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Respect Indigenous ancestors: Scholars urge community engagement

Diana Yates

A new article in the journal Science provides guidance for those intending to study ancient human remains in the Americas. The paper, written by Indigenous…

Protect forest elephants to conserve ecosystems, not DNA

Claire Benjamin

Although it is erroneously treated as a subspecies, the dwindling African forest elephant is a genetically distinct species. New University of Illinois research has found that…

Earth BioGenome Project aims to sequence genomes of 1.5M species

Diana Yates

An international consortium of scientists is proposing a massive project to sequence, catalog and analyze the genomes of all known eukaryotic species on the planet, an…

Registration Open - IGB Fellows Symposium, May 3, 2018


Learn about IGB research, hear about current issues in the life sciences, and connect with other students on campus at the annual Fellows Symposium. This full-day event,…

Humans are Sumatran rhinoceros’ biggest threat—and last hope

Claire Benjamin

The little-known and smallest member of the rhinoceros family, the Sumatran rhinoceros, is critically endangered. Today between 30 and 100 are isolated on the islands of…

New NIH-funded research aims to improve prostate cancer outcomes

Laura Schmitt

University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign researchers recently received a $1.8 million grant from the National Institutes of Health (NIH) to develop a new assay technology…

Study yields million-plus new compounds, pharmaceutical potential

Diana Yates

Researchers say they can now produce a vast library of unique cyclic compounds, some with the capacity to interrupt specific protein-protein interactions that play a role in…

Scientists engineer crops to conserve water, resist drought

Claire Benjamin

Agriculture already monopolizes 90 percent of global freshwater—yet production still needs to dramatically increase to feed and fuel this century’s growing population. For the…

Students develop wireless monitoring system for beehives

Heather Coit

Beekeepers face challenges when they monitor the health of their honeybee colonies, and winter poses increased risk because opening a hive in cooler temperatures to collect…

CABBI Celebrates Official Launch with Talks, Tours, Science Meeting

Tony Mancuso

The Center for Advanced Bioenergy and Bioproducts Innovation (CABBI) officially launched as a new U.S. Department of Energy Bioenergy Research Center with a celebration on Feb…

Scientists monitor crop photosynthesis, performance using invisible light

Claire Benjamin

Twelve-foot metal poles with long outstretched arms dot a Midwestern soybean field to monitor an invisible array of light emitted by crops. This light can reveal the plants’…

DOE grants $10.6 million to produce more biodiesel, biojet fuel

Claire Benjamin

The U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) awarded the University of Illinois a $10.6 million, five-year grant to transform two of the most productive crops in America into…