News Bureau

University of Illinois researcher Ben Grosser’s new film uses 15 years of speeches by Mark Zuckerberg to look at his obsession with growth at any cost.

Researchers have developed a new technique that uses light to control the lifetime of a protein inside the cell. This method will allow scientists to better observe how specific proteins contribute to health, development and disease.

A project led by architecture professor Marci Uihlein will archive and make accessible 100 years of student design work, representing a history of architecture education.

A new tool uses an interactive database of geographic and genetic information to help authorities quickly identify where the confiscated tusks of African elephants were originally poached.

Social media companies are experimenting with hiding metrics on their platforms – something University of Illinois art professor Ben Grosser has been exploring since 2012 with his Demetricator projects.

Imagine being trapped inside a collapsed building after a disaster, wondering if anybody will be brave enough to rescue you. Suddenly, a door bursts open, and standing in the shadows is a robot. But this is not just any robot; this one has quick, humanlike reflexes and is guided by a person from a remote location who feels the same physical forces the robot is experiencing.

When defusing workplace conflict, firms favor alternative dispute resolution practices that align with their underlying strategic bent, says new research co-written by U. of I. labor professor Ryan Lamare.

Access Urbana-Champaign, a new website created by a University of Illinois professor of special education and her students, rates local restaurants on their accessibility to people with disabilities.

A long-term study of copperhead snakes in a forest near Meriden, Connecticut, revealed that five consecutive years of drought effectively ended the snakes' reproductive output. 

It’s easier to spot online political “astroturfing,” a type of disinformation campaign, by looking first for digital traces of the human activity that makes it work, say Illinois communication professor JungHwan Yang and his research colleagues, in a new study.

Researchers from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign and Northwestern University have made it possible to observe and simulate the self-assembly of crystalline materials at a much higher resolution than before.

Drinking water not only keeps children hydrated, but also increases their ability to multitask, suggests a new study by researchers at the University of Illinois and their collaborators.

By analyzing how metabolic enzymes are built and organized, researchers have reconstructed the evolutionary history of metabolism. Their study shows how metabolic networks – which drive every cellular process from protein building to DNA repair – became less random, more modular and more hierarchical over time, the researchers say.

The Opioid Alternative Pilot Project offers medical cannabis as a pain-relief option for those looking to avoid or reduce opioid use, said Julie Bobitt, the director of the Interdisciplinary Health Sciences program at Illinois.

When a wildfire obliterates a forest, the first life to rise from the ashes is usually a fungus – one of several species that cannot complete its life cycle in the absence of fire. Scientists have long argued about where and how such pyrophilous (fire-loving) fungi survive, sometimes for decades, between fires. A new study finds that some of these fungi hide out in the tissues of mosses and lichens.

Urban commuters may be less likely to encounter automobile accidents if they are willing to increase trip time, researchers report. A new study from the University of Illinois introduces a tool that helps quantify the connection between traffic accidents and city road networks.

Passes for the 22nd annual Roger Ebert’s Film Festival, or “Ebertfest,” go on sale Nov. 1.

Camille A. Farrington, an expert on academic equity and mindsets, will speak at a seminar on the University of Illinois campus on Nov. 14-15. 

Consuming potato puree during prolonged exercise works just as well as a commercial carbohydrate gel in sustaining blood glucose levels and boosting performance in trained athletes, scientists report.

An impeachment investigation may be based in charges of wrongdoing, but it’s still a political process, says Illinois political science professor Gisela Sin. Even the design of rules and procedures is done strategically and with an eye on the outcome.

The surge in unaccompanied children seeking refuge across the U.S. border can be attributed to poverty, natural disasters and the rise of gang recruitment in their home countries. But the biggest factor is that their countries of origin – Guatemala, Honduras, El Salvador, Mexico – are effectively as violent as war zones, says Lauren R. Aronson, an associate clinical professor of law and the director of the Immigration Law Clinic at the University of Illinois College of Law.

The Illinois theatre department opens its season with stories of justice, injustice, revenge and redemption.

A new book by University of Illinois professor Andrew Orta studies the culture of contemporary business education and the MBA degree through the lens of a professional anthropologist.

Sending ailing dogs home with oral opioids may not be an effective way to manage their pain, experts report in a free, online continuing education program recently developed for veterinarians. In light of growing evidence that such drugs don’t work well in dogs – added to the fact that humans sometimes abuse opioids prescribed for pets – the common practice of prescribing oral opioids for dogs in pain should be reexamined, the experts say.

Anticipating the need among opioid prescribers for additional training to meet regulatory mandates, these experts created an online continuing education program that addresses the problem. The training includes cautions about unwarranted prescription of oral opioids and advice on effective pain management for veterinary patients. 

The exhibition “Hot Spots: Radioactivity and the Landscape” at Krannert Art Museum spotlights the impact of the nuclear industry on the landscape.

Anger-prone children may benefit most from caregivers who are sensitive to their emotional needs and behavioral cues, University of Illinois researchers Nancy McElwain and  Xi Chen found in a new study.

Many potential pharmaceuticals end up failing during clinical trials, but thanks to new research from the University of Illinois, biological molecules once considered for cancer treatment are now being repurposed as organic semiconductors for use in chemical sensors and transistors.

Hong Kong’s nearly four-month protest is only the latest in a series, all centered on concerns about retaining freedoms and gaining the right to choose the city’s leadership, says University of Illinois history professor Poshek Fu, a Hong Kong native and specialist on modern China. The current protest movement is notable, however, for its social media-driven, guerrillalike tactics, its longevity and the international attention it has received.

Like atmospheric methane and carbon dioxide, ground-level ozone is on the rise. But ozone, a noxious chemical byproduct of fossil fuel combustion, has received relatively little attention as a potential threat to corn agriculture.

A new study begins to address this lapse by exposing a genetically diverse group of corn plants in the field to future ozone levels. The study found that some members of the corn family tree are more susceptible than others to yield losses under high ozone air pollution.

How do you weigh a fully grown American black bear? These veterinary medicine students know the answer, and it's a bit more complicated than just saying, "very carefully."

Purple martins will soon migrate south for their usual wintertime retreat, but this time the birds will be wearing what look like little backpacks, as scientists plan to track their roosting sites along the way. The researchers recently discovered that purple martins are roosting in small forest patches as they migrate from North America to Brazil, an unexpected behavior. The scientists published their findings in the Journal of Field Ornithology. 

Repeated disasters and environmental changes on Louisiana’s Gulf Coast are rapidly eroding the land, and along with it, the Houma tribe’s ability to sustain its culture, health and livelihoods.

“Personalized promotion” is a potentially lucrative opportunity for retailers to extract even more money from consumer wallets that also enhances customer satisfaction, said Yuqian Xu, a professor of business administration at the Gies College of Business at Illinois.

According to a new study reported in the journal Science, bird populations in North America have experienced a troubling decline in the past five decades. The scientists estimate the continent has lost close to 3 billion birds, roughly 29% of their total numbers in 1970. Senior wildlife ecologist Thomas J. Benson of the Illinois Natural History Survey discusses the status of birds in Illinois with News Bureau life sciences editor Diana Yates. Benson leads the Critical Trends Assessment Program, which monitors the biological condition of the state’s forests, wetlands and grasslands, and collects data on plants, birds and arthropods.

It’s morning on the bayou. I’m in the Calcascieu River at the Fort Polk Joint Readiness Training Center in Louisiana, and the river is teeming with life. The bank is littered with freshwater mussel shells, no doubt a feast for a raccoon last night. Cricket frogs bounce around at my feet as if loaded with tiny coiled springs.

The strike of more than 47,000 auto workers is a way of recouping some of what union members lost during the Great Recession, says Robert Bruno, a professor of labor and employment relations at the Urbana campus of the University of Illinois and the director of the Labor Education Program in Chicago.

The performance of “HOME” at Krannert Center for the Performing Arts is providing the inspiration for PYGHACK, the culture festival Pygmalion’s hackathon. Both consider issues related to the concepts of home and an inclusive community.

Gregory Nava, director of Latino films such as “El Norte,” “My Family” and “Selena,” will discuss his career and challenges, as well as diversity in the movie industry, as part of the Chaz and Roger Ebert Symposium coming Sept. 27 to the University of Illinois.

A Women’s Reunion and Symposium at the School of Architecture will recognize the contributions of female architecture graduates.

Researchers have developed soft robotic devices driven by neuromuscular tissue that triggers when stimulated by light – bringing mechanical engineering one step closer to developing autonomous biobots.

Five Urbana-Champaign campus professors have been named University Scholars in recognition of their excellence in teaching, scholarship and service.

The belief that one is smarter, better looking, more successful and more deserving than others – a personality trait known as narcissism – tends to wane as a person matures, a new study confirms. But not for everyone, and not to the same extent.

University of Illinois art professor Deke Weaver will present “TIGER” this fall. It’s the fifth performance in his project “The Unreliable Bestiary,” telling stories about endangered animals and habitats.

Volcanic eruptions and their ash clouds pose a significant hazard to population centers and air travel, especially those that show few to no signs of unrest beforehand. Geologists are now using a technique traditionally used in weather and climate forecasting to develop new eruption forecasting models. By testing if the models are able to capture the likelihood of past eruptions, the researchers are making strides in the science of volcanic forecasting

This year’s Ebert Symposium will focus on inclusion and diversity in the media industry, with a keynote address provided by Stacy Smith, director of the Annenberg Inclusion Initiative, a global think tank studying inequality in entertainment.

Racial justice on community college campuses is the focal point of an upcoming institute in San Diego, the third such conference organized by the U. of I. Office of Community College Research and Leadership.

If you want sell a product or service quickly, it helps to try a busy consumer, says new research co-written by U. of I. psychology professor Dolores Albarracin.

People with student loans who participate in financial education programs become better financial managers, building personal wealth after college, University of Illinois researchers found in a recent study.

It’s increasingly common for managers to instruct employees to “be creative” during brainstorming sessions. But according to a new paper from Jack Goncalo, a professor of business administration at the Gies College of Business at Illinois, being creative in the workplace is potentially fraught with peril because creativity itself is deeply personal.

Indexing capital gains to inflation could be a simple fix to stimulate a teetering economy, but several significant implementation hurdles remain, said Richard L. Kaplan, an internationally recognized expert on U.S. tax policy and the Guy Raymond Jones Chair in Law at Illinois.