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University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign

From left, Zihan Wang, Veronika Dubinkina, and Sergei Maslov developed a model to understand how different species coexist in a community.

How do microbes choose from a “menu” of food?

Six Illinois scientists rank among world's most influential

Six Illinois scientists rank among world's most influential

Denise M Elser, MD

New funds to support collaborative projects at the IGB

A new study in mice suggests that consuming a high-fat diet in combination with exposure to PFAS triggers changes in benign and malignant prostate cells that promote rapid tumor growth. Food science and human nutrition professor Zeynep Madak-Erdogan, center, led the study. Co-authors include comparative biosciences professor Michael J. Spinella, left, and bioengineering professor Joseph Irudayaraj.

PFAS exposure, high-fat diet drive prostate cells’ metabolism into pro-cancer state

In a recent study, University of Illinois researchers led by RIPE postdoc Peng Fu found that plants can potentially prepare themselves for drought conditions and future climate change. This ‘memory,’ or adaptation, could help reduce yield loss that crop year and help researchers prevent future yield loss.

Illinois research shows crops have drought ‘memory,’ help reduce yield loss

The research team, including, from left, Nandan Haloi, Archit Kumar Vasan, Emily Geddes and Emad Tajkhorshid, invented and tested a new method for determining how chemical compounds interact with proteins in cells. Their approach offers atomic-level insight into the chemical properties that allow some antibiotics to pass through pores in the cell membranes of Gram-negative bacteria.

Scientists discover how antibiotics penetrate Gram-negative bacterial cell walls

The availability of a COVID-19 vaccine for school-aged children offers protection for children as well as eases challenges faced by their families and their schools, says Rebecca Lee Smith, an epidemiologist at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign.

Do kids need a COVID-19 vaccine?

Photo of infra-red gas analyzer and a rice leaf. The leaf is placed inside a cuvette in which conditions related to light intensity, CO2 concentration, relative humidity, and temperature can be controlled.

Comparing photosynthetic differences between wild and domesticated rice

(L to R): University of Illinois researchers John Katzenellenbogen, Benita Katzenellenbogen, Zeynep Madak-Erdogan, and Sung Hoon Kim showed pathway preferential estrogens may be a safer alternative to hormone replacement therapy.

Postmenopausal women may benefit from estrogen compound research

BBC’s Follow the Food to feature RIPE research

BBC’s Follow the Food to feature RIPE research

An artistic representation of gold nanoparticles on a photonic crystal surface. Created by Janet Kirker

Compact biosensor microscope built for point of care diagnostics

The researchers focused on sperm-mediated paternal effects and paternal care in Gasterosteus aculeatus or threespine sticklebacks.

Can parental care influence sperm-mediated effects in threespine sticklebacks?

A yellow warbler will use referential seet calls to warn female warblers

Referential alarm calls increase vigilance in brood parasite hosts

2021 winners are Joseph Irudayaraj (CGD/EIRH/MME), a Founder Professor in Bioengineering, and Xing Wang (CGD), a Research Associate Professor of Chemistry.

Winners of the Mikashi Awards announced

Chemists from the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign are testing the limits of analytical chemistry by rapidly detecting subtle changes in cellular chemistry in an effort to boost early disease intervention. From left, professor Stanislav Rubakhin, molecular and integrative physiology graduate research assistant Dan Castro, professor Jonathan Sweedler, professor Elena Romanova and bioengineering graduate research assistant Yuxuan Richard Xie.

Analytical technique helps spot subtle differences in subcellular chemistry