blog posts New book explores complicated relationship between workers and their work Jan 8, 2024 9:15 am A new book by U. of I. labor expert Robert Bruno explores how workers characterize their relationship to their jobs using personal six-word mini-narratives, serving as a broader exploration of how middle-class workers view work in the U.S. Website compiles ocean data from landmark 19th-century scientific voyage Jan 10, 2023 12:45 pm English professor Gillen D’Arcy Wood’s Oceans 1876 project makes a treasure trove of 19th-century marine data accessible to help scientists better understand how our oceans have changed and how to protect them. Paper: New law, regulations may diminish appeal of some retirement accounts Jan 30, 2023 9:45 am A new law and regulations affecting inherited retirement accounts could create hefty taxation issues for some beneficiaries, says Richard Kaplan, an expert on U.S. tax policy and retirement issues. Navajo scholar’s Indigenous leadership research aids educators of Native students Feb 8, 2024 10:30 am Sometimes researchers discover something they weren’t looking for—something as valuable, perhaps even more so, than the original treasure they sought. Such is the case with Oliver Tapaha. Geography, language dictate social media and popular website usage, study finds Feb 9, 2023 9:15 am Many of the same social media platforms and websites are popular around the world, but how people use them remains vastly different based on their languages and geography. White people more likely to confront authors of racist online posts to set discussion rules Feb 12, 2024 9:45 am 'If the objective is reframed from trying to change a transgressor’s deep-seated attitudes to a potentially more achievable goal (defining social norms)...participants’ willingness to confront others about racist content increases.' Study compares third-trimester sound exposures in fetuses, premature infants Mar 1, 2023 11:15 am The analysis reveals profound differences in their exposures to noise, language and the biological sounds of the mother, with implications for the infants’ development, says study leader Brian Monson, a professor of Speech and Hearing Science. Historic racial covenants in property deeds linked to disparities in exposure to dangerous heat Mar 6, 2024 8:00 am A study by urban and regional planning professor Rebecca Walker is the first to examine the environmental impact of racial covenants, using the first database to map the presence of the covenants in a U.S. metropolitan area. Statistics, history researchers' new model re-evaluates MLB's 'greatest ever' Mar 13, 2023 10:30 am 'Under this model, great all-time statistics requires that an MLB player is both better than their peers and played during a time in which the MLB eligible population is large. ...The model constructs an even playing field that extends across eras.' Study: Default testing for COVID-19 in K-12 schools more effective than voluntary testing Mar 13, 2024 9:00 am A new paper co-written by U of I business professors found that default testing of K-12 students for COVID-19 during the pandemic could have saved up to one out of every five school days lost to the coronavirus during the fall 2021 semester. How emotional intimacy became politically valued in post-WWII Britain Mar 24, 2023 1:30 pm History professor Teri Chettiar's new book looks at how the intimate emotional life of families took on great political importance in post-WWII Britain, and emotional well-being was seen as a key factor for a stable democracy. The downside of 'branded access offers': Perceived lack of consumer commitment Apr 11, 2024 12:30 pm 'Brands are constantly pursuing new customers, and the leading trend is a focus on branded access offers... moving away from ownership to more of a short-term rental mode,' said U of I business professor Tiffany Barnett White . Wearable sensors for Parkinson’s can improve with machine learning, data from healthy adults Apr 12, 2024 10:00 am The study shows that 'the expansion of datasets with healthy older adult motion data and integration with deep learning approaches can help improve the accuracy of detecting differences in motor impairment in persons with Parkinson's...' Gas, blasts, and a mystery of star formation Apr 28, 2022 9:45 am Post-starburst galaxies were previously thought to scatter all of their gas and dust in violent bursts of energy. A study co-authored by a U of I astronomer reveals that these galaxies don’t scatter all of their star-forming fuel after all. Colleges should reexamine career services for students with disabilities Apr 28, 2023 3:30 pm 'Too often these college students’ career aspirations are negatively shaped by the limiting attitudes of family, campus policies and society to lock in an identified career,' said Professor Chang-kyu Kwon. How love, health, and neighborhood intersect for Black Americans May 12, 2023 12:45 pm People living in better-quality neighborhoods showed lower negative, higher positive affects 10 years later. 'This really speaks to the powerful effect of the community you're in and the amount of stress or support that you get from your neighborhood.' Study tracks social, genetic evolution in Asian colobine primates Jun 1, 2023 12:45 pm A new study reveals that colobines living in colder regions experienced genetic changes and alterations to their ancient social structure that likely enhanced their ability to survive. More veterans using marijuana - but not from medical sources Jun 14, 2023 11:00 am Marijuana remains federally illegal, classified as Schedule I by the DEA, so the Veterans Health Administration providers cannot prescribe or recommend marijuana to patients, though they may discuss the drug in a general sense. Cannabis use lower among Illinois teens living near medical dispensaries Jun 20, 2023 10:00 am 'We need to combat the hysteria that legalizing cannabis is going to have a wild and resounding impact on teens in terms of substance use rates and prevalence,' says social work professor Doug Smith. 'That’s simply not the case.' Are honey bees, wild bees still in trouble? Jun 29, 2023 11:00 am U of I entomology professor Adam Dolezal, who studies how environmental stressors affect honey bees and wild bees, spoke to News Bureau life sciences editor Diana Yates about the current status of bees in the U.S. Study links insulin resistance, advanced cell aging with childhood poverty Jul 25, 2022 10:45 am Black adolescents who lived in poverty as children and were pessimistic about their future had accelerated immune cell aging and greater levels of insulin resistance in their mid- to late twenties, according to a new U of I study. Study: How mother and infant sleep patterns interact during the first two years of life Jul 25, 2023 10:15 am New mothers can expect sleep deprivation in the first few years of baby’s life. A new U of I study looks at maternal and infant sleep patterns, identifying predictors and providing recommendations for instilling healthy habits. CAR-T immune therapy attacks ovarian cancer in mice with a single dose Aug 1, 2023 1:15 pm A CAR-T immune therapy effective at attacking late-stage ovarian cancer in mice with a single dose provides evidence that CAR-T therapies could effectively treat solid-tumor cancers. Valuable antibody patents vulnerable to overly broad doctrinal shift in patent law Aug 17, 2022 10:30 am A U of I legal scholar who studies intellectual property protection for advanced biotechnologies advocates for a middle ground in patent claims involving antibodies, the backbone of modern bioscience. Older workers seeking federal disability benefits during recessions are healthier Sep 8, 2022 10:30 am The findings suggest disability insurance may be helping individuals smooth over temporary shocks to their employment – a role that diverges from the program’s aim of protecting individuals from career-ending shocks to their ability to work. Study links epigenetic changes to historic trauma in Alaska Native communities Sep 8, 2023 11:15 am The study found a pattern among Alaska Native participants, in which specific epigenetic differences were observed in those who reported experiencing the most intense symptoms of distress when reflecting on historic losses. Air pollution via wildfire smoke increases suicide risk in rural counties Sep 12, 2023 11:00 am A new paper co-written by Gies College of Business professor David Molitor found that air pollution via drifting wildfire smoke disproportionately elevates the risk of suicide among rural populations in the U.S. Researchers identify unexpected twist while developing new polymer-based semiconductors Nov 14, 2023 8:15 am Fresh insight into the development of semiconductor materials that can do things their traditional silicon counterparts cannot – harness the power of chirality, a non-superimposable mirror image Database expands to document police uses of lethal force across US Dec 5, 2023 12:00 pm 'SPOTLITE,' identified more than 23,000 incidents of police uses of lethal force in the U.S. during 2014-2021. It includes incidents in which police used a firearm - including those with nonfatal outcomes - and other uses of force that result in a death. Professor identifies key drivers in decisions to receive COVID-19 vaccine Dec 8, 2022 10:15 am Republicans 'were far more likely to say that they were getting vaccinated than if they thought other Republicans were not going to be vaccinated,' Bowers said. For Democrats, the intentions of other Democrats were less likely to influence their decision. Study shows challenges to protecting privacy of library users Dec 8, 2023 12:30 pm The biggest challenges libraries face in protecting the privacy of patrons are a lack of training and technical knowledge, particularly with increased use of digital services, according to a study by information sciences professor Masooda Bashir. Book examines tallgrass prairies' ecological history, effects on Indigenous cultures Dec 14, 2022 11:45 am History professor Robert Morrissey writes about how the ecology of the tallgrass prairie shaped the culture and created unique opportunities for the Indigenous people who lived there. Whether a racial minority or majority at work, white teachers struggle with race relations Jan 31, 2024 8:30 am White teachers were often ill-equipped for discussions about racial issues because they had little prior experience thinking about or confronting race in their family, educational and previous work environments. Study links exercise intensity, attentional control in late-adolescent girls Feb 6, 2023 10:30 am Researchers found that girls ages 15-18 who engage in less moderate and vigorous physical activity are slower and less accurate than their peers on a measure of attentional control - they can be more impulsive and more easily distracted. Videos, book highlight history of skin in the early modern world Feb 23, 2023 8:45 am History professor Craig Koslofsky said skin color has not always been seen in the same way or played the same role in society. His work soesn't focus solely on skin color, but also on tattooing, scarification, cosmetics and the microanatomy of skin. Illinois schools sought to participate in 2024 Illinois Youth Survey Mar 18, 2024 9:30 am The Illinois Youth Survey is a biennial survey of eighth, 10th and 12th grade students that provides important assessments of school climate issues and substance use across Illinois’ middle and high schools. Are TV sports networks game-changers for financing collegiate athletics? Mar 20, 2023 1:45 pm A new study finds that revenue from college sports TV networks increased spending by universities’ athletic programs while decreasing subsidization by other campus units. How intimate partner violence affects custody decisions Jun 24, 2022 11:00 am 'When we rely on mothers to self-report (intimate partner violence) to their attorney...they aren’t necessarily going to disclose it... That indicates a need for universal screening and assessment for IPV in divorce cases.' COVID-19 virus spike protein flexibility improved by human cell's own modifications Jul 5, 2022 8:45 am “The dynamics of a spike are very important – how much it moves and how flexible it is to search for and bind to receptors on the host cell. ...We hope that the results of our simulations can be used for developing new treatments.' Book examines role of racial justice work in progressive policy changes Jul 11, 2022 3:15 pm Urban planning professor Marc Doussard examines grassroots organizing efforts in six cities, including Chicago, and how collaborations with racial justice groups have strengthened campaigns for economic policy changes. Healthy diet after head, neck cancer diagnosis may boost survival Jul 27, 2022 9:45 am Head and neck cancer patients whose eating habits aligned with the Alternative Healthy Eating Index-2010 at diagnosis were significantly more likely to survive three years later, according to a study led by scholars at Illinois. Nanoscale observations simplify how scientists describe earthquake movement Aug 4, 2022 10:30 am Researchers used microscopic-scale observations to simplify how scientists describe macroscale earthquake movement. They hope their work will lead to better earthquake prediction. Study: People expect others to mirror their own selfishness, generosity Aug 7, 2023 8:45 am Generous people tend to reward generous behavior and selfish individuals often punish generosity and reward selfishness – even when it costs them personally. Top scientists, engineers choose startups over tech behemoths for reasons other than money Sep 20, 2023 10:30 am 'There’s a common belief that individuals work at startups to get rich when the venture is successful, but we find that employees are aware that startup employment is risky and they choose it for reasons other than future financial payoffs.' Although the air is now cleaner in the U.S., air pollution remains a problem for public health Sep 21, 2023 10:30 am "It’s pretty clear that wildfire smoke is affecting a lot more people on a lot more days than it used to,” says Christopher Tessum, a professor of civil and environmental engineering. Paper: Established employees need adjustment period with new colleagues Oct 12, 2022 9:30 am Adding new employees to an established work team can have a multitude of consequences for long-standing employees, according to new research co-written by IYihao Liu, a U of I professor of both labor relations and psychology. Higher pay consistently trumps meaningful work as strongly valued job attribute Oct 12, 2023 12:30 pm Although meaningful work is a strongly valued attribute when seeking a job, it may be less influential than salary when prospective employees evaluate career opportunities, according to new U of I research. Teenage girls' self-esteem is a product of past experience Jan 9, 2023 11:30 am 'We all feel the need to fit in socially, but teenagers feel this need more strongly than most. What we don’t understand is why some teenagers feel it more strongly than others,' says doctoral student Haley Skymba. $9.5M funding will help U of I researchers decode influenza-antibody interactions Jan 26, 2023 1:00 pm 'We're optimistic this initiative will help scientists develop new, untested approaches that can reveal how pathogens work and how the human immune system responds to pathogen infection,” said Leslie Vosshall of the Howard Hughes Medical Institute. Researchers illuminate gaps in public transportation access, equity Feb 16, 2023 10:30 am Reserachers found that public transit systems offering broad coverage of stops and routes may still underserve the communities that rely on them the most. The study uses the Champaign-Urbana MTD as a case study.