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Breaking open the AI black box, team finds key chemistry for solar energy and beyond

Liz Ahlberg Touchstone

Artificial intelligence is a powerful tool for researchers, but with a significant limitation: The inability to explain how it came to its decisions, a problem known as the “AI…

Drowning tomatoes for science

Diana Yates

I can barely hear Esther Ngumbi over the roar of greenhouse fans as she shows me around her rooftop laboratory in Morrill Hall. The benches are full of tomato plants, and the…

Scientists use evolution to bioengineer new pathways to sustainable energy, pharmaceuticals

Lois Yoksoulian

Using evolution as a guiding principle, researchers have successfully engineered bacteria-yeast hybrids to perform photosynthetic carbon assimilation, generate cellular energy…

Illinois scientists to revamp corn breeding with focus on climate resilience

Lauren Quinn

The USDA National Institute of Food and Agriculture is investing in University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign research that could expedite the development of climate-resilient…

Mohammed El-Kebir Hunts for Cancer’s Evolutionary Trees

Jonathan King

Mohammed El-Kebir (CAIM/IGOH) is an assistant professor of computer science researching cancer genomics, who investigates combinatorial optimization algorithms for problems in…

Ancient DNA reveals Indigenous dog lineages found at Jamestown, Virginia

Ananya Sen

Previous scientific studies have indicated that North American dog lineages were replaced with European ones between 1492 and the present day. To better understand the timing…

Researchers investigate parent perceptions of virtual learning

Ananya Sen

In response to the COVID-19 pandemic, a majority of schools across the U.S. shifted to virtual learning. In a new study, published in Social Education Research, researchers…

A Win for Interdisciplinary Training: CABBI Undergrad Takes Home ASPB Hackathon Award

April Wendling

This past June, CABBI undergrad Jack Mason won a hackathon competition at Plant Biology 2024, a yearly conference held by ASPB, the American Society of Plant Biologists.

IGB Profile: Génesis Ríos-Adorno

Ananya Sen

A defining feature of scientific inquiry is that it draws from the knowledge and experience of researchers from different backgrounds. Science belongs to everyone, whether you…

Elephants on the move: Mapping connections across African landscapes

Lauren Quinn

Elephant conservation is a major priority in southern Africa, but habitat loss and urbanization mean the far-ranging pachyderms are increasingly restricted to protected areas…

Early Innovator Program pitch contest winners announced

Sarah Schwartz

It has been a busy summer for a group of postdoctoral and graduate student researchers who participated in the 10-week Early Innovator Program (EIP) at the Carl R. Woese…

Coinfecting viruses impede each other’s ability to enter cells

Ananya Sen

The process by which phages—viruses that infect and replicate within bacteria—enter cells has been studied for over 50 years. In a new study, researchers from the University of…