Illinois News Bureau

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• Chief of Illinois State Water Survey to discuss drought assessment

  May 22, 2000 9:00 am43 views

  CHAMPAIGN, Ill. -- Despite recent rains over parts of Illinois, drought conditions have worsened in central and southwestern regions of the state, say officials of the Illinois State Water Survey.

• Researchers produce most detailed map of cattle genome

  Sep 11, 2000 9:00 am22 views

  CHAMPAIGN, Ill. -- The most detailed map ever produced of cattle genes and the first comparison map of cattle and human genomes show that many genes, and even whole chromosomes, are configured in the same way in the two species, scientists report.

• Wildlife Society honors author of 'Waterfowl of Illinois: Status and Management'

  Sep 13, 2000 9:00 am19 views

  CHAMPAIGN, Ill. -- Stephen P. Havera, director of the Forbes Biological Station of the Illinois Natural History Survey, was honored Sept. 13 by the Wildlife Society as the recipient of its 2000 Wildlife Publications Award for his comprehensive book on Illinois waterfowl.

• Inaugural lecture of The Pampered Chef Family Resiliency Lecture Series to be Oct. 19

  Oct 6, 2000 9:00 am24 views

  CHAMPAIGN, Ill. -- The seemingly lost tradition of shared family meals will be the focus of the inaugural lecture of The Pampered Chef Family Resiliency Lecture Series to be held Oct. 19 (Thursday) at the Illini Center, 200 S. Wacker Drive, Chicago.

• Feng Sheng Hu named Packard Fellow in Science and Engineering

  Nov 3, 2000 9:00 am106 views

• Microbiologist Carl R. Woese named winner of National Medal of Science

  Nov 13, 2000 9:00 am61 views

• Illinois scientists' discovery helps explain protein-synthesis machinery in cells

  Dec 18, 2000 9:00 am25 views

  CHAMPAIGN, Ill. -- University of Illinois biologists have discovered that a protein that lives in the cytoplasmic world between a mammalian cell's membrane and nucleus undergoes a "nuclear experience" that is necessary for regulating cell growth and division.

• 'Secret Agent Worms' to debut at Ag Open House

  Feb 6, 2001 9:00 am19 views

  CHAMPAIGN, Ill. -- "Secret Agent Worms," corn as a vitamin and fuel, and kenaf as an alternative cash crop are among the exhibits to be displayed March 2-3 at the 12th Annual College of Agricultural, Consumer and Environmental Sciences (ACES) Open House at the University of Illinois.

• Community Medical School to offer four lectures for the layperson

  Feb 14, 2001 9:00 am22 views

  CHAMPAIGN, Ill. -- Area residents can enhance their knowledge of medicine and science by attending the Community Medical School, a new program of the University of Illinois College of Medicine at Urbana-Champaign.

• Former faculty member to return as dean of veterinary medicine

  Apr 16, 2001 9:00 am44 views

  CHAMPAIGN, Ill. Herbert E. Whiteley, the head of the department of pathobiology and veterinary science at the University of Connecticut, will return to the University of Illinois as the dean of the College of Veterinary Medicine, pending approval of the UI Board of Trustees at its meeting May 23-24 in Springfield.

• Sloan Foundation funds online continuing education program for veterinarians

  Jun 8, 2001 9:00 am19 views

  CHAMPAIGN, Ill. A $100,000 grant from the Alfred P. Sloan Foundation has paved the way for the University of Illinois College of Veterinary Medicine to develop a comprehensive online continuing education program for veterinarians.

• Soil suggests early humans lived in forests instead of grasslands

  Jul 11, 2001 9:00 am158 views

  CHAMPAIGN, Ill. Carbon isotope evidence in almost 6-million-year-old soils suggests that the earliest humans already were evolving in and likely preferred humid forests rather than grasslands, report a team of scientists working in Ethiopia.

• Easter named acting dean of ACES

  Aug 6, 2001 9:00 am29 views

  CHAMPAIGN, Ill. Robert A. Easter was named today to be acting dean of the College of Agricultural, Consumer and Environmental Sciences at the University of Illinois. He will become interim dean, pending approval of the Board of Trustees at its meeting Sept. 13 in Chicago.

• Lectures launch yearlong exploration of new biology

  Sep 6, 2001 9:00 am39 views

  CHAMPAIGN, Ill. What are the implications now that the human genome has been sequenced? How will that scientific breakthrough, along with others in the field of biology, affect various areas of human life, from health and medicine to food production?

• Pollen from one Bt corn variety reduced growth rates among black swallowtail caterpillars

  Sep 10, 2001 9:00 am100 views

  CHAMPAIGN, Ill. Pollen from a Bt corn variety carrying a now-phased-out genetically inserted pesticide known as event 176 dramatically reduced growth rates among black swallowtail caterpillars in University of Illinois field tests, researchers report.

• Lecture on human genome postponed

  Sep 12, 2001 9:00 am7 views

  CHAMPAIGN, Ill. A lecture on the human genome, scheduled for Thursday at the University of Illinois, has been postponed because of Tuesdays terrorist attacks in New York and Washington, D.C.

• UI researchers to take part in research on gene function in mustard plant

  Oct 10, 2001 9:00 am11 views

  CHAMPAIGN, Ill. University of Illinois researchers have major roles in a newly announced $43.8 million National Science Foundation-funded initiative to define the function of the genes in a plant considered a model for understanding all plants. Eventually, their findings could have dramatic implications for all agricultural crops.

• Microbiologists, other panelists to participate in anthrax forum

  Oct 22, 2001 9:00 am18 views

  CHAMPAIGN, Ill. Two University of Illinois microbiologists will be among the five panelists participating in a free, public forum on anthrax and bioterrorism that begins at 8 p.m. Wednesday (Oct. 24) in Lincoln Hall Theater, 702 S. Wright St., Urbana. Members of the audience will be able to ask questions of the expert panelists after they speak.

• 'i-emerging' event to showcase new technologies seeking investors

  Oct 22, 2001 9:00 am5 views

  CHAMPAIGN, Ill. A computer that can recognize users faces, and even their moods. A method of delivering vaccine by a single pill that would eliminate the need for booster shots. An electronic "nose" that could be used by physicians to monitor dialysis patients and diagnose disease and by USDA inspectors to ensure fish is fresh.

• New UI center to study effects of exposure to toxicants in fish

  Oct 25, 2001 9:00 am36 views

  CHAMPAIGN, Ill. The University of Illinois College of Veterinary Medicine is home to a new federally funded center that will study the effects of exposure to toxicants in fish being eaten in large quantities by Laotian and Hmong refugees in Green Bay and Appleton, Wis.

• Efficient fertilizer use could benefit river without hurting crop yields

  Nov 7, 2001 9:00 am23 views

  CHAMPAIGN, Ill. A computational study on nitrogen inputs to the Mississippi River Basin from the 1950s to the 1990s suggests that better use of the fertilizer such as not over-applying it could substantially reduce the amount of nitrates flowing down river without compromising crop yields.

• Sickle cell researcher to talk about finding a cure Jan. 31

  Jan 17, 2002 9:00 am10 views

  CHAMPAIGN, Ill. Dr. William A. Eaton, the chief of the Laboratory of Chemical Physics at the National Institutes of Health, will give a public lecture, "Searching for a Cure of Sickle Cell Disease," Jan. 31 (Thursday) beginning at 4 p.m. in the auditorium of the Beckman Institute for Advanced Science and Technology, 405 N. Mathews Ave., Urbana.

• 'Alien Arthropods!' invade 19th annual Insect Fear Film Festival on Feb. 9

  Jan 22, 2002 9:00 am118 views

  CHAMPAIGN, Ill. Millions of alien invaders live in the United States, and a select bunch of them cause an estimated $20 billion in damage each year. These are not repulsive life-threatening beings from Mars and beyond; rather they are insects and other arthropods, some barely distinguished from homegrown varieties. Some of these aliens will star in this years Insect Fear Film Festival on Feb. 9.

• Four-day symposium on biodiverstiy part of international initiative

  Jan 23, 2002 9:00 am10 views

  CHAMPAIGN, Ill. The complexity and diversity of life, from insects to trees to mollusks to big cats and more, will be the topic of a four-day symposium for scientists converging on the University of Illinois campus Feb. 7-10.

• Beckman researchers to study motorist safety with GM grant

  Apr 23, 2002 9:00 am34 views

  CHAMPAIGN, Ill. The Beckman Institute for Advanced Science and Technology at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign is teaming with General Motors Research & Development and Planning of Warren, Mich., to study driver distractions and how well humans interact with in-vehicle technologies.

• Three researchers to take part in mapping the honeybee genome

  Jun 18, 2002 9:00 am6 views

  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).

• Howard Hughes Medical Institute to fund science education, outreach programs

  Jul 9, 2002 9:00 am155 views

  CHAMPAIGN, Ill. An ongoing, multi-faceted science education and outreach program, which benefits undergraduates as well as elementary through high school teachers and students across Illinois, is among 44 proposals nationwide that will receive funding from the Howard Hughes Medical Institute.

• Robert Easter named dean of College of Agricultural, Consumer and Environmental Sciences

  Jul 18, 2002 9:00 am77 views

  CHAMPAIGN, Ill. Robert A. Easter today was named the dean of the College of Agricultural, Consumer and Environmental Sciences at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. He has served as interim dean since August 2001. His appointment was approved by the board of trustees at its meeting in Springfield.

• Participants needed for course on balancing work, life

  Oct 22, 2002 9:00 am18 views

  CHAMPAIGN, Ill. - Work and home: Two worlds that most parents juggle daily. How to balance the two so the pressure of one doesn't overwhelm the other is the focus of a five-part program under development by University of Illinois Extension.

• Biologist one of five winners of 2003 Damon Runyon Scholar Award

  Dec 10, 2002 9:00 am61 views

  CHAMPAIGN, Ill. - Phillip A. Newmark, a researcher in the department of cell and structural biology at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, is one of five recipients nationwide of a 2003 Damon Runyon Scholar Award.

• Two Illinois scientists among 291 AAAS fellows

  Dec 11, 2002 9:00 am8 views

  CHAMPAIGN, Ill. - Scientists Nick Holonyak Jr. and Susan E. Fahrbach of the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign are among 291 people selected as 2002 fellows of the American Association for the Advancement of Science.

• Carl Woese wins the Crafoord Prize in Biosciences, given by the Royal Academy

  Feb 13, 2003 9:00 am32 views

  CHAMPAIGN, Ill. - Microbiologist Carl R. Woese today won the $500,000 Crafoord Prize in Biosciences given by the Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences. The annual prize marks accomplishments in scientific fields not covered by the Nobel Prizes in science, which the academy also selects. The king of Sweden will present the prize to Woese Sept. 24 in Stockholm.

• Carl Woese wins the Crafoord Prize in Biosciences, given by the Royal Academy

  Feb 20, 2003 9:00 am97 views

  CHAMPAIGN, Ill. - Microbiologist Carl R. Woese today won the $500,000 Crafoord Prize in Biosciences given by the Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences. The annual prize marks accomplishments in scientific fields not covered by the Nobel Prizes in science, which the academy also selects. The king of Sweden will present the prize to Woese Sept. 24 in Stockholm.

• New book entertainingly tells 'What Good Are Bugs'

  Apr 2, 2003 9:00 am17 views

  CHAMPAIGN, Ill. - Insects are vital to every ecosystem and essential to our existence, Gilbert Waldbauer says, answering a common question posed by the title of his new book, "What Good Are Bugs?"

• Harris Lewin named director of Post Genomic Institute

  May 2, 2003 9:00 am55 views

  CHAMPAIGN, Ill. - Animal geneticist Harris A. Lewin today was named the first director of the Post Genomic Institute at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, pending approval by the Board of Trustees at its May 15 meeting in Urbana. The institute will be a facility that officials say will put Illinois at the forefront of modern biological research.

• 'Brains in Action' set for May 24 at Children's Museum

  May 14, 2003 9:00 am7 views

  CHAMPAIGN, Ill. - Faculty members and students of the neuroscience program at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign want children and their families to join them to learn about "Brains in Action" from 1 p.m. to 5 p.m., May 24, at the Orpheum Children's Science Museum, 356 N. Neil St., Champaign.

• West Nile virus focus during ornithologists' meeting

  Jul 21, 2003 9:00 am9 views

  CHAMPAIGN, Ill. - The West Nile virus is the focus of a dozen research papers to be presented Aug. 9 (Saturday) during the 121st Stated Meeting of the American Ornithologists' Union, Aug. 5-9, at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign.

• Emerald ash borer poses threat to trees in Illinois

  Aug 8, 2003 9:00 am87 views

  CHAMPAIGN, Ill. - A half-inch-long beetle known as the emerald ash borer, which is devastating ash trees in Michigan, poses a serious threat to Illinois, says an entomologist at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. Officials fear that beetle-infested firewood could be accidentally transported into the state.

• Researchers join federal center to study infectious disease

  Sep 5, 2003 9:00 am159 views

  CHAMPAIGN, Ill. - Nine scientists of the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign are part of a newly created, federally funded Midwestern Regional Center of Excellence to be based at the University of Chicago.

• Carl Woese receives the Crafoord Prize

  Sep 25, 2003 9:00 am29 views

  CHAMPAIGN, Ill. - Microbiologist Carl R. Woese formally accepted the $500,000 Crafoord Prize in Biosciences from the Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences in Sweden. The king of Sweden presented the prize to Woese on Sept. 24.

• Illinois professor wins Nobel Prize

  Oct 6, 2003 9:00 am96 views

  CHAMPAIGN, Ill. - Paul C. Lauterbur, a pioneer in the development of magnetic resonance imaging and a faculty member at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, has been awarded the 2003 Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine. He shares the prize with Sir Peter Mansfield of the University of Nottingham in England. Mansfield was a research associate in the department of physics at Illinois from 1962-1964.

• John W. Erdman elected to Institute of Medicine of National Academies

  Oct 27, 2003 9:00 am242 views

  CHAMPAIGN, Ill. - John W. Erdman Jr., a professor of nutrition at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, was elected today to the Institute of Medicine of the National Academies.

• Keck Foundation to fund interdisciplinary research in brain disease, damage

  Jan 13, 2004 9:00 am38 views

  CHAMPAIGN, Ill. - A pioneering interdisciplinary research initiative that will combine neuroscience, chemistry and materials science in an effort to find new treatments for brain diseases and damage is being launched at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign with a $1.2 million grant from the W.M. Keck Foundation.

• Sediment samples suggest how plants would fare in hotter, drier future

  Jan 13, 2004 9:00 am6 views

  CHAMPAIGN, Ill. - Sediment samples dating back thousands of years and taken from under the deep water of West Olaf Lake in Minnesota have revealed an unexpected climate indicator that can be factored into future projections.

• Molecular level discovery could play role in development of new antibiotics

  Jan 29, 2004 9:00 am15 views

  CHAMPAIGN, Ill. - Chemists at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign have uncovered the molecular activity of an enzyme responsible for naturally turning a small protein into a potent antibiotic known as a lantibiotic.

• Two-drug approach might shorten painful labor, reduce Caesarean sections

  Feb 2, 2004 9:00 am30 views

  CHAMPAIGN, Ill. - The nationwide rise in induced labor and Caesarean deliveries could be eased by an experimental dual drug approach that not only safely jump-starts labor but also remodels the cervix to allow for speedy natural delivery, scientists report.

• Run for your popcorn: Mutant insects expected to take over Illinois campus

  Feb 10, 2004 9:00 am18 views

  CHAMPAIGN, Ill. - The world's latest most-feared technological nightmare comes true Feb. 28, but only for about six hours. Genetically engineered insects will be running amok - though just on the big screen - during the 21st annual Insect Fear Film Festival at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign.

• Out-of-balance ecosystems play role in demise of amphibian populations

  Feb 10, 2004 9:00 am645 views

  CHAMPAIGN, Ill. - During the last decade, Val Beasley of the University of Illinois College of Veterinary Medicine has led a team wanting to know why the world's amphibian populations have been dwindling or riddled with limb deformities.

• Human evolution at the crossroads: Integrating genetics and paleontology

  Feb 16, 2004 9:00 am330 views

  Champaign.

• Exercise sharpens focus, decision-making among aging adults

  Feb 16, 2004 9:00 am686 views

  CHAMPAIGN, Ill. - Aging adults who give up a sedentary lifestyle and replace it with a cardiovascular fitness regimen as simple as brisk walks reap greater focus and reduced decision-making conflict as they perform a variety of tasks, scientists say.