News Archive [2014]

[ 2014-12 ] An international effort involving more than 100 researchers, nine supercomputers and about 400 years of CPU time has yielded the most reliable avian tree of life yet produced,…

[ 2014-12 ] Six University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign faculty members have been elected 2014 fellows of the American Association for the Advancement of Science, including Brendan A.…

[ 2014-12 ] The house mouse, stickleback fish and honey bee appear to have little in common, but at the genetic level these creatures respond in strikingly similar ways to danger, researchers…

[ 2014-11 ] Cellular Decision Making Focus of New IGB Theme If a cell is damaged, does it repair itself or decide to self-destruct? And just how does the cell make that decision? The…

[ 2014-11 ] Researchers report in the journal Nature that they have made a breakthrough in understanding how a powerful antibiotic agent is made in nature. Their discovery solves a decades-…

[ 2014-11 ] Eight percent of your genome derives from retroviruses that inserted themselves into human sex cells millions of years ago. Right now the koala retrovirus (KoRV) is invading koala…

[ 2014-10 ] Scientists from North America, Europe and China have published a paper in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences that reveals important details about key transitions…

[ 2014-10 ] Today’s researchers, working with the advantages of new, sophisticated laboratory technology, have unleashed a river of valuable biomedical data—much more, in fact, than many of…

[ 2014-10 ] University of Illinois professor of entomology and IGB faculty member May Berenbaum has been awarded the National Medal of Science, the nation's highest honor for achievement and…

[ 2014-10 ] Illinois researchers develop a database that will guide and streamline the search for naturally produced antibiotics For millennia, bacteria and other microbes have engaged in…

[ 2014-10 ] Researchers report that some stickleback fish fathers can have long-term effects on the behavior of their offspring: The most attentive fish dads cause their offspring to behave…

[ 2014-09 ] In 2007 the University of Illinois began an innovative experiment in transdisciplinary collaboration by launching the Institute for Genomic Biology (IGB). The institute’s founding…

[ 2014-09 ] Search for better biofuels microbes leads to the human gut Scientists have scoured cow rumens and termite guts for microbes that can efficiently break down plant cell walls for…

[ 2014-09 ] New research may help doctors personalize cancer treatments Most types of tumors, including cancer, require a supply of blood to grow larger than a few millimeters. Scientists…

[ 2014-09 ] Where Will Science Take Us In 20 Years? New Blog Provides Predictions for the Year 2034 The Science Coalition unveiled a new blog featuring predictions of what science and…

[ 2014-08 ] Earth can sustain more terrestrial plant growth than previously thought A new analysis suggests the planet can produce much more land-plant biomass – the total material in leaves…

[ 2014-08 ] Climate relicts may help researchers understand climate change While hiking through the Ozarks’ characteristic oak and hickory forests as a teenager, ecologist Scott Woolbright…

[ 2014-08 ] Understanding barriers to reprogramming cells holds promise for regenerative medicine The recent discovery that human somatic cells (the cells of the body) can be reprogrammed in…

[ 2014-08 ] Researchers boost insect aggression by altering brain metabolism Scientists report they can crank up insect aggression simply by interfering with a basic metabolic pathway in the…

[ 2014-08 ] Cell mechanics may hold key to how cancer spreads and recurs Cancer cells that break away from tumors to go looking for a new home may prefer to settle into a soft bed, according…