News Bureau

Research News Campus News About

blog navigation

News Bureau - Research

 

  • Fred Kummerow

    100-year-old trans fat pioneer celebrates news of an FDA ban

    A Minute With™... Fred Kummerow, trans fat expert

  • One hundred years after the widespread fatalities of the 1918 flu pandemic, influenza is still a serious and deadly disease, says professor Christopher Brooke. Flu shots and new antiviral treatments could help thwart another pandemic.

    100 years after influenza pandemic, why should I get a flu shot?

    Influenza has no cure, but vaccines and anti-viral treatments could help thwart another deadly outbreak, says microbiology professor Christopher Brooke.

  • Sheldon Jacobson and Janet Jokela stand outdoors.

    2020 deadlier than previous five years, even with COVID-19 numbers removed, study finds

    An upswing in death rates from non-COVID-19 causes in 2020 hit hard for men ages 15-64, according to a new study by computer science professor Sheldon H. Jacobson and internal medicine professor Janet Jokela.

  • $2 million Mellon grant to fund three new humanities research groups

    CHAMPAIGN, Ill. - The Illinois Program for Research in the Humanities has been awarded a $2,050,000 grant from the Andrew W. Mellon Foundation to create research groups in three emerging areas in the humanities.

  • Xiaohui Zhang, left, Andrew Smith, Kelly Swanson, Erik Nelson, Mark Anastasio and Junlong Geng are part of a team working to clarify the relationship between obesity and inflammation while on the hunt for obesity-fighting drug therapies.

    3D microscopy clarifies understanding of body's immune response to obesity

    Researchers who focus on fat know that some adipose tissue is more prone to inflammation-related comorbidities than others, but the reasons why are not well understood. Thanks to a new analytical technique, scientists are getting a clearer view of the microenvironments found within adipose tissue associated with obesity. This advance may illuminate why some adipose tissues are more prone to inflammation – leading to diseases like type 2 diabetes, cancer and cardiovascular disorders – and help direct future drug therapies to treat obesity.

  • Freeform printing allows the researchers to make intricate structures, such as this model of a heart, that could not be made with traditional layer-by-layer 3-D printing. The structures could be used as scaffolds for tissue engineering or device manufacturing.

    3-D printed sugar scaffolds offer sweet solution for tissue engineering, device manufacturing

    University of Illinois engineers built a 3-D printer that offers a sweet solution to making detailed structures that commercial 3-D printers can’t: Rather than a layer-upon-layer solid shell, it produces a delicate network of thin ribbons of hardened isomalt, the type of sugar alcohol used to make throat lozenges.

    The water-soluble, biodegradable glassy sugar structures have multiple applications in biomedical engineering, cancer research and device manufacturing.

  • Former University of Illinois graduate student Neha Gothe and colleagues found that 20 minutes of yoga significantly improved participants' reaction time and accuracy in tests of cognitive function. Gothe is now a professor of kinesiology at Wayne State University.

    A 20-minute bout of yoga stimulates brain function immediately after

    CHAMPAIGN, lll. - Researchers report that a single, 20-minute session of Hatha yoga significantly improved participants' speed and accuracy on tests of working memory and inhibitory control, two measures of brain function associated with the ability to maintain focus and take in, retain and use new information. Participants performed significantly better immediately after the yoga practice than after moderate to vigorous aerobic exercise for the same amount of time.

  • Action as a goal may be too broad, new research suggests

    CHAMPAIGN, Ill. - A series of experiments conducted by researchers at the University of Illinois suggest that society's emphasis on action over inaction may lead to unforeseen consequences.

  • A survey of caregivers for adults with intellectual and developmental disabilities on Illinois’ Medicaid wait list found disparities in the provision of services. The study was co-written by University of Illinois scholars Meghan M. Burke, a professor of special education at the Urbana campus, and Tamar Heller, the head of the University Center for Excellence in Developmental Disabilities Education at the Chicago campus.

    Adults with disabilities on Medicaid wait list most likely to have unmet service needs

    Adults with intellectual and developmental disabilities on Illinois’ Medicaid wait list who are minorities, in poor health or unable to speak are more likely to have unmet service needs, a new study by University of Illinois researchers found.

  • Recreation, sport and tourism professor Liza Berdychevsky

    Ageism, mistaken beliefs complicate acceptance of older adults’ sexuality

    Despite their having generally permissive attitudes about sexuality in later life, many young adults also harbor ageist misperceptions and erroneous beliefs, according to a new study led by Liza Berdychevsky at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign.

  • University of Illinois entomology professor Barry Pittendrigh (back right) and his colleagues create animated educational videos as part of the Scientific Animations Without Borders project. Pictured: back row left: entomology research scientist Weilin Sun; front row from left: SAWBO co-founder Julia Bello-Bravo, who also is assistant director of Illinois Strategic International Partnerships; graduate students Laura Steele and Alice Vossbrinck; and research specialist Susan Balfe.

    Agricultural, health education goes global via cellphone animations

    CHAMPAIGN, lll. - They're watching them in Benin, Brazil, Burkina Faso, Ethiopia, India and Niger. They're learning how to stop the spread of dengue, malaria, tuberculosis, cholera and food-related illness. They're learning how to protect their crops from insect damage or post-harvest losses. And they're coming up with new ideas for similar lessons to share with their neighbors or others around the world.

  • Photo of the research group

    AI predicts enzyme function better than leading tools

    A new artificial intelligence tool can predict the functions of enzymes based on their amino acid sequences, even when the enzymes are unstudied or poorly understood. The researchers said the AI tool, dubbed CLEAN, outperforms the leading state-of-the-art tools in accuracy, reliability and sensitivity. Better understanding of enzymes and their functions would be a boon for research in genomics, chemistry, industrial materials, medicine, pharmaceuticals and more.

  • University of Illinois psychology professor Joshua Gulley and his colleagues found that amphetamine use in adolescence can lead to long-term impairments in memory.

    Amphetamine use in adolescence may impair adult working memory

    CHAMPAIGN, lll. - Rats exposed to high doses of amphetamines at an age that corresponds to the later years of human adolescence display significant memory deficits as adults - long after the exposure ends, researchers report.

  • Researchers have found a way to penetrate the cell wall of gram-negative bacteria, overcoming a major barrier to the development of new broad-spectrum antibiotics.

    Antibiotic breakthrough: Team discovers how to overcome gram-negative bacterial defenses

    Scientists report that they now know how to build a molecular Trojan horse that can penetrate gram-negative bacteria, solving a problem that for decades has stalled the development of effective new antibiotics against these increasingly drug-resistant microbes. The findings appear in the journal Nature.

  • Timothy Tana dn Nicholas Wu stand in a laboratory.

    Antibodies from original strain COVID-19 infection don't bind to variants, study finds

    People infected with the original strain of the virus that causes COVID-19 early in the pandemic produced a consistent antibody response, making two main groups of antibodies to bind to the spike protein on the virus’s outer surface. However, those antibodies don’t bind well to newer variants, a new study from the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign found.

  • Anti-cancer compound found to block late-stage breast-cancer cell growth

    CHAMPAIGN, Ill. - A well known anti-cancer agent in certain vegetables has just had its reputation enhanced. The compound, in broccoli and other cruciferous vegetables, has been found to be effective in disrupting late stages of cell growth in breast cancer.

  • Dr. Martin Burke.

    Antifungal drug improves key cystic fibrosis biomarkers in clinical study

    A drug widely used to treat fungal infections improved key biomarkers in lung tissue cultures as well as in the noses of patients with cystic fibrosis, a clinical study by researchers at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign and the University of Iowa found.

  • Ruby Mendenhall discusses a point during a meeting last spring with collaborators on an art exhibition, one of her many interdisciplinary projects.

    A professor not afraid to cross academic boundaries

    Illinois professor Ruby Mendenhall is focused on issues of poverty, inequality and violence, but crosses many academic boundaries in search of answers.

  • Photo of the researchers.

    Are Illinois farmers aware of the risk of tick-borne diseases?

    Illinois Ph.D. candidate Sulagna Chakraborty describes awareness of ticks and tick-borne disease among Illinois farmers.

  • Researchers stand in the Molecule Maker Lab.

    Artificial intelligence and molecule machine join forces to generalize automated chemistry

    Artificial intelligence, building-block chemistry and a molecule-making machine teamed up to find the best general reaction conditions for synthesizing chemicals important to biomedical and materials research – a finding that could speed innovation and drug discovery as well as make complex chemistry automated and accessible.

    Researchers at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign and collaborators in Poland and Canada reported their findings in the journal Science.

  • Arts program provides services, guidance to HIV/AIDS patients

    CHAMPAIGN, Ill. - As an art educator and researcher, Julia Kellman has long been aware - from her academic's box-seat vantage point - that art can impact people's lives in profound ways. But for the past four years, she's witnessed the phenomenal power of art-making from the perspective of a director who is on stage, engaging in an ongoing, intimate dialogue with the actors.

  • Working in the lab, the team continues its work on soybean proteins

    A soybean protein blocks LDL cholesterol production, reducing risks of metabolic diseases

    Soybean varieties with greater proportions of the protein B-conglycinin reduce plasma cholesterol levels and promote liver homeostasis, showing potential for preventing fatty liver disease and atherosclerosis, according to research by food scientists at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign.

  • Photo of social work professor Ryan Wade seated at the desk in his office

    A strong ethnic identity can buffer or bolster the effects of online sexual racism in Black men

    A strong commitment to their ethnic identity may be a double-edged sword for young sexual minority Black men when they encounter sexual racism online, according to a study by U. of I. social work professor Ryan Wade.

  • Dr. Martin Burke sits at a desk.

    Atomic structure of antifungal drug confirms unusual mechanism, opens door to less-toxic derivatives

    Advanced molecular imaging technology has now mapped the structure of a drug widely used to treat fungal infections but whose workings have mystified researchers and physicians for nearly 70 years. In a new study, researchers at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign, the University of Wisconsin, Madison and the National Institutes of Health described in atomistic detail the structure of the drug amphotericin B, a powerful but toxic antifungal agent. Seeing the structure provides illumination in the researchers’ quest to formulate less-toxic AmB derivatives.

  • Psychology professor and Beckman Institute director Art Kramer, doctoral student Michelle Voss and their colleagues found that a year of moderate walking improved the connectivity of specific brain networks in older adults.

    Attention, couch potatoes! Walking boosts brain connectivity, function

    CHAMPAIGN, lll. - A group of "professional couch potatoes," as one researcher described them, has proven that even moderate exercise - in this case walking at one's own pace for 40 minutes three times a week - can enhance the connectivity of important brain circuits, combat declines in brain function associated with aging and increase performance on cognitive tasks.

  • L. Brian Stauffer Many of the behavioral and cognitive characteristics of Autism Spectrum Disorders can be identified when children are as young as age 2, suggests a new study by alumna Laurie M. Jeans, right, and Rosa Milagros Santos Gilbertz, a faculty member in the College of Education.

    Autism signs can be identified earlier than formerly thought, study suggests

    CHAMPAIGN, Ill. - Many characteristics of Autism Spectrum Disorders can be identified by the age of 2 and are predictive of which children will be diagnosed with these disorders when they're older, a new study suggests.

  • Avocados change belly fat distribution in women, controlled study finds

    An avocado a day could help redistribute belly fat in women toward a healthier profile, according to a new study from the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign and collaborators. One hundred and five adults with overweight and obesity participated in a randomized controlled trial that provided one meal a day for 12 weeks. Women who consumed avocado as part of their daily meal had a reduction in deeper visceral abdominal fat.

  • A team of researchers developed a new broad-spectrum antibiotic that kills bacteria by punching holes in their membranes. Front row, from left: materials science and engineering professor Jianjun and postdoctoral researcher Yan Bao. Back row, from left: postdoctoral researcher Menghau Xiong, graduate students Ziyuan Song and Rachael Mansbach, materials science and engineering professor Andrew Ferguson, and biochemistry professor Lin-Feng Cheng.

    Bacterial hole puncher could be new broad-spectrum antibiotic

    Bacteria have many methods of adapting to resist antibiotics, but a new class of spiral polypeptides developed at the University of Illinois targets one thing no bacterium can live without: an outer membrane.

  • Lung tissue from mice with pulmonary fibrosis that were infected with corisin-secreting bacteria showed signs of acute exacerbation and lung tissue death.

    Bacterial protein fragment kills lung cells in pulmonary fibrosis, study finds

    A bacterial protein fragment instigates lung tissue death in pulmonary fibrosis, a mysterious disease affecting millions of people worldwide, according to a new study from researchers at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign and Mie University in Japan.

  • Fred Kummerow, a professor of comparative biosciences at the University of Illinois, reports that LDL cholesterol results from a simple dietary deficiency.

    'Bad cholesterol' indicates an amino acid deficiency, researcher says

    CHAMPAIGN, Ill. - Low-density lipoprotein (LDL), the "bad cholesterol" that doctors consider a sign of potential heart disease, is merely a marker of a diet lacking all of the essential amino acids, says University of Illinois comparative biosciences professor Fred Kummerow, 99, a longtime opponent of the medical establishment's war on cholesterol.

  • Topography of a red blood cell as measured by the SLIM optical technique. Though the cell keeps its shape as it ages, the membrane becomes less flexible.

    Banked blood grows stiffer with age, study finds

    CHAMPAIGN, Ill. - It may look like fresh blood and flow like fresh blood, but the longer blood is stored, the less it can carry oxygen into the tiny microcapillaries of the body, says a new study from University of Illinois researchers.

  • Photos of professors Julie Bobitt and Hyojung Kang

    Beliefs about cannabis influence older adults' choice of treatments for chronic pain

    Pain levels and quality-of-life issues have little influence on older adults’ decisions to treat chronic pain and other long-term diseases or conditions with cannabis or opioids, a new U. of I. study found.

  • Children need to understand the basics of advertising better than they do, says Illinois advertising professor Michelle Nelson. So she led the development of a curriculum and website to teach advertising literacy in school classrooms, incorporating lessons on healthy eating. This example ad developed for the curriculum playfully sells parents on feeding their kids vegetables.

    Beyond the big ads: teaching kids ad literacy and nutrition in grade school classrooms

    The Super Bowl will feature car ads, beer ads, food ads – but probably none for carrots. Most food ads, game time or anytime, are pitching less-healthy fare. Kids are often the target. Do they understand what an ad is? Who made it and why? Advertising professor Michelle Nelson worked with an Illinois school district to develop an advertising literacy curriculum that also promotes healthy eating.

     

  • University of Illinois postdoctoral researcher Prabuddha Mukherjee, left, bioengineering professors Rohit Bhargava and Dipanjan Pan, and postdoctoral researcher Santosh Misra report the development of a new class of carbon nanoparticles for biomedical use.

    Biomedical breakthrough: Carbon nanoparticles you can make at home

    CHAMPAIGN, Ill. — Researchers have found an easy way to produce carbon nanoparticles that are small enough to evade the body’s immune system, reflect light in the near-infrared range for easy detection, and carry payloads of pharmaceutical drugs to targeted tissues.

  • Portrait of Kathryn Clancy

    Book tackles myths about science of menstruation

    A new book from University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign anthropology professor Kathryn Clancy takes an unflinching look at the many ways humans have struggled – and often failed – to understand one of the greatest mysteries of human biology: menstruation.

  • In a study of mice, comparative biosciences professor Jodi Flaws and her colleagues linked BPA exposure during pregnancy to reproductive problems in the next three generations.

    BPA exposure in pregnant mice affects fertility in three generations

    CHAMPAIGN, Ill. - When scientists exposed pregnant mice to levels of bisphenol A equivalent to those considered safe in humans, three generations of female mouse offspring experienced significant reproductive problems, including declines in fertility, sexual maturity and pregnancy success, the scientists report in the journal Toxicology and Applied Pharmacology.

  • Professor Aron Barbey led a team that found that the structural integrity of the hippocampus, a region in the brain, could mediate the relationship between fitness and memory.

    Brain tissue structure could explain link between fitness and memory

    Studies have suggested a link between fitness and memory, but researchers have struggled to find the mechanism that links them. A new study by University of Illinois researchers found that the key may lie in the microstructure of the hippocampus, a region in the middle of the brain involved in memory processes.

  • Illinois professor Flavia Cristina Drumond Andradeled a study of education levels and self-reported health in Brazil.

    Brazilians with less education more likely to report being in poor health, study finds

    Brazilians with less education are more likely to self-report as being in poor health, according to a study using data from nationwide surveys distributed every five years from 1998 to 2013. The study also found that general subjective health did not improve over the study period, even though more people gained education throughout the study, indicating that other factors associated with poor education may need to be addressed to improve self-perceptions of health.

  • Breastfeeding exclusively for the first four to six months of infants' lives and delaying introduction of solid food until that time may help prevent picky eating behaviors and weight problems when children are preschoolers, according to a new study led by Juhee Kim, a professor of kinesiology and community health.

    Breastfed babies less likely to be picky eaters as toddlers

    CHAMPAIGN, Ill. - Babies who are breastfed exclusively for their first six months of life may be less likely to become picky eaters as preschoolers, according to a recent study of 129 mothers and their children.

  • Breastfeeding exclusively for the first four to six months of infants' lives and delaying introduction of solid food until that time may help prevent picky eating behaviors and weight problems when children are preschoolers, according to a new study led by Juhee Kim, a professor of kinesiology and community health.  Click photo to enlarge

    Breastfed babies less likely to be picky eaters as toddlers

    CHAMPAIGN, Ill. - Babies who are breastfed exclusively for their first six months of life may be less likely to become picky eaters as preschoolers, according to a recent study of 129 mothers and their children.

  • A masked student from the COVID-19 pandemic

    BTN COVID-19 documentary 'The New Normal' premieres May 23

    “The New Normal,” a 30-minute documentary premiering May 23 at 1:30 p.m. CST/ 2:30 p.m. EST on the Big Ten Network, documents the journey of University of Illinois Urbana Champaign researchers to create a fast and inexpensive coronavirus test to ensure that U. of I. students, faculty and staff could remain safe and healthy during the pandemic

  • Dr. Martin Burke sits in front of the automated molecule-making machine he developed.

    Burke elected to National Academy of Medicine

    University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign chemistry professor Dr. Martin D. Burke has been elected to the National Academy of Medicine for his work in chemical synthesis, molecular prosthetics and COVID-19 testing.

  • Photo of, from left, nutritional sciences professor Manabu T. Nakamura; Elvira Gonzalez de Mejia, director of the Division of Nutritional Sciences; and animal sciences professor Jan E. Novakofski.

    Caffeine may offset some health risks of diets high in fat, sugar

    A new study in rats suggests that caffeine may offset some of the negative effects of an obesogenic diet by reducing lipid storage, weight gain and the production of triglycerides.

  • Social work professor Venera Bekteshi has found that a bout with cancer can be the catalyst for growth and healing in mother-daughter relationships.

    Cancer and treatment side effect: Stronger mother-daughter ties

    CHAMPAIGN, Ill. - A bout with cancer can be the catalyst for growth and healing in mother-daughter relationships, suggests a new study by a University of Illinois social work professor.

  • University of Illinois chemistry professor Paul Hergenrother, left, and veterinary clinical medicine professor Timothy Fan tested an anti-cancer compound in pet dogs that will be used in human clinical trials.

    Cancer drug first tested in pet dogs begins human trials

    CHAMPAIGN, Ill. - A new drug that prompts cancer cells to self-destruct while sparing healthy cells is now entering phase I clinical trials in humans. The drug, called PAC-1, first showed promise in the treatment of pet dogs with spontaneously occurring cancers, and is still in clinical trials in dogs with osteosarcoma.

  • U. of I. veterinary oncologist Dr. Timothy Fan, left, chemistry professor Paul Hergenrother and their colleagues are testing the safety of a new cancer drug in a clinical trial for humans with late-stage brain cancer. The compound has worked well in canine patients with brain cancer, lymphoma and osteosarcoma.

    Cancer drug starts clinical trials in human brain-cancer patients

    A drug that spurs cancer cells to self-destruct has been cleared for use in a clinical trial of patients with anaplastic astrocytoma, a rare malignant brain tumor, and glioblastoma multiforme, an aggressive late-stage cancer of the brain. This phase Ib trial will determine if the experimental drug PAC-1 can be used safely in combination with a standard brain-cancer chemotherapy drug, temozolomide.

  • University of Illinois chemistry professor Paul Hergenrother, left, and veterinary clinical medicine professor Tim Fan led a study of an anti-cancer compound in pet dogs that is now headed for human clinical trials.

    Cancer drug tested in pet dogs is now bound for human trials

    CHAMPAIGN, Ill. - Thanks to a new $2 million investment, a drug that spurs cancer cells to self-destruct while sparing healthy cells is on the road to human clinical trials. The compound, known as PAC-1, has so far proven safe and has promising anti-cancer effects in cell culture, in mouse models of cancer and in pet dogs with spontaneously occurring lymphomas and osteosarcomas.

  • A new study by David Strauser, a faculty member in community health, sheds light on why adult survivors of childhood cancer often have trouble keeping employment, particularly if they were diagnosed during a critical developmental period between the ages of 6-12.

    Cancer in childhood can have negative impact on career readiness

    CHAMPAIGN, lll. - Young adult survivors of childhood cancer often have problems maintaining jobs and relationships, researchers have found. A new study of childhood brain tumor survivors by disability researcher David Strauser, a professor of community health at the University of Illinois, suggests that a battle with cancer during a critical developmental period in middle childhood may negatively affect career readiness and achievement as an adult by compromising children's development of an effective work personality.

  • University of Illinois professor Lydia Buki expects that diagnoses of breast and cervical cancers among Latinas will increase significantly, and not enough is being done to anticipate women's needs.

    Cancers set to 'explode' in Latino/a populations, expert says

    CHAMPAIGN, Ill. - The Latino/a population in the United States is expected to triple by 2050, according to projections from the U.S. Census Bureau. And along with that growth, says University of Illinois professor Lydia Buki, will come a rise in the number of individuals from that population who are diagnosed with cancer.

  • Food science professor M. Yanina Pepino sitting in the kitchen of her home

    Cancer survivors' tongues less sensitive to tastes than those of healthy peers

    Head and neck cancer survivors' tongues are less sensitive to bitter, salty and sweet tastes, and this taste dysfunction lasts for years, University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign scientists found in a new study.