blog posts Ground-level ozone reduces maize and soybean yields Nov 5, 2015 2:00 pm Over the last 30 years, ozone emissions have reduced soybean and corn yields by 5 percent and 10 percent, respectively. Supervolcanoes likely triggered externally, study finds Nov 4, 2015 12:45 pm Supervolcanoes are likely triggered externally when the rock around them cracks or collapses, according to a study led by Illinois geologist Patricia Gregg. Links between hunger and health: Doctors should screen patients for food insecurity Nov 4, 2015 10:45 am “Health care professionals should recognize the possibility that food insecurity may be one determinant, among others, of a patient’s health challenges,” Illinois economist Craig Gundersen said. Illinois to lead NSF Midwest Big Data Hub Nov 3, 2015 3:15 pm To accelerate advancements in the rapidly emerging field of big data analysis, the National Science Foundation is establishing four regional Big Data Hubs. The University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign will lead the Midwest Hub. 3-D cow app will help veterinary students learn anatomy Nov 3, 2015 10:15 am A veterinary medicine design team created an app that allows users to see a cow’s internal organs and systems in 3-D when a device is pointed at 'Dr. Moolittle.' Juvenile cowbirds sneak out at night, study finds Nov 2, 2015 8:30 am The study found that cowbird juveniles leave the host parents at dusk and spend their nights in nearby fields, returning just after daybreak. Pineapple genome offers insight into photosynthesis in drought-tolerant plants Nov 2, 2015 10:15 am “Drought is responsible for the majority of global crop loss, so understanding the mechanisms that plants have evolved to survive water stress is vital for engineering drought tolerance in crop species.” Illinois composer chosen for Copland House residency Oct 30, 2015 10:30 am Professor Carlos Carrillo will spend about six weeks next summer at the New York home where composer Aaron Copland lived and worked, now a National Historic Landmark. Wimps or warriors? Honey bee larvae absorb the social culture of the hive Oct 29, 2015 11:15 am Even as larvae, honey bees are tuned in to the social culture of the hive, becoming more or less aggressive depending on who raises them People with MS may be more physically fit than tests indicate Oct 29, 2015 10:30 am Professor Lara Pilutti found that conventional methods of testing physical fitness in people with multiple sclerosis may underestimate their cardiorespiratory fitness and muscular strength. Bacterial hole puncher could be new broad-spectrum antibiotic Oct 27, 2015 3:15 pm A new class of spiral polypeptides developed at the University of Illinois targets one thing no bacterium can live without: an outer membrane. Grant funds computer simulation to train social work students, clinicians Oct 27, 2015 10:00 am A federal grant will fund one new course and support training for clinicians at area agencies in conducting early interventions with people who abuse substances. Krannert Art Museum concert series to celebrate anniversaries of progressive music groups Oct 22, 2015 2:45 pm Krannert Art Museum will celebrate the contribution of Chicago musicians to progressive jazz music with upcoming performances in its Sudden Sound Concert Series. NEH 50th anniversary: Chairman William Adams visits Oct 9, 2015 11:00 am William Adams, chairman of the National Endowment for the Humanities, will speak on the University of Illinois campus on Oct. 29 as part of the 50th anniversary celebration of the NEH. Illinois researchers developing new technology to assist in-home rehab care Oct 20, 2015 4:00 pm In the future, the occupational therapist helping you relearn how to use a fork following a stroke might be a computer. Alaskan boreal forest fires release more carbon than the trees can absorb Oct 19, 2015 10:45 am So many forest fires are occurring in Alaska's Yukon Flats that the area has become a net exporter of carbon to the atmosphere. Jazz-playing robot will provide insight into how computers communicate with humans Oct 14, 2015 11:30 am Can a robot improvise a jazz solo in response to what its human partner is playing? Health care, research failing to adapt to U.S.’s growing multiracial population Oct 12, 2015 12:00 pm Professor Karen Tabb Dina's two recent studies explored issues of racial identity and its impact on health care access and utilization among nearly 8,000 U.S. young people. Why has Putin's Napoleonic 'cold charisma' made him so popular in Russia? Oct 12, 2015 5:45 pm A Minute With...™ Richard Tempest, professor of Slavic languages and literatures New method identifies protein structures in hours instead of months Oct 9, 2015 1:30 pm “We expect this to not only accelerate the rate at which we can study proteins, but also increase its repeatability and the reliability of the results.” - Graduate student Joseph Courtney High hope for improving cassava as a staple food Oct 8, 2015 3:00 pm Researcher Amanda de Souza is working to improve this resilient tropical plant’s ability to feed growing populations Rebates a cost-effective way to boost healthy eating among low-income people Oct 7, 2015 9:00 am Providing low-income households that receive federal food assistance benefits with financial incentives to buy fruits and vegetables would encourage them to purchase and consume more healthy food Paper: Civic participation can bridge social-class segregation Oct 10, 2015 11:45 am Research from U. of I. labor professor Richard Benton says there’s a strong correlation between civic participation and improving the prestige of one’s social network. Mellon grant to help humanities scholars explore digital publishing options Oct 2, 2015 9:30 am A four-year, $1 million grant from The Andrew W. Mellon Foundation will help University of Illinois humanities scholars identify digital publishing options and produce new publications that will best disseminate their research. Pax Britannica? British Empire was a world of trouble, says historian Sep 28, 2015 1:15 pm Dissent and disruption were the rule, not the exception, according to Antoinette Burton, in her new book, “The Trouble With Empire" Education, infrastructure key public investments for job growth Sep 28, 2015 11:00 am Investments in education and infrastructure, along with a balanced budget, are chief among the public policies that boost a state’s employment, according to a new paper co-written by a University of Illinois labor expert. Study adds to evidence that viruses are alive Sep 28, 2015 7:00 am The study offers the first reliable method for tracing viral evolution back to a time when neither viruses nor cells existed in the forms recognized today, the researchers say. Study shows new forests cannot take in as much carbon as predicted Sep 16, 2015 10:00 am Atmospheric sciences professor Atul Jain and graduate student Prasanth Meiyappan found that most carbon emissions models overestimate the capacity of regrowing forests to take in carbon. New study links anxiety, the brain's orbitofrontal cortex, and optimism Sep 22, 2015 11:30 am The new analysis offers the first evidence that optimism plays a mediating role in the relationship between the size of the OFC and anxiety. Maternal protein deficiency during pregnancy ‘memorized’ by fetal muscle cells Sep 17, 2015 3:45 pm Detecting biomarkers of protein insufficiency early in a pregnancy could enable clinicians to treat it, possibly averting many serious health conditions in the next generation Paper: Equal protection clause inadequate shield against discrimination Sep 17, 2015 1:00 pm The Supreme Court's interpretation of the equal protection clause is poorly suited to guarantee people genuine equal treatment under the law when it comes to race. New exhibit will provide look at giant ancient mollusk Sep 16, 2015 10:00 am Long before the dinosaurs, Endolobus spectabilis was one of the largest sea creatures of the in the murky lagoons of Illinois. Surgical probe seeks out where cancer ends and healthy tissue begins Sep 15, 2015 4:45 pm A new surgical tool uses light to make sure surgeons removing cancerous tumors 'got it all' Making wearable health-monitoring electronics comfortable, easy to use Sep 15, 2015 10:00 am Professor Deana McDonagh will help design a “skinlike” electronic platform for screening health information – vital signs and motion - based on Professor John Rogers’ work in making flexible electronics Partnership will use engineering-based medicine to study, treat sepsis Sep 14, 2015 11:00 am “Identifying patterns of disease when sepsis overwhelms a patient’s immune system will help us save lives and reduce (treatment) costs." - Dr. Richard Berlin Diet beverage drinkers compensate by eating unhealthy food, study finds Sep 11, 2015 10:00 am Kinesiology and community health professor Ruopeng An found that diet beverage drinkers compensate by eating a greater percentage of unhealthy foods that are high in fats, cholesterol and calories. Researchers say smart watches are vulnerable to hackers Sep 10, 2015 12:30 pm They’re the latest rage in jewelry and gadgetry, but like all computer devices, smart watches are also vulnerable to hackers. Study: Easy explanations for life’s inequities lead to support for the status quo Sep 9, 2015 11:30 am “Even though there is considerable bias in how society is structured, many people seem to think that society is fair. We wanted to know why.” - Andei Cimpian Female cowbirds pay attention to cowbird nestling survival, study finds Sep 9, 2015 11:15 am Brown-headed cowbirds lay their eggs in other birds’ nests and then disappear, the story goes. But a new study suggests cowbird moms pay close attention to how well their offspring do, returning to lay their eggs in the most successful host nests. Genome mining effort finds 19 new natural products in four years Sep 8, 2015 11:15 am A technique called genome mining was used to isolate the genes responsible for making 19 unique, previously unknown phosphonate natural products - each a potential new drug. One of them has already been identified as an antibiotic. Paper tubes make stiff origami structures Sep 8, 2015 11:15 am From shipping and construction to outer space, origami could put a folded twist on structural engineering. Retirement expert: After 50 years, Medicare needs a major update Sep 6, 2015 3:45 pm Medicare’s 50th anniversary provides an occasion for a serious checkup of one of the federal government’s most popular programs Study identifies chemical in diet that determines a honey bee’s caste Aug 31, 2015 10:15 am A closer look at how honey bee colonies determine which larvae will serve as workers and which will become queens reveals that a plant chemical, p-coumaric acid, plays a key role. Illinois Natural History Survey mycologist gets NSF funding to digitize microfungi collections Aug 26, 2015 2:30 pm These data will be used to assess natural and human-induced environmental changes on microfungi distributions, and evaluate the impact of these changes on ecosystems. New synthetic tumor environments make cancer research more realistic Aug 27, 2015 1:45 pm University of Illinois researchers have developed a new technique to create a cell habitat of squishy fluids, called hydrogels, which can realistically and quickly recreate microenvironments found across biology. Chemists, biologists work together to find atomic structure of new abiological molecule Aug 25, 2015 10:00 am "The disciplines joined, the teams joined, and the computational programs joined. When you are open-minded and look to see what others can do, you are really better off." Study links physical activity to greater mental flexibility in older adults Aug 24, 2015 12:30 pm Researchers found that older adults who are more physically active have more variable brain activity at rest than those who don’t. Rogue supernovas likely flung into space by black hole slingshots Aug 13, 2015 2:30 pm Using data from NASA’s Hubble Space Telescope and other telescopes, astronomer Ryan Foley traced 13 high-velocity exploding stars back to the galaxies they came from to find the peculiar combination of events leading to the stars’ lonely deaths. Legacy of Katrina, 10 years later Aug 13, 2015 12:30 pm Professor Rob Olshansky says 'messy' decision making after the hurricane has given way to more transparency and citizen involvement in government. Study links fitness, thinner gray matter and better math skills in kids Aug 12, 2015 2:00 pm A new study reveals that 9- and 10-year-old children who are aerobically fit tend to have significantly thinner gray matter than their 'lower-fit' peers. Thinning of the outermost layer of brain cells in the cerebrum is associated with better mathematics performance.