News Bureau

CHAMPAIGN, lll. - Researchers have discovered a new compound that restores the health of mice infected with methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA), an otherwise dangerous bacterial infection. The new compound targets an enzyme not found in human cells but which is essential to bacterial survival.

CHAMPAIGN, Ill. - Older adults with hypertension may have dramatically different perceptions about the cause of their condition depending upon where they live, their ethnicity and other demographic characteristics, suggests new research that involved older adults in Arizona and Illinois.

CHAMPAIGN, Ill. - Researchers report that one tiny variation in the sequence of a gene may cause some people to be more impaired by traumatic brain injury (TBI) than others with comparable wounds.

CHAMPAIGN, Ill. - Arrhythmic hearts soon may beat in time again, with minimal surgical invasion, thanks to flexible electronics technology developed by a team of University of Illinois researchers, in collaboration with the University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine and Northwestern University. These biocompatible silicon devices could mark the beginning of a new wave of surgical electronics.

Many Americans have a soft spot for Botswana. Some developed that fondness for the African country while reading the best-selling “The No. 1 Ladies Detective Agency” series. But few have had a chance to do any sleuthing of their own there.

CHAMPAIGN, Ill. - A bout with cancer can be the catalyst for growth and healing in mother-daughter relationships, suggests a new study by a University of Illinois social work professor.

CHAMPAIGN, Ill. - As an art educator and researcher, Julia Kellman has long been aware - from her academic's box-seat vantage point - that art can impact people's lives in profound ways. But for the past four years, she's witnessed the phenomenal power of art-making from the perspective of a director who is on stage, engaging in an ongoing, intimate dialogue with the actors.

CHAMPAIGN, lll. - A new study of aged female rats found that long-term treatment with estrogen and a synthetic progesterone known as MPA increased levels of a protein marker of synapses in the prefrontal cortex, a brain region known to suffer significant losses in aging.

CHAMPAIGN, Ill. - A new study of nearly 600 third-graders may explain why some children who experience peer victimization develop problems with depression or aggression while other children who also get bullied have healthy emotional and social adjustment.

A Minute With™... Craig Gundersen, a U. of I. professor of agricultural and consumer economics

CHAMPAIGN, Ill. - The news a cancer patient most fears is that the disease has spread and become much more difficult to treat. A new method to isolate and grow the most dangerous cancer cells could enable new research into how cancer spreads and, ultimately, how to fight it.

Technology in common household humidifiers could enable the next wave of high-tech medical imaging and targeted medicine, thanks to a new method for making tiny silicone microspheres developed by chemists at the University of Illinois.

CHAMPAIGN, Ill. - Of the approximately half-million children and adolescents in foster care in the U.S., experts estimate that 42 to 60 percent of them have emotional and behavioral problems. Despite the prevalence of mental health problems among foster children, little is known about how pre-existing mental health conditions affect their outcomes in foster care.

CHAMPAIGN, lll. - A chemically altered osteoporosis drug may be useful in fighting malaria, researchers report in a new study. Unlike similar compounds tested against many other parasitic protozoa, the drug readily crosses into the red blood cells of malaria-infected mice and kills the malaria parasite. The drug works at very low concentrations with no observed toxicity to the mouse.

CHAMPAIGN, Ill. - Photos of happy, smiling faces on patient education websites may engage readers, but they also may have a negative impact on older adults' comprehension of vital health information, especially those elderly patients who are the least knowledgeable about their medical condition to begin with, suggests a new study.

CHAMPAIGN, lll. - The bacterium Streptococcus pneumoniae - which can cause pneumonia, meningitis, bacteremia and sepsis - likes to share its antibiotic-defeating weaponry with its neighbors. Individual cells can pass resistance genes to one another through a process called horizontal gene transfer, or by "transformation," the uptake of DNA from the environment.

CHAMPAIGN, Ill. - The Illinois Program for Research in the Humanities has been awarded a $2,050,000 grant from the Andrew W. Mellon Foundation to create research groups in three emerging areas in the humanities.

A higher-protein diet that emphasizes lean meats and low-fat dairy foods as sources of protein and calcium can mean weight loss without bone loss - and the evidence is in bone scans taken throughout a new UI study.

CHAMPAIGN, Ill. - Real-time, 3-D microscopic tissue imaging could be a revolution for medical fields such as cancer diagnosis, minimally invasive surgery and ophthalmology. University of Illinois researchers have developed a technique to computationally correct for aberrations in optical tomography, bringing the future of medical imaging into focus.

CHAMPAIGN, lll. - They're watching them in Benin, Brazil, Burkina Faso, Ethiopia, India and Niger. They're learning how to stop the spread of dengue, malaria, tuberculosis, cholera and food-related illness. They're learning how to protect their crops from insect damage or post-harvest losses. And they're coming up with new ideas for similar lessons to share with their neighbors or others around the world.

CHAMPAIGN, lll. - For cancer drug developers, finding an agent that kills tumor cells is only part of the equation. The drug must also spare healthy cells. And - ideally - its effects will be reversible, to cut short any potentially dangerous side effects.

CHAMPAIGN, lll. - Sticking with an exercise routine means being able to overcome the obstacles that invariably arise. A key to success is having the confidence that you can do it, researchers report. A new study explores how some cognitive strategies and abilities influence this "situation-specific self-confidence," a quality the researchers call "self-efficacy."

CHAMPAIGN, Ill. - In his 2014 State of the Union address, President Barack Obama referred to an August 2013 Centers for Disease Control and Prevention study that showed a decline in the obesity rate among low-income preschool children, saying, "Michelle's Let's Move! partnership with schools, businesses and local leaders has helped bring down childhood obesity rates for the first time in 30 years, and that's an achievement that will improve lives and reduce health care costs for decades to come."

A Minute With™... Anna Dilger, a professor of animal sciences

CHAMPAIGN, Ill. - Many characteristics of Autism Spectrum Disorders can be identified by the age of 2 and are predictive of which children will be diagnosed with these disorders when they're older, a new study suggests.

CHAMPAIGN, Ill. - New work by researchers at the University of Illinois lends strength to previous research documenting the health benefits of Qigong and Taiji among older adults who practice these ancient Chinese martial-arts forms.

Parents who have low health literacy are less likely to choose government-recommended weight-loss strategies, such as increasing physical activity or serving more fruits and vegetables, to help their children control their weight than parents who are better able to understand basic health-related information, a new study suggests.

The American Veterinary Medical Association has issued recommendations for keeping pets and backyard flocks safe from highly pathogenic avian influenza, and the recommendations are also a useful guide for humans. In an interview with News Bureau life sciences editor Diana Yates, Stephany Lewis, a professor of zoological medicine at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign and director of the University of Illinois Wildlife Medical Clinic, explains the risks of HPAI to pets and people.

CHAMPAIGN, lll. - Researchers report that Helicobacter pylori, the only bacterium known to survive in the harsh environment of the human stomach, directly activates an enzyme in host cells that has been associated with several types of cancer, including gastric cancer.

Scientists have mapped the human genes triggered by the phytonutrients in soy, revealing the complex role the legume plays in both preventing and advancing breast cancer.

CHAMPAIGN, Ill. - One of the most popular vaccine brands for children may not be the most cost-effective choice. And doctors may be overlooking some cost factors when choosing vaccines, driving the market toward what is actually a more expensive option, according to a new study by University of Illinois researchers.

CHAMPAIGN, lll. - Rainfall and temperature affect the abundance of two mosquito species linked to West Nile Virus in storm catch basins in suburban Chicago, two University of Illinois researchers report.

CHAMPAIGN, Ill. - Taiji master Yang Yang, an adjunct professor of kinesiology at the University of Illinois, is featured in a new, permanent exhibit that opened Oct. 8 at the Museum of Science and Industry in Chicago.

CHAMPAIGN, lll. - Researchers have shown that transplanting stem cells derived from normal mouse blood vessels into the hearts of mice that model the pathology associated with Duchenne muscular dystrophy (DMD) prevents the decrease in heart function associated with DMD.

CHAMPAIGN, Ill. - It may look like fresh blood and flow like fresh blood, but the longer blood is stored, the less it can carry oxygen into the tiny microcapillaries of the body, says a new study from University of Illinois researchers.

CHAMPAIGN, Ill. - Those diagnosed with early stage dementia can slow their physical, mental and psychological decline by taking part in therapeutic programs that combine counseling, support groups, Taiji and qigong, researchers report. Some of the benefits of this approach are comparable to those achieved with anti-dementia medications.

CHAMPAIGN, Ill. — Searching a whole genome for one particular sequence is like trying to fish a specific piece from the box of a billion-piece puzzle. Using advanced imaging techniques, University of Illinois researchers have observed how one set of genome-editing proteins finds its specific targets, which could help them design better gene therapies to treat disease.

CHAMPAIGN, lll. - Rats exposed to high doses of amphetamines at an age that corresponds to the later years of human adolescence display significant memory deficits as adults - long after the exposure ends, researchers report.

CHAMPAIGN, Ill. — A study of older adults at risk of late-onset Alzheimer’s disease found that those who consumed more omega-3 fatty acids did better than their peers on tests of cognitive flexibility – the ability to efficiently switch between tasks – and had a bigger anterior cingulate cortex, a brain region known to contribute to cognitive flexibility.

CHAMPAIGN, lll. - Firefighting causes stiff arteries and "cardiac fatigue," conditions also found in weightlifters and endurance athletes, according to two recent studies by researchers at the Illinois Fire Service Institute, located at the University of Illinois.

A Minute With™... wildlife veterinarian Mark A. Mitchell

Almost 50 million people in the United States are food insecure – that is, they lack access to adequate food because of limited money or other resources. University of Illinois economist Craig Gundersen and University of Kentucky’s James P. Ziliak examined recent research on food insecurity and its association with poor health, and offer suggestions including that doctors screen for hunger.

CHAMPAIGN, Ill. - A new study co-written by a University of Illinois professor has confirmed what parks and recreation professionals have long suspected: Nationwide, their agencies are serving as effective partners with community health-care providers in promoting healthy, active lifestyles among residents.

Heat stroke is a medical emergency, but recognizing the signs leading up to it and knowing how to mitigate exposure and vulnerability factors can improve outcomes, says Dr. Holly Rosencranz, an internal medicine physician and a clinical teaching professor in the Carle Illinois College of Medicine at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign. 

Schools adopting a test-to-stay program in which students were regularly tested for COVID-19 unless they proactively “opted out” of testing experienced an 84% higher testing rate and a 30% lower positivity rate than schools with a voluntary “opt-in” testing model, says a study co-written by Anton Ivanov and Ujjal Kumar Mukherjee, both professors of business administration at Illinois.

More than 1 in 5 U.S. adults provide unpaid care to another individual. Caregivers to loved ones with aging, disability or health concerns face challenges within the healthcare system and in their personal lives, but policy and culture changes can help, said Mina Raj, a professor of health and kinesiology at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign. 

CHAMPAIGN, Ill. - One infrared scan can give pathologists a window into the structures and molecules inside tissues and cells, enabling fast and broad diagnostic assessments, thanks to an imaging technique developed by University of Illinois researchers and clinical partners.

CHAMPAIGN, Ill. - Eating meals with family may be the best recipe for promoting healthy eating behaviors and body weights in children and adolescents, according to a new study by researchers at the University of Illinois.

Fathers who read to their infants with autism and take active roles in caregiving activities not only promote healthy development in their children, they boost moms’ mental health too, new research suggests.

CHAMPAIGN, Ill. - University of Illinois researchers determined that an adult stem cell present in muscle is responsive to exercise, a discovery that may provide a link between exercise and muscle health. The findings could lead to new therapeutic techniques using these cells to rehabilitate injured muscle and prevent or restore muscle loss with age.