPAIGN, Ill. – By using DNA molecules as scaffolds, scientists have created superconducting nanodevices that demonstrate a new type of quantum interference and could be used to measure magnetic fields and map regions of superconductivity. Researchers at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign have fabricated and studied nanostructures consisting of pairs of suspended superconducting wires […]
Chemist Kenneth L. Rinehart dies at 76
CHAMPAIGN -Kenneth L. Rinehart, a chemistry professor at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign who was internationally known for his research on organic compounds involved in biological activity, died Monday at his Urbana home after a long illness. He was 76. Rinehart’s research led to the development of a procedure involving mutasynthesis to prepare new […]
Logging changed ecological balance for monkeys, damaged health
CHAMPAIGN, Ill. – Twenty-eight years after intense selective logging stopped in the region now known as Uganda’s Kibale National Park, the red-tailed guenon (Cercophithecus ascanius) is a primate still in decline. The logging practice, scientists report in a new study, changed the ecological balance for these monkeys, leading to behavioral changes and opening the door […]
Thin films of silicon nanoparticles roll into flexible nanotubes
CHAMPAIGN, Ill. – By depositing nanoparticles onto a charged surface, researchers at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign have crafted nanotubes from silicon that are flexible and nearly as soft as rubber. “Resembling miniature scrolls, the nanotubes could prove useful as catalysts, guided laser cavities and nanorobots,” said Sahraoui Chaieb, a professor of mechanical and […]
Two Illinois researchers to receive Presidential Early Career Awards
CHAMPAIGN, Ill. – Two University of Illinois researchers are among 58 young researchers named today (June 13) as recipients of the 2004 Presidential Early Career Awards for Scientists and Engineers, the highest honor bestowed by the U.S. government on young professionals at the outset of their independent research careers. They will receive their awards today […]
Nutritious frozen foods can play role in weight-loss programs
CHAMPAIGN, Ill. – Size matters when it comes to meal portions in weight-loss diets, according to researchers at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. And consuming convenient, nutritious frozen dinners may be a way to control portion size. Research dietitians Sandra M. Hannum and LeaAnn Carson, who work in the laboratory of food science and […]
Flexible tactile sensors could help robots work better
CHAMPAIGN, Ill. – A robot’s sensitivity to touch could be vastly improved by an array of polymer-based tactile sensors that has been combined with a robust signal-processing algorithm to classify surface textures. The work, performed by a team of researchers at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, is an essential step in the development of […]