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Study documents conflict between commerce and conservation at mining operation in Bangladesh
A new study using multidecade satellite imagery and face-to-face human interviews tracked the environmental and societal impacts of gravel mining in the Lubha River, Northeast Bangladesh. The researchers found that the river had recovered its natural shape within just four years after gravel mining stopped. However, the local economy did not bounce back nearly as quickly.
New study finds deep ocean microbes already prepared to tackle climate change
Deep-sea waters are warming due to heat waves and climate change, and it could spell trouble for the oceans’ delicate chemical and biological balance. A new study demonstrates that the microbes may already be adapting well to warmer, nutrient-poor waters. Researchers predict that these surprisingly adaptable archaea will play an important role in reshaping ocean chemistry in a changing climate.
Team simulates a living cell that grows and divides
Scientists simulate a full life cycle of a living bacterial cell, opening a new window on the essential processes of life.
Shrinking the carbon footprint of chemical manufacturing with lasers, solar radiation
CHAMPAIGN, Ill. ― Researchers have found a way to use solar energy to power a key chemical reaction that drives many manufacturing industries. This new method can significantly reduce the energy required to run these operations, eliminate harsh oxidizing byproducts and minimize carbon emissions.
Microbial assembly line makes plastic upcycling programmable
Scientists have built a microbe-driven upcycling pipeline that converts plastic waste into a variety of useful products.
Illinois team tests the costs, benefits of agrivoltaics across the Midwest
A new study examines the agricultural and economic trade-offs that come with installing solar arrays on working farms across the Midwest.
New water-treatment system removes nitrogen, phosphorus from farm tile drainage
Scientists have developed a system to reduce levels of nitrogen and phosphorus that flow through farm tile drains and pollute the environment.
Splitting hairs to keep the public safe
Graduate student Lance Jones works to identify potentially infectious ticks found in Illinois.
Insect-human hybrids are onscreen at Insect Fear Film Festival
CHAMPAIGN, Ill. — Insect-human hybrids provide the scares at the 2026 Insect Fear Film Festival at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign. The festival, which is hosted by the Entomology Graduate Student Association, takes place Feb. 28 at Foellinger Auditorium. It is free and open to the public. Insect-human hybridization has long been a theme for […]
Alzheimer’s gene boosts seizures, but pathway can be targeted, study finds
CHAMPAIGN, Ill. — The gene most strongly correlated with Alzheimer’s disease also boosts seizure activity by decreasing levels of ions pumps and energy-producing enzymes in neurons, a new study by researchers at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign found. Furthermore, the energy-making pathway was stimulated and seizures reduced in mouse models of Alzheimer’s disease by administration […]
Grasshopper wing structure inspires design of gliding robot wings
CHAMPAIGN, Ill. — A collaboration between Princeton University engineers and entomologists at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign began with the researchers chasing grasshoppers in a hot parking lot. Their eventual focus on the hindwings of one species of grasshopper, Schistocerca americana, the American grasshopper, is inspiring a new approach to untethered gliding flight. The scientists […]
Medications could help the aging brain cope with surgery, memory impairment
Simple pharmaceutical interventions could help older brains cope with memory impairment and recovery after surgery, new studies in mice suggest.