blog posts How often do people find wild animals in their salads? More often than you want to know Jul 30, 2019 1:00 pm You might think finding a frog in your greens is more likely when buying organic. Illinois researchers found 72.5% of the time they were in conventionally grown and packaged veggies. Chicago Marathon brought $282m to Chicago's economy in 2016 Sep 29, 2017 4:00 pm WMAQ-TV (Sept. 27) A study conducted by the Regional Economics Applications Lab considered the direct, indirect economic impact of the marathon The early radical abortion rights activist whose positions are now common Nov 1, 2021 11:00 am NPR (Oct. 29) U. of I. historian Leslie Reagan says Pat Maginnis was 'the first person to publicly talk about her own illegal abortions and to provide information to anyone who wanted it.' Marshmallows or Elvis? What you see in the clouds might say something about you. Nov 7, 2019 4:45 pm Washington Post (Nov. 6) The tendency to see familiar shapes in clouds is called pareidolia, says Illinois cognitive neuroscientist Kara Federmeier. Praying mantis sign of a healthy garden, says U. of I. Extension Nov 11, 2016 10:45 am WJBC-AM (Bloomington, Ill., Nov. 7) – Don’t swat that green or brown bug with the long legs – it’s a sign that your garden is healthy. Illinois engineers discover precise way to create nanoscale-size e-devices Nov 14, 2018 11:00 am New Electronics (Nov. 14) 'What we've discovered is a way to pattern complicated structures down to a molecular and atomic scale,' said Professor Arend van der Zande Study concludes meat production is responsible for 57% of all greenhouse gas emissions Nov 16, 2021 10:30 am The Beet (Nov. 15) 'This study shows the entire cycle of the food production system, and policymakers may want to use the results to think about how to control greenhouse gas emissions,' says Professor Atul Jain, a study co-author. Remember those 'spot the difference' games? Here’s why your brain is so bad at them Jan 16, 2018 2:00 pm Popular Science (Jan. 14) Dan Simons, a professor of psychology at Illinois, says we see the big picture, because if we spotted everything, we’d be unable to focus our attention Hamlin’s injury highlights precarious position of many young NFL players Jan 30, 2023 11:00 am The New York Times (Jan. 29) 'The world’s collective heart is pouring itself out for Hamlin, but the main point is there are a lot of journeymen players who leave the league with serious problems,' says U of I labor law expert Michael LeRoy. NYT Book Review of Dennis Baron's 'What's Your Pronoun' Jan 31, 2020 3:00 pm New York Times (Jan. 22) 'Pronouns are suddenly sexy,' Dennis Baron declares at the start of 'What’s Your Pronoun?' And by 'sexy,' he means 'thorny.' How a billionaires boys’ club came to dominate the public square May 2, 2022 12:15 pm Washington Post (May 1) 'Even if Elon Musk was the smartest person on earth, had the best heart, had been touched by God, I wouldn’t want him to have that much power,' said U of I professor Robert McChesney. 'It's antithetical to democratic political theory.' Chicago soil can contain high levels of lead and other heavy metals May 25, 2022 10:15 am WBEZ-FM (Chicago, May 24) U of I Crop sciences professor Andrew Margenot's study found that 20% of the city exceeds the Illinois Environmental Protection Agency’s safe limit of 400 ppm for growing crops and backyard gardens. Earliest research on "five-second rule" originated with Illinois research apprenticeship Jun 10, 2016 10:00 am CNN International (June 10) -- The earliest research report on the five-second rule is attributed to Jillian Clarke, a high school student participating in a research apprenticeship at Illinois. U.S. team builds solar cell with 44.5% efficiency Jul 14, 2017 11:00 am Compound Semiconductor (July 13) Scientist at Illinois, colleagues prototype for a new solar cell that can capture nearly all energy in the solar spectrum, resulting in a 44.5 percent conversion efficiency. Why businesses are still furiously hiring even as a downturn looms Sep 6, 2022 10:00 am Yahoo Finance (Sept. 5) The demand side of the jobs market has not changed much by the pandemic, but the supply side was more radically altered according to a recent study by U of I professor Eliza Forsythe and three co-authors. DNA in tobacco pipes, artifacts could connect people to enslaved ancestors Mar 14, 2019 12:30 pm Capital Gazette (March 13) The items were sent to Illinois for analysis. 'Having the opportunity to recover (ancient) DNA from tobacco pipes a few hundred years old was a unique challenge,' says Professor Ripan Malhi NASA names six new flight directors to lead mission control Jul 20, 2018 4:45 pm NASA (July 10) One of the new flight directors, Adi Boulos, holds a bachelor’s degree in aerospace engineering from Illinois CEO Magazine Executive Interview: Tim Killeen Dec 3, 2021 10:45 am The CEO Magazine (Dec. 3) As president of the University of Illinois System for six years, Tim Killeen has overseen a rapid rise in both the number and quality of courses. 'We’re really on a roll – we’ve grown in scale, in excellence and in impact.' Ojibwe Tribe joins scientists to save Midwest's sacred wild rice plant Feb 15, 2023 12:30 pm The Nation (Feb. 15) 'If we can scaffold (Western science and ‘traditional ecological knowledge’), we'll strengthen our knowledge about these places and what’s happening to them,' says U of I historian Rosalyn LaPier, a member of the Blackfeet Tribe. Illini Hall demolition uncovers a time capsule Feb 16, 2023 10:45 am WCIA-TV (Feb. 15) U of I officials didn't know there was a time capsule in a cornerstone of Illini Hall, but they'll be excited to see what it contains when it's opened this fall as part of the campus YMCA's 150th anniversary celebration. A fern’s ‘zombie’ fronds sprout unusual roots Feb 26, 2024 5:15 pm New York Times (Feb. 25) 'This is completely unknown in any other plant in the world'” says Jim Dalling, a professor and forest ecologist at the U. of I., who discovered the fern while searching for a completely unrelated plant. Lost no more: Rare Irish translation of 'Paradise Lost' found again May 23, 2024 10:45 am The Irish Times (May 22) A 19th-century Irish translation of "Paradise Lost," long believed by scholars to be lost, was rediscovered in a collection of John Milton materials at the Illinois Rare Book and Manuscript Library. Cycle syncing is trendy. Does it work? Jun 2, 2023 3:00 pm The New York Times (June 1) Much of the advice about timing training regimens around menstrual cycles is impractical, given that cycles vary, says Kathryn Clancy, a biological anthropology professor at the U. of I. What's the legacy of Federal Indian Boarding Schools in Illinois? Aug 1, 2023 12:00 pm WNIJ-AM (Aug. 1) Professor Dave Beck describes the legacy of St. Mary’s Training School for Boys in Maryville, Ill., where many Native American children were indoctrinated into white American culture, and where several of them died. U of I, Jackie Joyner-Kersee Foundation creating East St. Louis ag & nutrition center Aug 2, 2022 9:45 am The space will include indoor, outdoor ag demonstration sites along with space for engagement with hands-on training and certification programs related to growing food, ag innovation, as well as space for athletics and physical training. Social media is full of concerns that 'margarine is one molecule away from plastic' Oct 3, 2017 12:30 pm The Atlanta Journal-Constitution (Oct. 3) – This margarine myth is not backed up by science, says University of Illinois Extension educator Jenna Smith Alumna Tatyana McFadden's fifth win in the Chicago Marathon women’s wheelchair race Oct 12, 2015 10:30 am TeamUSA.org (Oct. 11) - Now she has a chance to prove she's the world’s top wheelchair marathoner at the Rio de Janeiro 2016 Paralympic Games. Do humans really mark the pinnacle of evolution, or do viruses? Oct 19, 2015 2:00 pm Cosmos Magazine (Oct. 19) - Illinois professor Gustavo Caetano-Anolles pioneered a new way to map the microbial family tree. Viruses did not evolve first, they found. How easily can vaccinated people spread COVID? Nov 9, 2021 11:15 am The Atlantic (Nov. 8) A paper by U of I Professor Christopher Brooke, showed vaccinated people shed less virus, stop shedding virus sooner, and shed particles that are less infectious – supporting the notion that they’re less likely to transmit disease. Bruno named to expert group to advise governor-elect Pritzker on job creation Dec 5, 2018 3:15 pm The Pantagraph (Dec. 4) The Job Creation and Economic Opportunity Committee is one of nine working groups that will advise the incoming Pritzker-Stratton administration China Central Bank boss's old colleagues recount his years in the U.S. Mar 21, 2018 10:00 am Bloomberg (March 20) At Illinois, Yi Gang was particularly interested in mathematical models to analyze and understand the economy, according to Professor George Judge Researchers create a 'metallic wood': As strong as titanium, but light enough to float in water Mar 28, 2019 10:30 am Futurism (March 27) Right now, it can only produced in small amounts – but if they can find a way to scale up manufacturing, the material could lead to highly durable smartphones, super-light cars. Artificial photosynthesis breakthrough uses gold to turn CO2 into liquid fuel May 23, 2019 4:00 pm Science Alert (May 23) 'The goal here is to produce complex, liquefiable hydrocarbons from excess CO2 and other sustainable resources such as sunlight,' says Illinois chemist Prashant Jain. Robot farmers? Machines are crawling through America's fields. Some have lasers. Jun 5, 2023 10:00 am USA Today (June 4) Robots developed at Illinois can scoot under the canopy of crops to plant cover crop seed before the main crop is harvested. 'This will expand the ability to do cover cropping and take less time.' says professor Shadi Atallah. Can you hear corn grow at this time of year? In fact... Jun 13, 2023 10:45 am KKRC-FM (June 12) 'On very still nights you can hear a popping or cracking noise,' says U of I crop physiologist Fred Below. 'What you hear is the cell walls of the stalk expanding. Mostly I believe it is the tracheids expanding.' Recent Illinois study shows young adults - like the rest of us - tend to waste a lot of food Aug 28, 2018 2:15 pm Popular Science (Aug. 27) Investigators repeatedly used the word 'apathy' – the young people responding either didn’t think wasted food was worth caring about or thought they had no control over the problem U of I researchers created a high-res map to show how foods travel from farm to table Oct 31, 2019 11:30 am Yahoo! Lifestyle (Oct. 30) 'People love maps!' says Professor Megan Konar. 'Now that we have a map of our national food supply chain, we can visualize and appreciate it.' Cleaning water naturally the ancient Maya way Jan 29, 2024 9:15 am Scientific American (Jan. 26) U of I anthropology professor Lisa Lucero discusses the way ancient Mayans cleaned their water naturally, and the lessons we can learn from them. Joy Harjo is first Native American to serve as U.S. poet laureate Jun 19, 2019 4:00 pm New York Times (June 19) Harjo is a former Illinois faculty member who taught creative writing and English, and was affiliated with the American Indian Studies program. UI researchers work toward a wearable device to predict when elderly are at risk of falling Jul 17, 2018 2:45 pm Internet of Business (July 13) Interdisciplinary approach uses data from a mobility study involving 67 women over the age of 60 to analyze walking patterns You Anon: Reconsidering what it means to 'be yourself' online Aug 2, 2021 11:30 am New York Times (July 31) Prof. Emily van Duyn recently embedded with a group of progressive women in rural Texas. 'There’s a lack of anonymity in their community,' she says, so the group turned to discreet digital organizing. U of I gets grant to start First Amendment clinic Aug 2, 2022 10:45 am Crain’s Chicago Business (Aug. 1) U of I's College of Law is establishing a First Amendment clinic to take on freedom-of-expression cases and train lawyers in the subject. Dean Vik Amar says the college already has about a half dozen clinics on other themes. Ilini football player, music major who became Broadway's Li'l Abner has passed Sep 23, 2021 1:15 pm Deadline (Sept. 22) Peter Palmer, who majored in music while playing football at the U. of I. in the early 1950s and routinely performed the national anthem at games, was cast as Broadway’s naïve, muscle-bound hero of Dogpatch. USS Illinois: The forgotten Iowa-class battleship the Navy never finished Feb 23, 2024 8:45 am The National Interest (Feb. 21) The ship’s bell was finished, and you can see the bell at the U. of I.’s Memorial Stadium, where Naval Reserve Officer Training Corps students strike the bell to signal touchdowns. U of I is getting into the business of angel investing Mar 2, 2023 11:15 am Crain’s Chicago Business (Feb. 28) The Urbana campus is launching Illini Angels, a program that will allow U. of I. alums to invest in startups coming out of the university as well as companies started by students after they leave. PBS NewsHour live from U of I: 'Tipping Point: Agriculture on the Brink' May 17, 2023 11:30 am PBS (May 16) – U. of I. professor of crop sciences Andrew Margenot joins a PBS NewsHour panel discussion called 'Tipping Point: Agriculture on the Brink' on Wednesday, May 24. Chancellor Robert Jones announced his top initiatives for the university Nov 19, 2018 9:00 am WLS-TV (Video, Chicago, Nov. 18) – Robert Jones calls it his “dream job.” He's been chancellor of the U. of I. for a little more than two years. Coup D’etat Project at U of I: Jan. 6 insurrection fits definition of attempted dissident coup Feb 3, 2021 12:15 pm CNN (Feb. 3) The only other American entries in its global database? A Communist Party USA conspiracy to violently overthrow the government, and the 1996 slaying of an Arkansas family by white supremacists. Geneticists: Time to mix the Sumatran rhino subspecies with the Borneo subspecies May 30, 2018 1:00 pm Mongabay (May 29) It's 'disturbing' for a geneticist to recommend, but 'I can’t see any other way to preserve the Borneo gene pool among living rhinos,' says animal sciences professor Alfred Roca The University of Illinois COVID-19 testing plan accounts for 20% of the state's tests Aug 26, 2020 5:45 pm Business Insider (Aug. 26) As colleges across the U.S. continue to close and suspend classes because of the novel coronavirus pandemic, Illinois is taking a different approach.