Block I logo
University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign

News Archive

Establishing grassroots genomics and bioinformatics programs to train over 400 Africans yearly

African BioGenome Project

The African BioGenome Project (AfricaBP) implemented a successful series of workshops in 2023 referred to as the Open Institute for Genomics and Bioinformatics Regional…

Map showing African countries where 28 AfricaBP Open Institute regional workshops were held in 2023. Host countries are: Nigeria, South Africa, Morocco, Algeria, Egypt, Tunisia, Kenya, Cameroon, DR Congo, Ethiopia, and Uganda

Research

iFAB awarded $51 million EDA Tech Hubs grant to propel Central Illinois as a biomanufacturing leader

Claire Benjamin

The Illinois Fermentation and Agriculture Biomanufacturing (iFAB) Tech Hub has been awarded approximately $51 million from the Tech Hubs Program through the Department of…

From left, Beth Conerty, Nicole Bateman, and Carly McCrory-McKay will help lead the iFAB Tech Hub to spur economic growth and job creation in Central Illinois through biomanufacturing and precision fermentation with approximately $51 million in support from the Economic Development Administration's Tech Hubs Program. Photo credit: Anna Longworth Photography

Research

Endowment by Scott Fisher to support IGB theme

Ananya Sen

Scott Fisher has established an endowment, which will support the research of a theme at the Carl R. Woese Institute for Genomic Biology. The Scott H. Fisher Multi-Cellular…

Scott Fisher

Research

Genetic patterns of world’s farmed, domesticated foxes revealed via historical deep-dive

Lauren Quinn

Domesticated animals play a prominent role in our society, with two-thirds of American families enjoying the companionship of pets and many others relying on animal products…

Foxes in enclosure

Research

Simulating blood flow dynamics for improved nanoparticle drug delivery

Amber Rose

Despite gaining a bad rap in mainstream media in recent years, nanoparticles have been successfully used for decades in targeted drug delivery systems. Drug molecules can be…

Chamber flow simulation for particle adhesion for 220 nm particles (top) and for 750 nm particles (bottom). Larger particles show greater retention after the wash stage than smaller particles.

Research

For middle schoolers at Pollen Power camp, curiosity blooms

Shelby Lawson

Plants are diverse organisms capable of communication, self-defense, and forming cooperative partnerships with insects; yet these remarkable abilities are often overlooked in…

Campers practice identifying plants in the Conservatory Greenhouse on campus (left), and imaging plant and insect specimens on the mobile lab bus (top right). The bottom right shows a cicada viewed through a microscope.

Outreach

Illinois team awarded £1M for new technologies to help combat antimicrobial resistance

Trinity Challenge Communications

The Trinity Challenge recently announced four winning teams of its second competition aimed at tackling the growing threat of antimicrobial resistance (AMR). The projects…

Civil and environmental engineering professor Helen Nguyen (left) and pathobiology professor Csaba Vargo (right)

Research

Researchers find genetic stability in a long-term Panamanian hybrid zone of manakins

Shelby Lawson

We often think of species as separate and distinct, but sometimes they can interbreed and create hybrids. When this happens consistently in a specific area, it forms what’s…

Two hybrid morphs found at the phenotypic transition zone, where hybrids visually appear more mixed between the two parental species.

Research

New COVID-19 rapid test employs DNA nets for superior accuracy, researchers say

Shelby Lawson

Rapid tests for COVID-19 have become a gold standard for virus testing, widely available at pharmacy chains and drug stores due to their low cost, speed, and ease of use.…

First author Saurabh Umrao (left) with images of DNA nets taken using atomic force microscopy imaging.

Research

Study links neighborhood violence, lung cancer progression

Diana Yates

Scientists have identified a potential driver of aggressive lung cancer tumors in patients who live in areas with high levels of violent crime. Their study found…

Zeynep Madak-Erdogan and her colleagues found that stress responses vary between lung cancer patients living in high-violence or low-violence zip codes. These differences likely lead to worse lung cancer outcomes in patients living in violent neighborhoods, the researchers found. Photo by Jonathan King

Research

From 'CyberSlug' to 'CyberOctopus': New AI explores, remembers, seeks novelty, overcomes obstacles

Diana Yates

By giving artificial intelligence simple associative learning rules based on the brain circuits that allow a sea slug to forage — and augmenting it with better…

The researchers in a laboratory. Between them is a fish tank with an octopus inside. Rhanor Gillette, left, and Ekaterina Gribkova developed an AI that can navigate new environments, seek novelty and rewards, and learn in real time. Their research into the neural pathways that drive behavior in sea slugs and octopuses guided the work. Photo by Fred Zwicky

Research

Gonadal function in male mice disrupted by prenatal risk factors

Ananya Sen

Researchers have consistently shown that prenatal exposure to Di (2-ethyhexyl) phthalate harms the reproductive system in male mice and causes fertility defects. In a new study…

Dr. Radawa Barakat is the first author of the paper and a former graduate student in the Ko lab. She is currently a postdoctoral researcher at the Iowa State University.

Research