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New center at Illinois will examine how to safeguard nation’s power grid
CHAMPAIGN, Ill. – The University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign will be the home of a national center that will address the challenge of how to protect the nation’s power grid, the National Science Foundation announced today. The NSF has awarded $7.5 million over five years to the project, which will be led by the U. […]
‘Cookbook recipes’ would cure disease with nontoxic DNA delivery systems
CHAMPAIGN, Ill. – Scientists studying the structure and interaction of negatively charged lipids and DNA molecules have created a “cookbook” for a class of nontoxic DNA delivery systems that will assist doctors and clinicians in the safe and effective delivery of genetic medicine. As reported in the Aug. 9 issue of the Proceedings of the […]
Catalyst support structures facilitate high-temperature fuel reforming
CHAMPAIGN, Ill. — The catalytic reforming of liquid fuels offers an attractive solution to supplying hydrogen to fuel cells while avoiding the safety and storage issues related to gaseous hydrogen. Existing catalytic support structures, however, tend to break down at the high temperatures needed to prevent fouling of the catalytic surface by soot. Now, researchers […]
Microreactor efficiently regenerates cofactors for biocatalysis
CHAMPAIGN, Ill. — One of the longstanding challenges in the synthesis of pharmaceuticals, cosmetics and food additives is the continuous regeneration of molecules called cofactors that permit the synthesis through inexpensive and environmentally friendly biocatalytic processes. Now, a team of researchers from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign and the Université Paul Sabatier in Toulouse, […]
Illinois chemists spray their way to better catalysts
CHAMPAIGN, Ill. — Using a technique called ultrasonic spray pyrolysis, researchers at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign have created an improved catalyst for removing smelly sulfur-containing compounds from gasoline and other fossil fuels. The improved catalyst is a form of molybdenum disulfide, most commonly recognized as the black lubricant used to grease automobiles and […]
Space shuttle Columbia’s last flight formed clouds over Antarctica
CHAMPAIGN, Ill. – A burst of mesospheric cloud activity over Antarctica in January 2003 was caused by the exhaust plume of the space shuttle Columbia during its final flight, reports a team of scientists who studied satellite and ground-based data from three different experiments. The data also call into question the role these clouds may […]
DNA constraints control structure of attached macromolecules
CHAMPAIGN, Ill. – A new method for manipulating macromolecules has been developed by researchers at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. The technique uses double-stranded DNA to direct the behavior of other molecules. “Nature uses DNA as a building block to construct genes for storing information,” said Scott Silverman, a professor of chemistry at Illinois. […]
Macromolecules on surface control mobility in phospholipid bilayers
CHAMPAIGN, Ill. – Phospholipid bilayers serve as the framework in biological membranes in which other components are embedded. Fundamental not only in biology, lipid bilayers are also essential in applications such as biosensors and nanoreactors. Forming a fluid film like the skin of a soap bubble, lipid molecules are free to move around the membrane […]
‘Strange’ physics experiment is unraveling structure of proton
CHAMPAIGN, Ill. – An international team of nuclear physicists has determined that particles called strange quarks do, indeed, contribute to the ordinary properties of the proton. Quarks are subatomic particles that form the building blocks of atoms. How quarks assemble into protons and neutrons, and what holds them together, is not clearly understood. New experimental […]
Superconducting nanowires show ability to measure magnetic fields
CHAMPAIGN, Ill. – By using DNA molecules as scaffolds, scientists have created superconducting nanodevices that demonstrate a new type of quantum interference and could be used to measure magnetic fields and map regions of superconductivity. Researchers at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign have fabricated and studied nanostructures consisting of pairs of suspended superconducting wires […]
Thin films of silicon nanoparticles roll into flexible nanotubes
CHAMPAIGN, Ill. – By depositing nanoparticles onto a charged surface, researchers at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign have crafted nanotubes from silicon that are flexible and nearly as soft as rubber. “Resembling miniature scrolls, the nanotubes could prove useful as catalysts, guided laser cavities and nanorobots,” said Sahraoui Chaieb, a professor of mechanical and […]
Two Illinois researchers to receive Presidential Early Career Awards
CHAMPAIGN, Ill. – Two University of Illinois researchers are among 58 young researchers named today (June 13) as recipients of the 2004 Presidential Early Career Awards for Scientists and Engineers, the highest honor bestowed by the U.S. government on young professionals at the outset of their independent research careers. They will receive their awards today […]