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Engineering Open House highlights ingenuity
CHAMPAIGN, Ill. – Wild and wacky Rube Goldberg machines, robots fighting for possession of wooden blocks, and more than 120 fun-filled exhibits are among the attractions awaiting visitors to the 84th annual Engineering Open House at the University of Illinois. The event, organized by students in the Engineering Council at Illinois, will take place from […]
Two-drug approach might shorten painful labor, reduce Caesarean sections
CHAMPAIGN, Ill. – The nationwide rise in induced labor and Caesarean deliveries could be eased by an experimental dual drug approach that not only safely jump-starts labor but also remodels the cervix to allow for speedy natural delivery, scientists report. A combination of RU 486 (mifepristone) and relaxin successfully hastened labor and promoted healthy delivery […]
Molecular level discovery could play role in development of new antibiotics
CHAMPAIGN, Ill. – Chemists at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign have uncovered the molecular activity of an enzyme responsible for naturally turning a small protein into a potent antibiotic known as a lantibiotic. The finding is described in the Jan. 30 issue of the journal Science. The research details how the enzyme performs two […]
Puzzling height of polar clouds linked to solar radiation
CHAMPAIGN, Ill. – Scientists have discovered why polar mesospheric clouds over the South Pole are nearly two miles higher than those over the North Pole. A variation in solar radiation – a result of Earth’s elliptical orbit – is responsible, they say. In the Jan. 29 online version of the journal Geophysical Research Letters, scientists […]
New algorithm speeds simulations of complex fluids
CHAMPAIGN, Ill. – Computer simulations play an essential role in the study of complex fluids – liquids that contain particles of different sizes. Such liquids have numerous applications, which depend on a fundamental understanding of their behavior. But the two main techniques for the atomistic simulation of liquids – the molecular dynamics technique and the […]
Grocery stores find security in locally produced beef
Knowing where, how and by whom your steak dinner was raised recently has become a more pressing question for Americans. Several independent grocery stores in Chicago have found a locally produced beef marketed under the label Illinois Crown Beef that they say they can sell to their customers with confidence because they know where it […]
Sediment samples suggest how plants would fare in hotter, drier future
CHAMPAIGN, Ill. – Sediment samples dating back thousands of years and taken from under the deep water of West Olaf Lake in Minnesota have revealed an unexpected climate indicator that can be factored into future projections. In the Jan. 13 issue of the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, scientists at the University of […]
Keck Foundation to fund interdisciplinary research in brain disease, damage
CHAMPAIGN, Ill. – A pioneering interdisciplinary research initiative that will combine neuroscience, chemistry and materials science in an effort to find new treatments for brain diseases and damage is being launched at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign with a $1.2 million grant from the W.M. Keck Foundation. The grant supports a project called Neural […]
New light-emitting transistor could revolutionize electronics industry
CHAMPAIGN, Ill. – Put the inventor of the light-emitting diode and the maker of the world’s fastest transistor together in a research laboratory and what kinds of bright ideas might surface? One answer is a light-emitting transistor that could revolutionize the electronics industry. Professors Nick Holonyak Jr. and Milton Feng at the University of Illinois […]
Five Illinois professors elected as 2003 AAAS Fellows
CHAMPAIGN, Ill. – Five University of Illinois researchers – Ilesanmi Adesida, Craig M. Bethke, Keh-Yung (Norman) Cheng, Jeffrey S. Moore and Robert J. Novak – are among 348 scientists elected as 2003 fellows of the American Association for the Advancement of Science. The new fellows will be formally recognized Feb. 14 for their contributions that […]
John W. Erdman elected to Institute of Medicine of National Academies
CHAMPAIGN, Ill. – John W. Erdman Jr., a professor of nutrition at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, was elected today to the Institute of Medicine of the National Academies. Erdman was among 65 newly elected U.S. members, who are chosen based on their major contributions to the advancement of medical sciences, health care and […]
Distinguished NASA scientist to present public talk
CHAMPAIGN, Ill. – David Morrison, a senior scientist at the NASA Astrobiology Institute, will present the sixth talk in the department of astronomy’s Icko Iben Jr. Distinguished Lectureship at 4 p.m. Nov. 5 in Foellinger Auditorium, 709 S. Mathews Ave., Urbana. The talk, “Cosmic Collisions: How Astronomers are Saving the World,” is free and open […]