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U. of I. chemistry professor wins $500,000 MacArthur Fellow Award
CHAMPAIGN, Ill. – Todd Martinez, a theoretical chemist at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, has been named a 2005 MacArthur Fellow by the John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation. Martinez is among 25 individuals who will each receive $500,000 in “no strings attached” support over the next five years. MacArthur Fellows are selected […]
Climate change will affect carbon sequestration in oceans, model shows
CHAMPAIGN, Ill. – An Earth System model developed by researchers at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign indicates that the best location to store carbon dioxide in the deep ocean will change with climate change. The direct injection of carbon dioxide deep into the ocean has been suggested as one method to help control rising […]
New techniques study the brain’s chemistry, neuron by neuron
CHAMPAIGN, Ill. – The human brain is composed of billions of cells, each a separate entity that communicates with others. The chemical interaction of those cells determines personality, controls behavior and encodes memory; but much remains to be understood. Researchers at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign have developed tools for studying the chemistry of […]
Earth’s core rotates faster than its crust, scientists say
CHAMPAIGN, Ill. – Scientists have ended a 9-year-old debate by proving that Earth’s core rotates faster than its surface, by about 0.3 to 0.5 degree per year. “Extraordinary claims require extraordinary proof,” said Xiaodong Song, a professor of geology at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign and corresponding author of a paper to appear in […]
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 […]