News Archive
Large US firms have lower product diversity, study finds
Ananya Sen
Many aspects of economic productivity, including gross domestic product measurements, have been steadily rising over the past three decades. Although one would assume that the…
BBC’s Follow the Food to feature RIPE researcher’s Rock Dust project
Amanda Nguyen
On Saturday, March 12th, 2022, the Realizing Increased Photosynthetic Efficiency (RIPE) project’s Carl Bernacchi will be featured on an episode of Follow the Food on BBC World…
Reducing the carbon footprint through single-use plastics reuse
Alisa King-Klemperer
A staggering 5.5 million tons of single-use plastics are generated each year by science labs, negating 83% of the world’s recycled plastics. A team at Illinois was recently…
Circadian rhythm and the blood-brain barrier
Kyle Shelton
What is the best time of day to take your medications?
An interdisciplinary team received a grant to study the circadian dynamics of the blood-brain barrier, including…
CROPSR: A New Tool to Accelerate Genetic Discoveries
Julie Wurth
Commercially viable biofuel crops are vital to reducing greenhouse gas emissions, and a new tool developed by the Center for Advanced Bioenergy and Bioproducts Innovation (…
Study reveals new insights into bat echolocation
Ananya Sen
Bats are famous for using echolocation—a process where emitted sound waves bounce off objects, providing information about their size, distance, and the…
New set of chemical building blocks makes complex 3D molecules in a snap
Liz Ahlberg Touchstone
A new set of molecular building blocks aims to make complex chemistry as simple and accessible as a toy construction kit.
Researchers at the University of Illinois…
'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…