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Information on three new agricultural pests enhances web tool for farmers
CHAMPAIGN, Ill. – Three more pests – fruit tree leafroller, lilac borer and western bean cutworm – have been added this spring to the Illinois State Water Survey’s Water and Atmospheric Resources Monitoring program, a Web-based tool that provides helpful information for the state’s farmers. WARM, created in the late 1980s, helps the agricultural community […]
New material structure produces world’s fastest transistor
CHAMPAIGN, Ill. – A new type of transistor structure, invented by scientists at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, has broken the 600 gigahertz speed barrier. The goal of a terahertz transistor for high-speed computing and communications applications could now be within reach. The new device – built from indium phosphide and indium gallium arsenide […]
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 […]
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 […]
Molecular motors cooperate in moving cellular cargo, study shows
CHAMPAIGN, Ill. – Researchers using an extremely fast and accurate imaging technique have shed light on the tiny movements of molecular motors that shuttle material within living cells. The motors cooperate in a delicate choreography of steps, rather than engaging in the brute-force tug of war many scientists had imagined. “We discovered that two molecular […]
Arsenic removal from drinking water is focus of new projects
CHAMPAIGN, Ill. – More stringent federal standards for acceptable levels of arsenic in public drinking water go into effect next year, a prospect that has resulted in four new research projects on arsenic. The research, funded by the Midwest Technology Assistance Center for Small Public Water Systems, will address the new standards, which will change […]
University of Illinois to host state championship Rube Goldberg contest
CHAMPAIGN, Ill. – The Illinois State Championship Rube Goldberg Machine Contest for High Schools will be held in the Newmark Civil Engineering Building, 205 N. Mathews Ave., Urbana, from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. April 9. The contest pays homage to Goldberg, a satirical cartoonist best known for his designs of ridiculously complicated gadgets that […]
Interim-dean designate named, pending board approval, for engineering college
CHAMPAIGN, Ill. – Ilesanmi Adesida has been named interim-dean designate of the College of Engineering at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign pending approval of the U. of I. board of trustees. David Daniel, the dean of the college, will remain in his position through May, before assuming his new duties as the president of […]
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 […]
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 […]
Improved dielectric developed for chip-level copper circuitry
CHAMPAIGN, Ill. – A new dielectric material, developed by researchers at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, could facilitate the use of copper circuitry at the chip level. The thermally stable aromatic polymer has a low dielectric constant of 1.85, good mechanical properties and excellent adhesion. Replacing aluminum with copper as the multilayer interconnect structure […]
Theories of high-temperature superconductivity violate Pauli Principle
CHAMPAIGN, Ill. – Scientists seeking to explain high-temperature superconductivity have been violating the Pauli exclusion principle, a team of researchers from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign and Rutgers University report. Any theory that does not embrace the Pauli principle has a lot of explaining to do, they say. The basic organizing precept behind the […]