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Fred A. Kummerow, successful crusader against trans fats, dies at 102
CHAMPAIGN, Ill. — Fred A. Kummerow, a pioneer in the study of dietary contributors to heart disease who led a decades-long crusade to remove trans fats from the food supply, died Wednesday, May 31, at his home in Urbana, Illinois. He was 102. Kummerow was a professor of comparative biosciences who maintained a laboratory at […]
New MRI opens door to innovative veterinary research and care
CHAMPAIGN, Ill. — Advances in magnetic resonance imaging have transformed medicine over the last several decades. Unfortunately, this technology is rarely available to veterinarians. The University of Illinois College of Veterinary Medicine is now one of a few veterinary research and clinical care schools in the U.S. with a state-of-the-art 3-Tesla MRI facility. The recently […]
Scientists test nanoparticle drug delivery in dogs with osteosarcoma
CHAMPAIGN, Ill. — At the University of Illinois, an engineer teamed up with a veterinarian to test a bone cancer drug delivery system in animals bigger than the standard animal model, the mouse. They chose dogs – mammals closer in size and biology to humans – with naturally occurring bone cancers, which also are a […]
Report: A host of common chemicals endanger child brain development
CHAMPAIGN, Ill. — In a new report, dozens of scientists, health practitioners and children’s health advocates are calling for renewed attention to the growing evidence that many common and widely available chemicals endanger neurodevelopment in fetuses and children of all ages. The chemicals that are of most concern include lead and mercury; organophosphate pesticides used […]
With online games, high school students learn how to rein in disease outbreaks
CHAMPAIGN, Ill. — High school students investigate Ebola-like outbreaks and administer vaccines through Outbreak!, a new summer course at Illinois that uses online games to encourage critical thinking about fighting infectious diseases. Dr. Yvette Johnson-Walker, an epidemiologist and a clinical instructor in the department of veterinary clinical medicine at the U. of I., leads the […]
When veterinarians become crime scene investigators
Just as police and forensic pathologists investigate crimes involving human perpetrators and victims, veterinary pathologists are sometimes called upon to determine whether – and how, and by whom – animals were abused or killed by humans. They also investigate injuries or deaths caused by animals. U. of I. veterinary diagnostic laboratory professor Dr. Adam Stern, […]
Human trials of cancer drug PAC-1 continue with new investment
CHAMPAIGN, Ill. — Clinical trials of the anti-cancer agent PAC-1 are continuing to expand, thanks to a $7 million angel investment from an anonymous contributor who originally invested $4 million to help get the compound this far in the drug-approval pipeline. The U.S. Food and Drug Administration also granted PAC-1 orphan drug status for the […]
Shape of tumor may affect whether cells can metastasize
CHAMPAIGN, Ill. — Only a few cells in a cancerous tumor are able to break away and spread to other parts of the body, but the curve along the edge of the tumor may play a large role in activating these tumor-seeding cells, according to a new University of Illinois study. Using engineered tissue environments […]
Study links fetal and newborn dolphin deaths to Deepwater Horizon oil spill
CHAMPAIGN, Ill. — Scientists have finalized a five-year study of newborn and fetal dolphins found stranded on beaches in the northern Gulf of Mexico between 2010 and 2013. Their study, reported in the journal Diseases of Aquatic Organisms, identified substantial differences between fetal and newborn dolphins found stranded inside and outside the areas affected by […]
Leatherback sea turtles choose nest sites carefully, study finds
CHAMPAIGN, Ill. — The enormous, solitary leatherback sea turtle spends most of its long life at sea. After hatching and dispersing across the world’s oceans, only the female leatherbacks return to their natal beaches to lay clutches of eggs in the sand. A new study offers fresh insights into their nesting choices and will help […]
Snake fungal disease parallels white-nose syndrome in bats
CHAMPAIGN, Ill. — A deadly fungal infection afflicting snakes is eerily similar to the fungus that causes white-nose syndrome in bats, researchers report. Although Ophidiomyces ophiodiicola (the snake fungus) and Pseudogymnoascus destructans (the bat fungus) inhabit different ecological niches and thrive at different temperature and humidity ranges, the fungi share basic traits that allow them […]
Drug trials in pet dogs with cancer may speed advances in human oncology
CHAMPAIGN, Ill. — Pet dogs may be humans’ best friends in a new arena of life: cancer treatment, said University of Illinois veterinary clinical medicine professor Timothy Fan. Physiological similarities between dogs and humans, and conserved genetics between some dog and human cancers, can allow pet dogs to serve as useful models for studying new […]