blog posts Future of US citrus may hinge on consumer acceptance of genetically modified food Feb 15, 2019 4:45 am The battle to save the citrus industry is pitting crop producers and a team of agriculture researchers against a formidable brown bug, the Asian citrus psyllid, which spreads the disease. Learning ‘tuck-and-roll’ could help older adults reduce fall injuries Feb 15, 2019 8:00 am Study participants who were taught the tuck-and-roll strategy experienced a 33% reduction in hip impact force and a significant reduction in head impact. Study: Targeting multiple life stages may be necessary for deer tick control Feb 15, 2019 9:45 am For researchers studying the dynamics of Lyme disease, understanding host-tick interactions could reveal weak spots that may leave ticks vulnerable to control. Parents feeling pressured by economy favor harsher parenting practices Feb 18, 2019 9:15 am Parents feeling pressured by economic insecurity, income inequality more likely to agree that 'a good hard spanking' is sometimes necessary for children, Social Work professor William Schneider found Two Illinois professors named Sloan Research Fellows Feb 19, 2019 12:15 pm Engineering professors Haitham Al-Hassanieh and Diwakar Shukla received the awards that 'honor early career scholars whose achievements mark them as among the most promising researchers in their fields.' Mouse study reveals how chronic stress promotes breast cancer stem cells Feb 19, 2019 2:45 pm This is one of the first studies to link chronic stress specifically with the growth of breast cancer stem cells. It also identifies vitamin C as effective therapy to reduce tumors. Fed legalization of same-sex marriage improved life satisfaction, cut emotional distress Feb 26, 2019 9:00 am Accounting for a varying social climate toward LGBTQ people across communities, researchers found psychological distress dropped, and life satisfaction increased after the U.S. Supreme Court ruling. Paper: Carbon taxes could create new winners and losers among countries Feb 26, 2019 9:00 am A global carbon tax would create new sets of economic winners and losers, with some countries holding a distinct competitive advantage over others, says Professor Don Fullerton. Study: Countering stereotypes about teens can change their behavior Feb 27, 2019 12:00 pm Many societies stereotype teens as rebellious risk-takers. This study challenges these stereotypes with a view of adolescence as a time of increasing responsibility, tracks how middle school students respond. Toxic byproducts of Agent Orange continue to pollute Vietnam environment Feb 27, 2019 12:15 pm '...dioxin continues to affect soils, water, sediment, fish, aquatic species, the food supply, and Vietnamese health,' says Illinois professor Ken Olson Giant sloth tooth in Belize tells story of creature’s last year Feb 27, 2019 2:45 pm Anthropology professor Lisa Lucero and colleagues discovered the remains of an extinct giant sloth. An analysis of the sloth tooth offers insight into the climate and environment of the region 27,000 years ago. Study: Messages of stewardship affect Christians' attitudes about climate change Mar 6, 2019 1:15 pm An Illinois grad student's study finds reading articles from trusted religious sources advocating care of the Earth can affect Christians’ attitudes about climate change. Pediatric onset multiple sclerosis study examines baffling, often-overlooked disease Mar 7, 2019 1:15 pm Children often present with very different symptoms than adults, such as vision changes and memory and attention deficits, complicating diagnosis. Study: Impact of food waste campaigns muted, but point toward right direction Mar 8, 2019 9:45 am New research indicates that the impact of a food waste-education campaign produced a modest reduction in the average waste per diner in an all-you-can-eat dining setting. Scholar: 'The Wire' accurately depicted how public schools help vulnerable students Mar 11, 2019 10:15 am What HBO's popular TV show got right and wrong in its depiction of how a large, urban public school functions in a community. Imagine: Using wearable technology to study gun violence in Chicago Mar 11, 2019 10:15 am Professor Ruby Mendenhall is using big data to look into the lives of twelve African-American mothers in Chicago’s Englewood neighborhood. Review finds cause-effect relationship for nature's boost to children’s learning Mar 12, 2019 9:30 am Study leader says she expected a critical review to lead to more questions than answers, but all signs pointed to the same outcome: 'It's time to take nature seriously as a resource for learning.' Mutations in noncoding genes could play big role in regulating cancer, study finds Mar 12, 2019 2:00 pm Professor Kannanganattu Prasanth led a team that found that certain genes that don’t code for proteins could play an important regulatory role in breast cancer. Potential cystic fibrosis treatment uses 'molecular prosthetic' Mar 13, 2019 2:15 pm 'We use a small molecule surrogate that can perform the channel function of the missing protein (in cystic fibrosis patients), which we call a molecular prosthetic,' said study leader Martin Burke Free fatty acids appear to rewire cells to promote obesity-related breast cancer Mar 13, 2019 2:45 pm Free fatty acids in the blood are linked with higher rates of estrogen-receptor positive breast cancer in obese postmenopausal women. Explaining the Great Unconformity Mar 14, 2019 10:00 am What happened to 1.2 billion years of history? Illinois geologist William Guenthner digs for answers. $5 million grant extends Crops in Silico project Mar 15, 2019 1:30 pm The grant from the Foundation for Food and Agriculture Research will allow the project to continue building a computational platform that integrates multiple models to study a whole plant virtually. The problem of parity Mar 19, 2019 1:00 pm An Illinois study finds gender equality in some workplaces may never occur—without intervention. Study in mice examines impact of reused cooking oil on breast cancer progression Mar 21, 2019 3:30 pm Study finds the compounds in frying oils that are repeatedly reheated to high temperatures may trigger cell proliferation and metastases in breast tumors. Study suggests how, when to support military couples after homecoming Mar 25, 2019 10:15 am A study of more than 500 military couples in the months after a deployment suggests how and when to help with the transition. Freshwater coastal erosion alters global carbon budget Mar 27, 2019 8:00 am Shoreline erosion can transform freshwater wetlands from carbon-storage pools to carbon sources. Wave action and high water levels sweep away soils, plants faster than nature can replace them. Invasive crayfish sabotages its own success, study says Mar 29, 2019 10:30 am For the Ecology study, Illinois' Eric Larson and colleagues analyzed population trends in 17 lakes from 1972 to 2017 and found that about half were experiencing population declines. The reason? Muck. Counties with more trees and shrubs spend less on Medicare, study finds Apr 1, 2019 8:45 am The findings don't prove having more trees and shrubs directly lowers health care costs, but adds to a growing body of evidence linking green space to better health outcomes for those living nearby. Families spend half of their evening meal distracted by technology, tasks Apr 1, 2019 10:15 am The study also finds fathers’ presence at meals may have a positive impact – reducing the amount of time that young children are distracted and increasing mothers’ responsiveness to children’s eating behaviors. Illinois history professor awarded ACLS Fellowship Apr 3, 2019 8:30 am llinois history professor Marsha Barrett specializes in the study of modern U.S. political and African American history. Her ACLS Fellowship will support work on a book about Nelson Rockefeller. College leadership programs teach skills, but do students stay motivated to lead? Apr 4, 2019 11:15 am 'Are there things we can put into place to help students stay in the game of thinking intentionally about their leadership? If students can identify a mentor, that’s a positive factor in their continued growth.' Newly established ecological communities in Hawaii operate similarly to native ones Apr 4, 2019 2:15 pm 'These birds didn’t co-evolve with these plants. We think of specialization as a co-evolved trait that develops over millennia, but we are seeing it in...species that have only lived together for less than 100 years.' Brainstorm - then rest - is key to unlocking creativity Apr 5, 2019 11:00 am Research suggests that the key to creativity is to incentivize workers to brainstorm as many ideas as possible, and then step away for an 'incubation period' before returning to idea generation. Tax incentives target poor neighborhoods but leave communities behind Apr 8, 2019 12:00 pm The lack of safeguards to protect poor communities in pro-gentrification incentives (such as the new federal 'opportunity zone' tax incentive) may actually be a feature of the policy. Finalists make two-minute pitches for $10,000 in funds Apr 9, 2019 1:00 pm 20 finalists from Champaign County will pitch their ideas in a dolphin-tank style event. 10 will walk away with $10,000 in idea support. All will show great potential to improve human health. Illinois contributes to EHT's capturing first-ever image of a black hole Apr 10, 2019 8:15 am U of I researchers contribute to paradigm-shifting observations of the gargantuanblack hole at the heart of distant galaxy Messier 87. Heartland always a place of global connection, not isolation, author says Apr 10, 2019 12:00 pm A persistent heartland myth paints the rural Midwest as local, insular, isolationist. Illinois historian Kristin Hoganson dug into the history and found the myth is far from reality. Study: Microbes in humans swap genes, even across tissue boundaries Apr 11, 2019 8:45 am Bacteria in the human body are sharing genes with one another at a higher rate than is typically seen in nature, and some of those genes appear to be traveling from one part of the body to another. Study: Phenols in purple corn fight diabetes, obesity, inflammation in mouse cells Apr 15, 2019 11:15 am Illinois researchers have developed new hybrids of purple corn containing different combinations of phytochemicals that may fight obesity, inflammation and diabetes, a new study in mice indicates. Low-calorie sweetener derived from lactose gets manufacturing boost from yeast Apr 15, 2019 3:45 pm Illinois researchers engineer a strain of yeast that can metabolize lactose, the sugar in dairy products, into tagatose, a natural sweetener with less than half the calories of table sugar. Smart antioxidant-containing polymer responds to body chemistry, environment Apr 16, 2019 12:30 pm 'We saw an opportunity here to develop a different kind of drug-delivery system that could sense the level of oxidant in a system and respond by administering antioxidant as needed.' Professor Hyunjoon Kong Team measures puncture performance of viper fangs Apr 17, 2019 8:30 am A team that studies how biological structures such as cactus spines and mantis shrimp appendages puncture living tissue has turned its attention to viper fangs. Multistep self-assembly opens door to new reconfigurable materials Apr 18, 2019 1:30 pm Self-assembling synthetic materials come together when tiny, uniform building blocks interact and form a structure. However, nature lets materials like proteins of varying size and shape assemble, allowing for complex architectures that can handle multiple tasks. Study: Drugs reprogram genes in breast tumors to prevent endocrine resistance Apr 22, 2019 1:15 pm Treating breast tumors with two cancer drugs simultaneously may prevent endocrine resistance by attacking the disease along two separate gene pathways, Illinois scientists found. Study: Reducing energy required to convert CO2 waste into valuable resources Apr 22, 2019 1:30 pm A review of a new CO2 conversion method finds a way to reduce the cost of making chemical manufacturing carbon-neutral. Scholars: Estimates of food insecurity among college students problematic Apr 25, 2019 9:45 am A growing body of research suggests food insecurity is prevalent on college campuses. But Illinois experts say detrmining how many college students consistently struggle with having enough to eat is difficult to pin down. Chicago Quantum Exchange, IBM Q Network partner to advance quantum computing Apr 26, 2019 3:30 pm Illinois and partners in the CQE will work with IBM Q to explore the field of quantum computing, including materials, fabrication techniques, algorithms, and software and hardware development. Excessive rainfall as damaging to corn yield as extreme heat, drought Apr 30, 2019 8:30 am Many climate change models predict the Corn Belt will continue to see more intense rainfall events in the spring. Researchers say better risk management plans are needed to deal with those climate scenarios. Study examines impact of climate change on Louisiana’s Houma tribe May 2, 2019 9:45 am Social work professor Shanondora Billiot studied of the United Houma Nation’s experiences with climate change and tribe members’ receptivity to activities aimed at helping them adapt. Professor’s history of Coca-Cola also tells larger story of globalization May 6, 2019 9:45 am Coca-Cola’s history is one of innovation in image-making, outsourcing and other now-common practices of global capitalism – and of adapting to challenges from those resisting its practices, says Professor Amanda Ciafone