News Archive
African BioGenome Project to sequence 100,000 endemic species
Ananya Sen
Although 60,000 known plant species and 123,000 known animal species are found in Africa, only 20 plants and 385 animals have been sequenced till date. Even 50% of the orphan…
Portable, point-of-care COVID-19 test discerns alpha variant from earlier strains
Lois Yoksoulian
A point-of-care COVID-19 test developed by researchers at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign can now detect and differentiate the alpha variant of the SARS-CoV-2 virus…
15 Years of IGB: Developing new drugs to battle cancer
Ananya Sen
In honor of the IGB's anniversary, we're revisiting some of the history of our institute over the past 15 years with a series of articles highlighting IGB people, projects, and…
Mining microbial genomes to discover natural products
Ananya Sen
The world around us contains many chemicals that are useful for medicines, crop protection, and animal health. These chemicals—known as natural products—have typically been…
New approach enhances muscle recovery in aged mice
Lois Yoksoulian
Scientists have developed a promising new method to combat the age-related losses in muscle mass that often accompany immobility after injury or illness. Their technique,…
Colorectal cancer in context: How food environment affects the gut
Lauren Quinn
Colorectal cancer is expected to claim more than 52,000 American lives in 2022, and if this year is like most others, Black Americans will bear the brunt of the disease. To…
Study investigates the effects of DiNP on the colon
Ananya Sen
Phthalates are commonly used to make products—including artificial leather, footwear, plastic food packaging, and personal care products—more flexible or stable. In particular…
Young Innovator Program Inventor Spotlight: Victoria Kriuchkovskaia
Ananya Sen
Victoria Kriuchkovskaia is a graduate student in the Harley lab at the Department of Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering. In the inaugural Young Innovator Program in…
Team Developing Cancer Drug Delivery Method with Bioengineered Microbes
CCIL Communications Team
An Illinois research team is developing a method of producing and delivering monoclonal antibody treatments for breast cancer through commensal microbes in the gut. If…