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'Fettuccine' may be most obvious sign of life on Mars

[ ] A rover scanning the surface of Mars for evidence of life might want to check for rocks that look like pasta, researchers report in the journal Astrobiology. Researchers –…

Breakthrough to measure plant improvements helps boost production

[ ] An international team is using advanced tools to develop crops that give farmers more options for sustainably producing more food on less land. To do this, thousands of plant…

Stephen Long Elected to National Academy of Sciences

[ ] Stephen P. Long, a professor of crop sciences and plant biology at the University of Illinois, has been elected to the National Academy of Sciences, one of the highest…

Injections, exercise promote muscle regrowth after atrophy in mice

[ ] By injecting cells that support blood vessel growth into muscles depleted by inactivity, researchers say they are able to help restore muscle mass lost as a result of immobility.…

Project aims to revive natural product discovery

[ ] The mid-20th century was the golden age of natural product discovery. Scientists discovered groundbreaking drugs, like penicillin and tetracycline, from sources in nature. But as…

Drugs reprogram genes in breast tumors to prevent endocrine resistance

[ ] Treating breast tumors with two cancer drugs simultaneously may prevent endocrine resistance by attacking the disease along two separate gene pathways, scientists at the…

Reducing energy required to convert CO2 waste into valuable resources

[ ] Surplus industrial carbon dioxide creates an opportunity to convert waste into a valuable commodity. Excess CO2 can be a feedstock for chemicals typically derived from fossil…

Smart antioxidant-containing polymer responds to body, environment

[ ] Oxidants found within living organisms are byproducts of metabolism and are essential to wound-healing and immunity. However, when their concentrations become too high,…

Low-calorie lactose sweetener gets manufacturing boost from yeast

[ ] The quest to satisfy the sweet tooth without adding to the waistline has a new weapon in its arsenal: a strain of yeast that can metabolize lactose, the sugar in dairy products,…

Microbes in human body swap genes, even across tissue boundaries

[ ] Bacteria in the human body are sharing genes with one another at a higher rate than is typically seen in nature, and some of those genes appear to be traveling – independent of…

World of Genomics coming to National Academy of Sciences Building

[ ] The IGB has partnered with the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine to present Family Science Day at the NAS Building: DecisionTown in the World of Genomics,…

Illinois study identifies a key to soybean cyst nematode growth

[ ] The soybean cyst nematode, one of the crop’s most destructive pests, isn’t like most of its wormy relatives. Whereas the vast majority of nematodes look like the microscopic worms…

Brendan Harley inducted into AIMBE College of Fellows

[ ] The American Institute for Medical and Biological Engineering (AIMBE) has announced the pending induction of Dr. Brendan Harley, Professor of Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering…

Neurobiologist Leslie Vosshall to give IGB Distinguished Public Lecture

[ ] Leslie Vosshall, Robin Chemers Neustein Professor, Head of the Laboratory of Neurogenetics and Behavior, and Director of the Kavli Neural Systems Institute at The Rockefeller…

Cystic fibrosis treatment uses 'molecular prosthetic' for lung protein

[ ] An approved drug normally used to treat fungal infections could also do the job of a protein channel that is missing or defective in the lungs of people with cystic fibrosis,…

Crops in silico 2.0: Project Extended

[ ] The University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign’s Crops in silico (Cis) project has received a $5 million grant from the Foundation for Food and Agriculture Research (…

Archaeologists find 200-year-old African DNA on tobacco pipe

[ ] DNA found on tobacco pipe stems uncovered by archaeologists from the Maryland Department of Transportation State Highway Administration (MDOT SHA) and Anne Arundel County from 200…

IGB and SciLine host Genomics for Journalists

[ ] Imagined as a sort of science “boot camp” for reporters, Genomics for Journalists is a multi-day workshop designed to arm journalists—including those without deep backgrounds in…

Fatty acids rewire cells to promote obesity-related breast cancer

[ ] Scientists at the University of Illinois have found that free fatty acids in the blood appear to boost proliferation and growth of breast cancer cells. The finding could help…

Donovan named to 2020 Dietary Guidelines Advisory Committee

[ ] Sharon Donovan (MME), a professor of nutrition and the Melissa M. Noel Endowed Chair in Nutrition and Health at the University of Illinois, has been appointed to the USDA’s 2020…