News Archive
'Molecular Velcro' enables tissues to sense, react to mechanical force
Lois Yoksoulian
The Velcro-like cellular proteins that hold cells and tissues together also perform critical functions when they experience increased tension. A new University of Illinois…
Bioengineering professors receive $4.8M to develop gene therapy for ALS
Huan Song
The NIH National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke (NINDS) awarded University of Illinois bioengineering professors Thomas Gaj (BSD) and Pablo Perez-Pinera (ACPP)…
Acceleration of cancer biomarker detection for point of care diagnostics
Alisa King-Klemperer
The detection and quantification of cancer-associated molecular biomarkers in body fluids, or liquid biopsies, prove minimally invasive in early cancer diagnostics. Researchers…
Researchers simulate behavior of living 'minimal cell' in three dimensions
Diana Yates
Scientists report that they have built a living “minimal cell” with a genome stripped down to its barest essentials – and a computer model of the cell that mirrors its behavior…
CRISPR-Cas13 targets proteins causing ALS, Huntington's disease in mouse nervous system
Liz Ahlberg Touchstone
A single genetic mutation can have profound consequences, as demonstrated in neurodegenerative diseases such as amyotrophic lateral sclerosis or Huntington’s disease. A new…
New project aims to sequence all known eukaryotic species
Ananya Sen
The Earth BioGenome Project, launched in November 2018, is an ambitious undertaking with the goal of sequencing all the existing, named eukaryotes—about 2 million species of…
New detection technique counts COVID virus particles in saliva, breath
Ivan Sanchez
As health and research institutions continue to rapidly develop new methodologies for detecting SARS-CoV-2, researchers have found themselves at both forefronts of discovery…
Gene mutation leads to epileptic encephalopathy symptoms, neuron death in mice
Liz Ahlberg Touchstone
Mice with a genetic mutation that’s been observed in patients with epileptic encephalopathy, a severe form of congenital epilepsy, exhibit not only the seizure, developmental…
Prenatal exposure to phthalates damages reproductive tissue in female mice
Ananya Sen
Phthalates are a ubiquitous family of chemicals that are used every day. In a new study, researchers have investigated how these compounds affect tissue development in the…