Cape lions used to roam the Cape Flats grassland plains of South Africa, in what is now known as Western Cape Providence. When Europeans arrived in South Africa in the mid-1600s, Cape lions, along with many other African carnivores and herbivores, were hunted as agricultural practice to protect livestock and humans. By the mid-1800s, less than 200 years since European arrival, Cape lions had been hunted to extinction.

The Center for Indigenous Science is a collaboration between the American Indian studies program and the Carl R. Woese Institute for Genomic Biology. The Center aims to collaborate with the Indigenous Nations to bring forth initiatives that support tribal sovereignty and address Indigenous needs in health, history, and the environment.

Researchers investigated the relationship between historical traumatic events experienced by Alaska Native communities and epigenetic markers on genes that previous studies have linked to trauma. The new study found a similar pattern among Alaska Native participants, with specific epigenetic differences observed in those who reported experiencing the most intense symptoms of distress when reflecting on historic losses. 

A new DNA-collection approach allows scientists to capture genetic information from elephants without disturbing the animals or putting their own safety in jeopardy. The protocol, tested on elephant dung, yielded enough DNA to sequence whole genomes not only of the elephants but also of the associated microbes, plants, parasites and other organisms – at a fraction of the cost of current approaches.

The Carl R. Woese Institute for Genomic Biology is excited to announce the new Center for Indigenous Science, which aims to create a place for cutting edge research and training in Indigenous Science. The center will be headed by Jenny L. Davis, co-Chair of the Center and Associate Professor of American Indian Studies, and Ripan S. Malhi (GNDP/GSP/IGOH), co-Chair of the Center and Professor of Anthropology.

A community-based project, conducted by researchers at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign in collaboration with the Kenaitze Indian Tribe and Kenai Peninsula College, has been awarded a $1,017,215 grant by the National Science Foundation. The project will map the use of salmon as a cultural keystone species of Dena’ina peoples.

Although the microbiome—the collection of all microbes that live in the body—in the fecal matter of dogs has been investigated extensively, those studies have mostly been limited to domesticated dogs. In a new study, researchers have sampled the fecal microbiomes across diverse geographical populations to better understand what they look like around the world.

Scientific pursuits often require examining a problem from different angles in order to gain a complete understanding. Such an undertaking often requires multiple researchers, each with a unique skill set. But what happens when certain voices are ignored over and over, in favor of others? It breeds inequality that weakens our science and our sense of community.

A genomic study of Native peoples in the San Francisco Bay Area finds that eight present-day members of the Muwekma Ohlone Tribe share ancestry with 12 individuals who lived in the region several hundred to 2,000 years ago.

A staggering 5.5 million tons of single-use plastics are generated each year by science labs, negating 83% of the world’s recycled plastics. A team at Illinois was recently awarded a $81,865 grant to reduce dependency on single-use plastics by developing protocols for plastics reuse.