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Researchers identify unexpected twist while developing new polymer-based semiconductors
CHAMPAIGN, Ill. — A new study led by chemists at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign brings fresh insight into the development of semiconductor materials that can do things their traditional silicon counterparts cannot – harness the power of chirality, a non-superimposable mirror image. Chirality is one of nature’s strategies used to build complexity into structures, […]

Science historian Naomi Oreskes to talk about how free market ideology blocks climate action
CHAMPAIGN, Ill. — Climate change is a crisis that has resulted from the massive failure of the energy market, and free market ideology and the rejection of government’s role in correcting such market failures has stymied efforts to address it, says scientist and historian Naomi Oreskes. A leader in examining the efforts to undermine the […]

Researchers propose a unified, scalable framework to measure agricultural greenhouse gas emissions
CHAMPAIGN, Ill. — Increased government investment in climate change mitigation is prompting agricultural sectors to find reliable methods for measuring their contribution to climate change. With that in mind, a team led by scientists at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign proposed a supercomputing solution to help measure individual farm field-level greenhouse gas emissions. Although locally […]

Study: YouTube did not actively direct users toward anti-vaccine content during COVID-19
CHAMPAIGN, Ill. — New research led by data science experts at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign and United Nations Global Pulse found that there is no strong evidence that YouTube promoted anti-vaccine sentiment during the COVID-19 pandemic. The study, published in the Journal of Medical Internet Research, performed an algorithmic audit to examine if YouTube’s recommendation […]

What prompted tropical cyclone Hilary’s unusual path?
Hilary was the first tropical storm to hit California in 84 years. Atmospheric sciences professor Deanna Hence spoke with News Bureau physical sciences editor Lois Yoksoulian about what made this storm unique and if the Southwest U.S. should expect more like it in the future. Why don’t we usually see tropical cyclones along the western coast of the U.S.? One of […]

Fast, automated, affordable test for cement durability
CHAMPAIGN, Ill. — Engineers at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign have developed a new test that can predict the durability of cement in seconds to minutes – rather than the hours it takes using current methods. The test measures the behavior of water droplets on cement surfaces using computer vision on a device that costs […]

Displays controlled by flexible fins and liquid droplets more versatile, efficient than LED screens
CHAMPAIGN, Ill. — Flexible displays that can change color, convey information and even send veiled messages via infrared radiation are now possible, thanks to new research from the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign. Engineers inspired by the morphing skins of animals like chameleons and octopuses have developed capillary-controlled robotic flapping fins to create switchable optical and […]

What is the state of underwater geolocation technology?
CHAMPAIGN, Ill. — The loss of OceanGate’s Titan submersible this week has triggered questions about how underwater craft navigate and how these vehicles can improve their geolocation abilities. Electrical and computer engineering professor Viktor Gruev spoke with News Bureau physical sciences editor Lois Yoksoulian about the current state of the science behind underwater geolocation, and […]

Cave excavation pushes back the clock on early human migration to Laos
CHAMPAIGN, Ill. — Fifteen years of archaeological work in the Tam Pa Ling cave in northeastern Laos has yielded a reliable chronology of early human occupation of the site, scientists report in the journal Nature Communications. The team’s excavations through the layers of sediments and bones that gradually washed into the cave and were left […]

Geologists challenge conventional view of Earth’s continental history, stability with new study
CHAMPAIGN, Ill. — The seemingly stable regions of the Earth’s continental plates – the so-called stable cratons – have suffered repetitive deformation below their crust since their formation in the remote past, according to new research from the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign. This hypothesis defies decades of conventional plate tectonics theory and begs to answer why most cratons have […]

Mechanical engineers lend fresh insight into battery-based desalination technology
CHAMPAIGN, Ill. — To achieve more effective saltwater desalination, mechanical engineers focused on fluid movement rather than new materials in a new study. By adding microchannels to the inside of battery-like electrodes made of Prussian blue – an intense blue pigment often used in art that also has special chemical properties – researchers increased the […]

Imaging agents light up two cancer biomarkers at once to give more complete picture of tumor
CHAMPAIGN, Ill. — Cancer surgeons may soon have a more complete view of tumors during surgery thanks to new imaging agents that can illuminate multiple biomarkers at once, University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign researchers report. The fluorescent nanoparticles, wrapped in the membranes of red blood cells, target tumors better than current clinically approved dyes and can […]