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  • Turn on your neurons at the Children's Museum

    CHAMPAIGN, Ill. - Neuroscientists at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign invite children and their families to learn about their brains at the fourth annual Brain Awareness Day from 1 p.m. to 5 p.m. May 23 (Sunday) at the Orpheum Children's Science Museum, 356 N. Neil St., Champaign.

  • Illinois researchers developed a way to target tumors using sugars that are metabolized by the cancer cell’s own enzymes. From left: postdoctoral researcher Yang Liu, professor Jianjun Cheng, postdoctoral researcher Zhiyu Wang, graduate student Kaimin Cai, research scientist Iwona T. Dobrucka, professor Wawrzyniec Lawrence Dobrucki and graduate student Ruibo Wang (seated).

    Tumor-targeting system uses cancer’s own mechanisms to betray its location

    By hijacking a cancer cell’s own metabolism, researchers have found a way to tag and target elusive cancers with small-molecule sugars. This opens treatment pathways for cancers that are not responsive to conventional targeted antibodies, such as triple-negative breast cancer.

  • Milena Shattuck and Scott Williams, doctoral candidates in anthropology, have found that tree-dwelling mammals live longer than those who live on the ground. Humans are an exception, but tree-dwelling ancestors may explain that.

    Tree-dwelling mammals climb to the heights of longevity

    CHAMPAIGN, lll. - The squirrels littering your lawn with acorns as they bound overhead will live to plague your yard longer than the ones that aerate it with their burrows, according to a University of Illinois study.

  • Doctoral candidate Jordan P. Davis, left, and social work professor Douglas C. Smith found that treating withdrawal symptoms could help young adults who use cannabis stay off the drug. The National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism funded the study, published in the Journal of Drug Issues.

    Treating withdrawal symptoms could help cannabis users quit, study finds

    Heavy users of cannabis who experience withdrawal symptoms such as nervousness and cravings when they quit are likely to use again sooner than their peers, a new study finds.

  • "Because our patients can't talk to us, we have to figure out what's wrong with them based on physical examination and testing and histories given by their owners," said Pamela Wilkins, a professor of equine internal medicine and emergency/critical care at the University of Illinois and author of a new paper on equine neonatal intensive care.

    Treating newborn horses: A unique form of pediatrics

    CHAMPAIGN, Ill. - Like any other newborn, the neonatal horse can be a challenging patient. Its immune system is still under construction, its blood chemistry can vary wildly, and - like most infants - it wants to stay close to mom.

  • The trap-jaw can increase its survival by jumping with its spring-loaded jaws.

    Trap-jaw ants jump with their jaws to escape the antlion's den

    CHAMPAIGN, Ill. — Some species of trap-jaw ants use their spring-loaded mandibles to hurl themselves out of harm’s way when an ant-trapping predator stalks, researchers report in the journal PLOS ONE. This dramatic maneuver doubles the ants’ survival when other escape methods fail, the researchers found.

  • U. of I. emeritus veterinary biosciences professor Fred Kummerow, who is 94, has spent nearly six decades studying lipid biochemistry, and is a long-time advocate for a ban on partially hydrogenated fats in food.

    Trans fat hinders multiple steps in blood flow regulation pathways

    CHAMPAIGN, lll. - Partially hydrogenated vegetable oils in processed foods contain trans fatty acids that interfere with the regulation of blood flow. A new report reveals a new way in which these "trans fats" gum up the cellular machinery that keeps blood moving through arteries and veins.

  • Cell and developmental biology professor Lisa Stubbs, right, and postdoctoral researcher Katja Nowick and their colleagues found distinct differences in gene activity between humans and chimps. These differences are associated with about 90 transcription factors, they found.

    Transcription factors guide differences in human and chimp brain function

    CHAMPAIGN, lll. - Humans share at least 97 percent of their genes with chimpanzees, but, as a new study of transcription factors makes clear, what you have in your genome may be less important than how you use it.

  • Dean of the Grainger College of Engineering Rashid Bashir.

    Training neural circuits early in development improves response, study finds

    When it comes to training neural circuits for tissue engineering or biomedical applications, a new study suggests a key parameter: Train them young.

     

  • Training benefits brains in older people, counters aging factors

    CHAMPAIGN, Ill. --- Too old to learn new skills? By golly, think again. New research at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign shows that training re-ignites key areas of the brain, offsetting some age-related declines and boosting performance.

  • Toxin combination common in fish appears capable of impairing motor skills

    CHAMPAIGN, Ill. - Pups of female rats exposed to a combination of polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) and methylmercury (MeHg) slip and fall more often trying to maneuver on a rotating rod than do pups from non-exposed moms, scientists say.

  • Klaus Schulten and colleagues report that a toxic molecule may play a pivotal role in bird migration. The molecule is proposed as a key player in the process that allows birds to "see" Earth's magnetic field. Schulten holds the Swanlund Chair in Physics at the University of Illinois.

    Toxic molecule may help birds "see" north and south

    CHAMPAIGN, lll. - Researchers at the University of Illinois report that a toxic molecule known to damage cells and cause disease may also play a pivotal role in bird migration. The molecule, superoxide, is proposed as a key player in the mysterious process that allows birds to "see" Earth's magnetic field.

  • Researchers report that those who plan ahead and consider how to respond positively to challenging problems tend to suffer less from anxiety than those who ignore, hide or repress their feelings.

    To suppress or to explore? Emotional strategy may influence anxiety

    CHAMPAIGN, lll. - When trouble approaches, what do you do? Run for the hills? Hide? Pretend it isn't there? Or do you focus on the promise of rain in those looming dark clouds?

  • To stem disease, keep cats indoors, stop feeding strays, scientist urges

    CHAMPAIGN, Ill. - Keep pet cats inside, stop feeding strays, cook meat sufficiently and reconsider the way the veterinary profession and public health agencies think - and teach - about the zoonotic pathogen Toxoplasma gondii.

  • Illinois computer science professor Jian Peng developed a tool to map a gene’s “social network,” which could help researchers better understand its function and interactions, and provide insights into human disease and treatment.

    Tool to map gene's ‘social network’ sheds light on function, interactions and drug efficacy

    Although the human genome has been mapped, many questions remain about how genes are regulated, how they interact with one another, and what function some genes serve. A new tool developed by researchers at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology distills the huge amount of genomic data into gene networks that can point to the function of genes, highlighting relationships between genes and offering insights into disease, treatment and gene analogs across species.

  • Tomato-broccoli together shown to be effective against prostate cancer

    A new UI study shows that tomatoes and broccoli – two vegetables known for their cancer-fighting qualities – are better at shrinking prostate tumors when both are part of the daily diet than when they’re eaten alone.

  • Illinois history professor David Sepkoski’s book “Catastrophic Thinking” examines how concerns about threats to the planet and human race came to be.

    Today's catastrophic concerns shaped by past interactions between science, culture

    A global pandemic, wildfires and hurricanes have made 2020 a year of catastrophes. David Sepkoski’s new book “Catastrophic Thinking” looks at how current-day concerns about threats to both the planet and the human race came to be. Sepkoski is a history professor at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign, specializing in the history of science.

  • Illinois researchers developed a tiny thermometer to take fast temperatures inside of cells. Pictured, from left: Graduate student Jeffrey W. Brown; Rhanor Gillette, emeritus professor of molecular and integrative physiology; Sanjiv Sinha, professor of mechanical science and engineering; Daniel Llano, professor of molecular and integrative physiology. Front row: graduate student Manju Rajagopal.

    Tiny thermometer measures how mitochondria heat up the cell by unleashing proton energy

    Armed with a tiny new thermometer probe that can quickly measure temperature inside of a cell, University of Illinois researchers have illuminated a mysterious aspect of metabolism: heat generation.

  • Illinois chemists developed a method to make tiny silicone microspheres using misting technology found in household humidifiers. The spheres could have applications in targeted medicine and imaging.

    Tiny silicone spheres come out of the mist

    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.

  • A constellation of vesicles, tiny cellular transport packages seen here as blue dots, are released by cancer cells into the surrounding tissue. Illinois researchers found that these vesicles, coupled with molecular changes in metabolism, can signal big changes in the tissue around tumors.

    Tiny exports signal big shifts in cancer tissue, researchers find

    Microscopic shifts in metabolism and increases in tiny transport vesicles out of tumor cells preface larger changes to the tumor environment and could prepare the way for cancerous cells to spread and metastasize, University of Illinois researchers report.

  • The small sensor connects to an embeddable wireless transmitter that lies on top of the skull.

    Tiny electronic implants monitor brain injury, then melt away

    A new class of small, thin electronic sensors can monitor temperature and pressure within the skull – crucial health parameters after a brain injury or surgery – then melt away when they are no longer needed, eliminating the need for additional surgery to remove the monitors and reducing the risk of infection and hemorrhage.

  • Illinois professor Kyekyoon "Kevin" Kim, graduate student Benjamin Lew and research scientist Hyungsoo Choi developed a method to make it easier to transplant pancreatic islet cells from pigs to treat type I diabetes.

    Tiny drug-delivering capsules could sustain transplanted insulin-producing cells for diabetics

    A drug-carrying microsphere within a cell-bearing microcapsule could be the key to transplanting insulin-secreting pig pancreas cells into human patients whose own cells have been destroyed by type I diabetes.

  • A composite PCI image shows mass density in a cell (red) overlaid with the correlation time map highlighting activity (green).

    Time-lapse cell imaging reveals dynamic activity

    Living cells are miniature worlds bustling with activity. A new advanced imaging method can track cells over long periods of time using only light – no dye or chemicals required – to reveal dynamics and provide insight into how cells function, develop and interact.

  • University of Illinois instructors, from left, Kate Clancy, Alex Wild and Joanne Manaster were selected to join Scientific American's new blog network.

    Three U. of I. scientists join Scientific American's blog network

    CHAMPAIGN, lll. - When Scientific American unveils its new blog network Tuesday (July 5), the roster of hand-picked science communicators will include three University of Illinois bloggers. The university is one of the few institutions represented by multiple bloggers on the blogroll of the 165-year-old publication, the oldest popular science magazine in the world.

  • Three researchers to take part in mapping the honeybee genome

    CHAMPAIGN, Ill. A buzz being heard around the entomology department these days is a genomic celebration. Three departmental researchers will have key roles in a recently announced federal project to map the some 15,000 genes of a honeybee (Apis mellifera).

  • Individual photos of each of the three researchers described in this release.

    Three Illinois scientists rank among world's most influential

    Three faculty members at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign have been named to the 2020 Clarivate Analytics Highly Cited Researchers list. The list recognizes leading researchers in the sciences and social sciences from around the world. It is based on an analysis of journal article publication and citation data, an objective measure of a researcher’s influence, from 2009-2019.

    The highly cited Illinois researchers this year are: materials science and engineering professor Axel Hoffmann, crop sciences and plant biology professor Stephen Long, and plant biology professor Donald Ort.

  • Three U. of I. professors are recipients of Alfred P. Sloan Research Fellowships this year.

    Three Illinois professors named Sloan Research Fellows

    Three Illinois scientists are among 126 recipients of the 2018 Sloan Research Fellowships from the Alfred P. Sloan Foundation. According to the foundation, the awards “honor early career scholars whose achievements mark them as among the very best scientific minds working today.” Winners receive a two-year $65,000 fellowship to further their research.

  • U. of I. dance professor Tere R. O'Connor, materials science and engineering professor John A. Rogers and chemistry professor Wilfred A. van der Donk have been elected to the American Academy of Arts and Sciences.  Click photo to enlarge

    Three Illinois professors elected to the American Academy of Arts and Sciences

    CHAMPAIGN, Ill. - Three University of Illinois professors have been elected to the American Academy of Arts and Sciences, one of the longest-standing honorary societies in the nation. Tere R. O'Connor, a professor of dance; John A. Rogers, the Swanlund Chair of Materials Science and Engineering; and Wilfred A. van der Donk, the Richard E. Heckert Endowed Chair in Chemistry, will join other new members in an induction ceremony in October at the academy's headquarters in Cambridge, Mass.

  • University of Illinois psychology professor Dolores Albarracin and her colleagues found that people who are unsure of their own beliefs are less likely to entertain opposing views.

    Those unsure of own ideas more resistant to views of others

    CHAMPAIGN, lll. - We swim in a sea of information, but filter out most of what we see or hear. A new analysis of data from dozens of studies sheds new light on how we choose what we do and do not hear. The study found that while people tend to avoid information that contradicts what they already think or believe, certain factors can cause them to seek out, or at least consider, other points of view.

  • University of Illinois psychology professor Dolores Albarracn and her colleague William Hart of the University of Florida found that people who are highly motivated to achieve and those who aren't differ dramatically in their response to messages meant to inspire them to excel.

    Those less motivated to achieve will excel on tasks seen as fun

    CHAMPAIGN, lll. - Those who value excellence and hard work generally do better than others on specific tasks when they are reminded of those values. But when a task is presented as fun, researchers report, the same individuals often will do worse than those who say they are less motivated to achieve.

  • Thin skin, slow-growing gills protect larval stage of Antarctic fish

    CHAMPAIGN, Ill. - Very thin but hardy, unblemished skin and slow developing gills appear to be keys to survival for newly hatched Antarctic notothenioids, a group of fish whose adults thrive in icy waters because of antifreeze proteins (AFPs) in their blood.

  • Miniature "bio-bots" developed at the University of Illinois are made of hydrogel and heart cells, but can walk on their own.

    These bots were made for walking: Cells power biological machines

    CHAMPAIGN, Ill. - They're soft, biocompatible, about 7 millimeters long - and, incredibly, able to walk by themselves. Miniature "bio-bots" developed at the University of Illinois are making tracks in synthetic biology.

  • Frances Kuo, a professor of natural resources and environmental science and psychology at Illinois, studies how environmental factors, such as access to nature, may influence social, psychological and physical health.

    The science suggests access to nature is essential to human health

    CHAMPAIGN, lll. - Elderly adults tend to live longer if their homes are near a park or other green space, regardless of their social or economic status. College students do better on cognitive tests when their dorm windows view natural settings. Children with ADHD have fewer symptoms after outdoor activities in lush environments. Residents of public housing complexes report better family interactions when they live near trees.

  • The rise of the "super toxic" new strain of E. coli

    A Minute With™... veterinary pathobiologist Carol Maddox 

  • University of Illinois psychology professor and Beckman Institute director Art Kramer presented a talk about how physical activity boosts cognition and brain health at the 2013 AAAS meeting.

    The research is in: Physical activity enhances cognition

    CHAMPAIGN, lll. - Exercise doesn't only strengthen your heart and muscles - it also beefs up your brain. Dozens of studies now show that aerobic exercise can increase the size of critical brain structures and improve cognition in children and older adults.

  • In studies of mice, comparative biosciences professor Jodi Flaws and her colleagues linked phthalate exposure during pregnancy to reproductive problems in parent and offspring, and to degradation of the function and structure of the ovaries.

    The phthalate DEHP undermines female fertility in mice

    CHAMPAIGN, Ill. - Two studies in mice add to the evidence that the phthalate DEHP, a plasticizing agent used in auto upholstery, baby toys, building materials and many other consumer products, can undermine female reproductive health, in part by disrupting the growth and function of the ovaries.

  • The graphic shows an orange and blue fractal image illustrating mathmatical order and chaos

    Theory sorts order from chaos in complex quantum systems

    It’s not easy to make sense of quantum-scale motion, but a new mathematical theory could help, providing insight into the various computing, electrochemical and biological systems. Chenghao Zhang, a physics graduate student at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign, and chemistry professor Martin Gruebele performed a computational analysis of the new mathematical theory developed by Rice University theorist Peter Wolynes and theoretical chemist David Logan at Oxford University. The theory gives a simple prediction for the threshold at which large quantum systems switch from orderly motion like a clock to random, erratic motion like asteroids moving around in the early solar system.

  • University of Illinois psychology professor Aron Barbey proposes that the brain’s dynamic properties drive human intelligence.

    Theory: Flexibility is at the heart of human intelligence

    Centuries of study have yielded many theories about how the brain gives rise to human intelligence. A new theory makes the case that the brain’s dynamic properties – how it is wired but also how that wiring shifts in response to changing intellectual demands – are the best predictors of intelligence in the human brain.

  • University of Illinois Beckman Institute postdoctoral researcher Agnieszka Burzynska and her colleagues analyzed the brain and cognition of Olga Kotelko, a 93-year-old track-and-field athlete. Burzynska is now a professor at Colorado State University.

    The nonagenarian athlete: Researchers study Olga Kotelko's brain

    In the summer of 2012, Olga Kotelko, a 93-year-old Canadian track-and-field athlete with more than 30 world records in her age group, visited the Beckman Institute for Advanced Science and Technology at the University of Illinois and submitted to an in-depth analysis of her brain.

  • Researchers grew Miscanthus x giganteus (the taller grass) and switchgrass in side-by-side field trials in seven locations in Illinois.

    The first decade: Team reports on U.S. trials of bioenergy grasses

    CHAMPAIGN, Ill. - The first long-term U.S. field trials of Miscanthus x giganteus, a towering perennial grass used in bioenergy production, reveal that its exceptional yields, though reduced somewhat after five years of growth, are still more than twice those of switchgrass (Panicum virgatum), another perennial grass used as a bioenergy feedstock. Miscanthus grown in Illinois also outperforms even the high yields found in earlier studies of the crop in Europe, the researchers found.

  • The emerald ash borer has been found in Chicago. Can its spread be stopped?

    A Minute With™... Extension entomologist Phil Nixon

  • The dietary supplement genistein can undermine breast cancer treatment

    CHAMPAIGN, Ill. - Women taking aromatase inhibitors to treat breast cancer or prevent its recurrence should think twice before also taking a soy-based dietary supplement, researchers report.

  • Termite threats on the big screen at Insect Fear Film Festival

    The 2019 Insect Fear Film Festival at the University of Illinois features termites – a threat to all things wooden but also a valuable part of the ecosystem.

  • Doctoral student Scott Siechen, left, and mechanical science and engineering professor Taher Saif and their colleagues found that tension in axons is required for proper neuron signaling.

    Tension in axons is essential for synaptic signaling, researchers report

    CHAMPAIGN, lll. - Every time a neuron sends a signal - to move a muscle or form a memory, for example - tiny membrane-bound compartments, called vesicles, dump neurotransmitters into the synapse between the cells. Researchers report that this process, which is fundamental to the workings of the nervous system, relies on a simple mechanical reality: Tension in the axon of the presynaptic neuron is required.

  • Technique provides new look on response of diseased canine heart

    CHAMPAIGN, Ill. - Using newly available biological technology, researchers have developed the first molecular portrait of multiple gene activity in diseased heart tissue taken from dogs near death from a devastating disease. The discovery sheds new light on the heart's response to dilated cardiomyopathy (DCM), a disease of large-breed dogs.

  • Research team photo

    Team uses MRI to image epigenetics in the brain

    A multidisciplinary team at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign has devised a new approach to 3D imaging that captures DNA methylation, a key epigenetic change associated with learning in the brain. The scientists say their proof-of-concept study in pigs will easily translate to humans, as the new method relies on standard MRI technology and biological markers already in use in human medicine.

  • Researchers Lei Zhang, left, and Xinying Wang, center, with Junhua Jiang, a senior research engineer at the Illinois Sustainable Technology Center, are developing high-performance supercapacitors using wood biochar.

    Team uses forest waste to develop cheaper, greener supercapacitors

    CHAMPAIGN, Ill. - Researchers report that wood-biochar supercapacitors can produce as much power as today's activated-carbon supercapacitors at a fraction of the cost - and with environmentally friendly byproducts.

  • Researchers stand alongside an elongated treadmill used in the research.

    Team uses digital cameras, machine learning to predict neurological disease

    In an effort to streamline the process of diagnosing patients with multiple sclerosis and Parkinson’s disease, researchers used digital cameras to capture changes in gait – a symptom of these diseases – and developed a machine-learning algorithm that can differentiate those with MS and PD from people without those neurological conditions.

  • Portrait of Liviu Mirica standing outdoors. He is wearing a white button-down shirt and dark jacket and is smiling at the camera.

    Team uses copper to image Alzheimer's aggregates in the brain

    A proof-of-concept study conducted in a mouse model of Alzheimer’s disease offers new evidence that copper isotopes can be used to detect the amyloid-beta protein deposits that form in the brains of people living with – or at risk of developing – Alzheimer’s.

  • University of Illinois food science and human nutrition professor Yong-Su Jin, left rear, and, clockwise, graduate student Josh Quarterman, EBI fellow Soo Rin Kim and postdoctoral researcher Na Wei engineered yeast to consume acetic acid and xylose simultaneously, improving ethanol yield from lignocellulosic sources (plant stems and other structural parts).

    Team uses a cellulosic biofuels byproduct to increase ethanol yield

    CHAMPAIGN, Ill. - Scientists report in Nature Communications that they have engineered yeast to consume acetic acid, a previously unwanted byproduct of the process of converting plant leaves, stems and other tissues into biofuels. The innovation increases ethanol yield from lignocellulosic sources by about 10 percent.