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Team tracks vegetation recovery from sudden permafrost collapse
Some Arctic regions regain their “greenness” within a decade of a sudden permafrost collapse, while others can take a century or more to recover, researchers report.
Still standing but mostly dead: Recovery of dying coral reef in Moorea stalls
The hollowed-out skeletons of a bleached reef in the Pacific Ocean are changing scientists’ understanding of the factors that promote — or hinder— coral reef recovery.
Is there a mathematical method to March Madness?
Filling out a March Madness bracket from the inside out, starting with the Final Four or Elite Eight, can be a helpful strategy, says bracketology expert Sheldon H. Jacobson.
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.
New computer simulation could light the way to safer cannabinoid-based pharmaceuticals
New psychoactive substances, originally developed as potential analgesics but abandoned due to adverse side effects, may still have pharmaceutical value if researchers could nail down the causes of those side effects. A new study from the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign used deep learning and large-scale computer simulations to identify structural differences in synthetic cannabinoid molecules that cause them to bind to human brain receptors differently from classical cannabinoids.
Study finds that tweaked synthetic polymers boost conductivity
A new study marks a significant step forward in positioning synthetic polymers as an alternative for expensive, unsustainable minerals used in the manufacture of devices such as conductors, transistors and diodes.
Study shows new hope for commercially attractive lithium extraction from spent batteries
A new study shows that lithium — a critical element used in rechargeable batteries and susceptible to supply chain disruption — can be recovered from battery waste using an electrochemically driven recovery process. The method has been tested on commonly used types of lithium-containing batteries and demonstrates economic viability with the potential to simplify operations, minimize costs and increase the sustainability and attractiveness of the recovery process for commercial use.
Atom-scale stencil patterns help nanoparticles take new shapes and learn new tricks
CHAMPAIGN, Ill. — Inspired by an artist’s stencils, researchers have developed atomic-level precision patterning on nanoparticle surfaces, allowing them to “paint” gold nanoparticles with polymers to give them an array of new shapes and functions. The “patchy nanoparticles” developed by University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign researchers and collaborators at the University of Michigan and Penn State […]
Illinois chemist named 2025 Packard Fellow
Benjamin Snyder, a professor of chemistry at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, has been named a 2025 Packard Fellow by the David and Lucile Packard Foundation. Photo by Holly Birch Photography
Monitoring stress from the surface of the body
CHAMPAIGN, Ill. – Today, my laboratory looks more like a scene from a sci-fi film than a psychology research space. Wires snake across tables, sensors lay carefully arranged on trays, and a bucket of ice water sits in the corner, quietly waiting its turn. This work is part of the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign’s department […]