News Archive
Technology to screen for higher-yielding crop traits now more accessible
Claire Benjamin
Like many industries, big data is driving innovations in agriculture. Scientists seek to analyze thousands of plants to pinpoint genetic tweaks that can boost crop production—…
Advancing the frontier of aquatic symbiosis research
Moore Foundation
The Gordon and Betty Moore Foundation has awarded grants to support the work of fifteen scientists as part of the Symbiosis in Aquatic Systems Initiative investigator program.…
SynFoNI: Strengthening synthetic biology in food, nutraceutical production
Alisa King
Over the years, the democratization of synthetic biology for the production of food has led to products like the Impossible burger, a burger impostor that uses plant tissues…
Veterinary infectious disease expert weighs in on coronavirus threat
Diana Yates
Influenza, SARS and COVID-19 are all zoonotic diseases, readily transmitted from animals to humans. The viruses that cause these diseases also share traits that allow them to…
Photosynthesis varies greatly across rice cultivars, diversity could boost yields
Claire Benjamin
Rice is a direct source of calories for more people than any other crop and serves as the main staple for 560 million chronically hungry people in Asia. With over 120,000…
Nobel Laureate to give IGB Distinguished Public Lecture
Please note due to travel restrictions, our Distinguished Public Lecture has been postponed. We will reschedule and announce the new date when it is available.
Do fruit flies…
Seed funds from alumnus furthers cell culture models of neurological diseases
Alisa King
Neurological diseases such as Alzheimer’s disease, Parkinson’s disease, and multiple sclerosis affect millions of people worldwide and yet, there exist no known cures. Multiple…
Team deciphers how myotonic dystrophy generates lethal heart dysfunctions
Diana Yates
Roughly 80% of people with myotonic dystrophy – a common form of muscular dystrophy – experience dangerous heart ailments, and heart rhythm defects are the second-leading cause…
New CRISPR base-editing technology slows ALS progression in mice
Liz Ahlberg Touchstone
With a new CRISPR gene-editing methodology, scientists from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign inactivated one of the genes responsible for an inherited form of…
Adapting photosynthesis to fleeting shadows boosts soybean yields
Claire Benjamin
Komorebi is a Japanese word that describes how light filters through leaves—creating shifting, dappled “sunflecks” that illustrate plants’ ever-changing light environment.…
Collaboration provides research-based training of under-represented minorities
Alisa King
As part of a campus-wide initiative to increase diversity, a collaboration with Fisk University was recently approved for an additional five years of continued financial…
Honoring their walk of life through fellowships in genomic biology
Alisa King
For Martha Loustaunau, the University of Illinois will always be known as a stop on her walk of life where she met late husband Joaquin Loustaunau, with whom she later shared…