blog posts How can a family function better? Get outside together Jun 15, 2016 9:15 am “When your attention is restored, you’re able to pick up on social cues more easily, you feel less irritable, and you have more self-control. All of these are variables that can help you get along better with others.” Scientists watch genes 'jump' in living cells Jun 13, 2016 3:30 pm Illinois phyisics professors have observed jumping gene activity in real time within living cells. Drought and pilgrimage at the Cara Blanca Pools, Belize Jun 13, 2016 3:15 pm Cara Blanca, Belize, hosts more than two dozen pools used by the Maya. The Illinois team focuses their efforts on a temple at Pool 1. Current diversity pattern of North American mammals a ‘recent’ trend Jun 13, 2016 2:00 pm Biodiversity is greatest near the equator, and decreases at higher latitudes. This new study shows it wasn't always that way. Student group launches rocket 36,000 feet; gains grant for building liquid fueled rocket engine Jun 13, 2016 10:15 am The Student Space Systems organization at Illinois has achieved a milestone in its goal of reaching suborbital spaceflight by launching a rocket 36,000 feet into the atmosphere. Whole Tale enables new discovery by bringing 'life' to research articles Jun 10, 2016 8:15 am "Whole Tale," a new, five-year, $5 million NSF-funded project, aims to give researchers the same instructions and ingredients to help ensure reproducibility and pave the way for new discoveries. Climate change will disproportionately affect the agricultural economy Jun 8, 2016 11:15 am “We chose to look at farmland values because they reflect the sum of future expected profits and account for adaptation. And that’s exactly what climate change is about: long-term change and adaptation.” Blog: Mapping the state budget impasse and its consequences Jun 7, 2016 12:45 pm Melissa Heil, a graduate student studying geography at the University of Illinois, collected data from numerous agency reports to build the Illinois Atlas of Austerity website. Research shows how smartphone vibration sensors can be used to "listen" to speech Jun 7, 2016 10:45 am Electrical and Computer Engineering researchers made an unexpected discovery when they came to understand that the output of vibra-motors in wearables needed only basic signal processing to recognize the words and phrases. Engineering students develop a custom orthotic for three-legged dog Jun 6, 2016 11:30 am The students' one-of-a-kind two-joint orthotic design was unlike any they could get on the market -- and it gave Butch new hope for the future. Universal podium design helps keep the focus on a speaker’s message Jun 3, 2016 10:45 am “The podium design may enable or interfere with communications. At worst, poor podium design may prove so distracting that it can undermine the speaker’s message altogether,” wrote designer Kathryn Anthony. Hunting for fossils in Madison County, Montana Jun 2, 2016 1:30 pm University of Illinois entomologist and paleontologist Sam Heads and his team are in the Ruby Valley of southwest Montana to hunt for fossils from the Oligocene epoch, some 23 million to 33 million years ago. ISAS geophysical survey reveals 13th century village in central Illinois Jun 2, 2016 11:30 am Video: ISAS archaeologists and researchers knew about the site for past 30 years but were unable to determine exactly how large and intact this very important site was. Thunderstorms produce tsunami-like waves in the Great Lakes Jun 1, 2016 11:00 am Spring and summer storms that create thunder and lightning on land also cause tsunami-like waves on the Great Lakes, producing water surges that jeopardize docked boats and beach lovers Federal student financial aid policy promotes personal debt and tuition increases May 31, 2016 9:30 am Daniel Collier and co-author Richard Herman trace current problems in higher education affordability to several public policy decisions that shifted the costs of paying for college from public coffers to students. How do we deal with multitasking? May 25, 2016 11:30 am Since 2013, Beckman Institute Postdoctoral Fellow Nathan Ward’s research focus has been on multitasking in today’s society and how people do or do not deal with new task demands. Human trials of cancer drug PAC-1 continue with new investment May 24, 2016 1:00 pm The FDA also granted PAC-1 orphan drug status for the treatment of glioblastoma multiforme, a deadly brain cancer. Some steps in the approval process are aided or expedited for orphan drugs. U.S. prison camps demonstrate the fragile nature of rights, says author May 24, 2016 11:30 am Prison camps like the one at Guantánamo, Cuba, are places where detainees can lose even “the right to have rights,” according to a new book by Professor A. Naomi Paik ISEE's stormwater & mosquito control project has sustainability, human health benefits May 24, 2016 11:00 am Great ideas that reduce breeding environments for mosquitos without requiring more pesticide applications. What do blackberries have to do with it? See the video. Computer app whets children’s appetites for eco-friendly meals May 19, 2016 10:30 am An educational software application under development at Illinois is introducing middle school students to the topic of climate change and showing them how their dietary choices affect the planet. Study links student loans with lower net worth, housing values after college May 18, 2016 10:15 am Carrying student loan debt after college may compromise young people’s financial well-being up through age 30. Cancer-fighting properties of horseradish revealed May 17, 2016 12:15 pm For the first time, the activation of cancer-fighting enzymes by glucosinolate products in horseradish has been documented. Three faculty elected to the American Geophysical Union May 16, 2016 1:45 pm Fellows are named for exceptional contributions to earth and space sciences as valued by their peers. This honor is bestowed on only 0.1 percent of the membership in any given year. Blog: Salvaging the past in an ancient Maya settlement May 16, 2016 1:15 pm We are working in the the cleared agricultural fields near Cara Blanca Pool 7, a pre-Columbian residential area in west central Belize. Hundreds of ancient Maya structures once housed a thriving community here. Study: Police more likely to say they are blind to racial differences May 16, 2016 11:00 am An interdisciplinary team found pronounced differences between police and laypersons’ attitudes towards race. Paper: Young workers hit hardest by slow hiring during recessions May 16, 2016 11:00 am When hiring slows during recessions, the brunt of job losses is borne by job-seekers in their twenties and early thirties, according to a new paper by Eliza Forsythe Blog: Coring and exploring ancient Maya life May 15, 2016 9:15 am Openings in the earth, such as water bodies, served as portals to the underworld and a means through which the Maya communicated with gods and ancestors. Reclaimed water could help power plants run more efficiently, study finds May 12, 2016 11:15 am Illinois professor Ashlynn Stillwell found that, in the Chicago area, it would be more efficient to use reclaimed water instead of river water to cool thermoelectric power plants. Study links parental depression to brain changes and risk-taking in adolescents May 11, 2016 9:30 am While previous research has found associations between clinically depressed parents and their teenagers’ risk taking, the new study is the first to find corresponding changes in the adolescents’ brains. Grant helps project realize “ultra-productive” biofuel crops May 10, 2016 1:30 pm The University of Illinois and the University of Florida have been awarded a third round of funding from the U.S. Department of Energy’s Advanced Research Projects Agency-Energy (ARPA-E) to realize ultra-productive biofuel crops. One of the world’s largest digital libraries opens doors to text-mining scholars May 9, 2016 4:15 pm The HathiTrust Research Center, a cooperative service of Indiana University, the University of Illinois, and HathiTrust, will support computational research on the entire collection of one of the world’s largest digital libraries. Study: First Amendment offers scant protection for professors May 9, 2016 1:30 pm When academics litigate speech disputes with colleges and universities, they end up losing nearly three-quarters of the time – reflecting the growing tension between academic freedom and campus speech codes. Endangered venomous mammal predates dinosaurs’ extinction, study confirms May 5, 2016 4:00 pm The University of Illinois and University of Puerto Rico have confirmed that Hispaniolan solenodon, a venomous mammal, diverged from all other living mammals 78 million years ago, long before an asteroid wiped out the dinosaurs. Illinois historian receives Humboldt Research Award May 5, 2016 11:30 am Professor Harry Liebersohn has been awarded the prestigious Humboldt Research Award honoring a career of research achievements. New book examines role of children’s writing in creating their childhoods May 4, 2016 12:15 pm A primary theme across the cases studies in the collection is the ways in which children create their own childhoods, whether real or imagined, through writing and drawing. CSL crowdsourcing algorithms aim to lift people from poverty May 3, 2016 1:45 pm Researchers led by CSL Assistant Professor Lav Varshney have built algorithms that more efficiently match employees to jobs that complement their talents. White House invites Education Justice Project director to prison reform discussion Apr 28, 2016 10:30 am Rebecca Ginsburg is among a small group of university leaders who have been invited to participate in a roundtable discussion on prison reform in Washington, D.C. Faith-based health promotion program successful with older Latinas Apr 27, 2016 1:30 pm Health-promotion programs may be more successful at reaching older Latinas in the U.S. if they incorporate the religious and spiritual values that tend to be important to these women. Intensive retreat model offers help for veterans with PTSD and their partners Apr 27, 2016 11:30 am Model of a brief, intensive retreat for veterans and their partners shows success in decreasing PTSD symptoms for veterans and distress for their partners. Shape of tumor may affect whether cells can metastasize Apr 27, 2016 11:15 am Illinois researchers found that the shape of a tumor may play a role in how cancer cells become primed to spread. Paper: Contract law can be a mechanism of empowerment Apr 26, 2016 12:30 pm A new paper by University of Illinois legal scholar Robin B. Kar offers a novel interpretation of contract law, called “contract as empowerment.” Choral concert will explore events of 50 years ago, issues still relevant today Apr 25, 2016 12:45 pm The musical drama explores two historic events that occurred on the same day – the discovery of the bodies of three slain civil rights workers in Mississippi and the Gulf of Tonkin incident, which drew the U.S. into the Vietnam War. U. of I. researchers help discover ‘dark galaxy’ Apr 21, 2016 2:00 pm The discovery paves the way to spot many more such objects, which could help astronomers address important questions on the true nature of dark matter Research group tells of hidden histories on the University of Illinois campus Apr 21, 2016 1:15 pm A public history project at the University of Illinois is mapping sites on campus and in the community with “hidden histories” that were significant to social justice movements. Causes of childhood obesity complex, but families, media play key roles Apr 19, 2016 1:15 pm Children’s genetic risks for obesity may be reduced by interventions that strengthen family communication and help children manage their emotions and feelings of satiety ‘Mobilization fatigue’ leads to diminishing returns for labor-backed voter turnout drives Apr 18, 2016 9:00 am Study finds repeated voter contact across multiple election cycles can yield diminishing returns and eventually lead to “mobilization fatigue” if voters are contacted too often. Vocal signals reveal intent to dominate or submit, study finds Apr 18, 2016 9:00 am People whose voices went down in pitch early on in an interaction were more likely to be seen as dominant and influential than those whose vocal pitch went up early in conversation. Study links fetal and newborn dolphin deaths to Deepwater Horizon oil spill Apr 13, 2016 4:00 pm Scientists have finalized a five-year study of newborn and fetal dolphins found stranded on beaches in the northern Gulf of Mexico between 2010 and 2013. The Society for American Archaeology honors Dr. Thomas Emerson Apr 13, 2016 2:15 pm The SAA award recognizes Dr. Emerson’s long career in cultural resource management and his work in archaeological preservation set the standard for archaeology methodology and research. Hunting the origins of the detective story Apr 13, 2016 12:15 pm "Many of our assumptions about literary genres emerged only in the last two centuries,” says English professor Ted Underwood