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Information system to help scientists analyze mechanisms of social behavior
CHAMPAIGN, Ill. – With a $5 million, five-year grant from the National Science Foundation, the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign will create BeeSpace, a system to help scientists analyze all sources of information relevant to the mechanisms of social behavior. The complex society of the Western honey bee, Apis mellifera, will drive the information system. […]
Byproduct of water-disinfection process found to be highly toxic
CHAMPAIGN, Ill. – A recently discovered disinfection byproduct (DBP) found in U.S. drinking water treated with chloramines is the most toxic ever found, says a scientist at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign who tested samples on mammalian cells. The discovery raises health-related questions regarding an Environmental Protection Agency plan to encourage all U.S. water-treatment […]
Serotonin metabolites in mollusks suggest pathways for human therapies
CHAMPAIGN, Ill. – From mollusks to mammals, newly discovered chemical pathways of serotonin in the nervous system are paving a path toward future pharmaceutical treatments for depression and other disorders. “Understanding novel serotonin pathways in a tissue-dependent manner is useful for the development of pharmaceuticals intended to preserve serotonergic signaling,” said Jeffrey N. Stuart, a […]
Illinois biologist among 57 Presidential Early Career Award winners
CHAMPAIGN, Ill. – Carla E. Cáceres, a professor of animal biology at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, is among 57 young researchers named today as recipients of the 2003 Presidential Early Career Awards for Scientists and Engineers, the highest honor bestowed by the government on young professionals at the outset of their independent research […]
Self-assembly generates more versatile scaffolds for crystal growth
CHAMPAIGN, Ill. – Self-organizing synthetic molecules originally used for gene therapy may have applications as templates and scaffolds for the production of inorganic materials. Using electrostatic interactions between oppositely charged molecules as the binding force, scientists are learning how to organize these synthetic molecules into more versatile complexes with large and controllable pore sizes. “By […]
Anti-cancer compound found to block late-stage breast-cancer cell growth
CHAMPAIGN, Ill. – A well known anti-cancer agent in certain vegetables has just had its reputation enhanced. The compound, in broccoli and other cruciferous vegetables, has been found to be effective in disrupting late stages of cell growth in breast cancer. Keith Singletary and doctoral student Steven Jackson of the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign […]
Molecular motor Myosin VI moves ‘hand over hand,’ researchers say
CHAMPAIGN, Ill. – In the human body, hundreds of different types of biomolecular motors help carry out such essential tasks as muscle contraction, moving chromosomes during cell division, and reloading nerve cells so they can repeatedly fire. How these little proteins perform their duties is becoming clearer to scientists using an extremely sensitive measurement technique. […]
Children with ADHD benefit from time outdoors enjoying nature
CHAMPAIGN, Ill. – Kids with attention deficit hyperactive disorder (ADHD) should spend some quality after-school hours and weekend time outdoors enjoying nature, say researchers at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. The payoff for this “treatment” of children 5 to 18 years old, who participated in a nationwide study, was a significant reduction of symptoms. […]
Study suggests stress of task determines if estrogen helps cognition
CHAMPAIGN, Ill. – Does estrogen help cognition? Many women ponder that question as a quality-of-life issue while deciding on estrogen therapy since it has been linked to potential disease complications. Now, a new study at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign suggests that the stress of any given task at least partially determines if hormones […]
Illinois professor to receive award from Materials Research Society
CHAMPAIGN, Ill. – Nick Holonyak Jr., a John Bardeen Professor of Electrical and Computer Engineering and Physics at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, has been selected as the 2004 recipient of the Von Hippel Award from the Materials Research Society. The award will be presented Dec. 1 at the MRS meeting in Boston. Holonyak […]
Colloidal adsorbent removes natural organic matter from water supply
CHAMPAIGN, Ill. – Microbial degradation products and other forms of natural organic matter can make water look, smell and taste bad. Natural organic matter also can foul the membranes used in water treatment plants, significantly reducing their efficiency. Now, a polymer-based colloidal adsorbent developed at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign offers an environmentally friendly […]
Low-cost fibers remove trace atrazine from drinking water
CHAMPAIGN, Ill. – A new generation of high surface-area porous materials for removing atrazine from water supplies has been developed by researchers at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. The low-cost and wear-resistant fibers also can remove the hazardous contaminants chloroform and trichloroethylene, both byproducts of the commonly used chlorine disinfection process. “We’ve shown that […]