Skip to main content

Illinois IGB

News Archive [2017]

Scientists engineer sugarcane to produce biodiesel, more sugar for ethanol

[ ] A multi-institutional team led by the University of Illinois have proven sugarcane can be genetically engineered to produce oil in its leaves and stems for biodiesel production.…

Governor Recognizes IGB for 10 Years of Scientific Contribution to Illinois

[ ] Governor Bruce Rauner officially recognized the Carl R. Woese Institute for Genomic Biology (IGB) for celebrating ten years of genomic research addressing major societal issues in…

Newly characterized protein has potential to save US farmers millions annually

[ ] Instead of turning carbon into food, many plants accidentally make a plant-toxic compound during photosynthesis that is recycled through a process called photorespiration.…

IGB Announces New Partnership with ZEISS labs@location Program

[ ] A new agreement between the Carl R. Woese Institute for Genomic Biology (IGB) at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign and ZEISS has named the Core Facilities at IGB as…

Study links sulfide-producing bacteria and colon cancer in African-Americans

[ ] A new study reveals that African-Americans have measurable differences in the number and type of bacteria that live in the colon – and those differences are related to their…

Interdisciplinary Visions Past and Present: An Homage to The Biological Computer Laboratory in the IGB

[ ] The Carl R. Woese Institute for Genomic Biology (IGB) hosted figures related to the historic Biological Computer Laboratory (BCL) in December 2016. Those in attendance were past…

A New Tool for Genetically Engineering the Oldest Branch of Life

[ ] A new study by G. William Arends Professor of Microbiology Bill Metcalf and IGB Fellow Dipti Nayak has documented the use of CRISPR-Cas9 mediated genome editing in the third…

New tool RODEO captures breadth of microbial biosynthetic potential

[ ] In an age of booming biotechnology, it might be easy to forget how much we still rely on the bounty of the natural world. Some microbes make us sick, some keep us healthy, while…

New genetic engineering method indispensable biotechnological tool

[ ] New method of genetic engineering indispensable tool in biotechnological applications Research by Professor of Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering Huimin Zhao and graduate…

The Walk of Life: A Celebration of the Past and a Path to Future Discovery

[ ] Just west of the IGB Building, across from the iconic Morrow Plots, is a stretch of sidewalk that looks different than any other on campus. Instead of the typical cracked, beige…

In the developing ears of opossums, echoes of evolutionary history

[ ] When we are confronted with the remarkable diversity and complexity of forms among living things—the lightweight and leathery wings of a bat, the dense networks of genes that work…

Changing the environment within bone marrow alters blood cell development

[ ] Researchers at the University of Illinois report they can alter blood cell development through the use of biomaterials designed to mimic characteristics of the bone marrow. The…

Crop achilles' heel costs farmers 10 percent of potential yield

[ ] Scientists assumed leaves at the top of a plant would be the best at turning higher levels of light into carbohydrates--through the process of photosynthesis -- while the lower…

Climate Change to Affect Carbon Storage, Richness in Midwest Soil

[ ] Researchers from the University of Illinois and collaborating institutions predict that Midwest soil may lose as much at 15% of its stored carbon — and thus its agricultural…