News Archive
The Coming of Age of Miscanthus
Julie Wurth
Giant, versatile, and genetically complex, miscanthus poses unique opportunities for the farm economy, domestic manufacturing, next-generation biofuels, and the environment.…
A century of photonics research shapes the future of healthcare diagnostics
Katie Brady
Diagnostic testing is essential in modern healthcare settings. By sensing biological molecules called biomarkers, clinicians can gain insights into what is happening in the…
Atom-scale stencil patterns help nanoparticles take new shapes and learn new tricks
Liz Ahlberg Touchstone
Inspired by an artist’s stencils, researchers have developed atomic-level precision patterning on nanoparticle surfaces, allowing them to “paint” gold nanoparticles with…
Illinois team to lead up to $28M initiative to build a precision phage platform for promoting public health
Ananya Sen
Researchers from the Carl R. Woese Institute for Genomic Biology will partner with investigators from industrial and academic institutions, including Ginkgo Bioworks, Baylor…
IGB Profile: Emilie Fox
Claudia Lutz
In biology, seemingly simple systems often hide precisely orchestrated complexity; as long as the system is working, it can be difficult to identify all the players that…
Team awarded $2M to develop new separation membranes inspired by biological cells
University of Massachusetts Amherst
For more than 60 years, synthetic separation membranes—manufactured barriers that selectively filter out unwanted substances in industrial, biomedical, desalination, gas…
New AI tool helps match enzymes to substrates
Liz Ahlberg Touchstone
A new artificial intelligence-powered tool can help researchers determine how well an enzyme fits with a desired target, helping them find the best enzyme and substrate…
Learning the language of lasso peptides to improve peptide engineering
Katie Brady
In the hunt for new therapeutics for cancer and infectious diseases, lasso peptides prove to be a catch. Their knot-like structures afford these molecules high stability and…
Continued support builds momentum for a unique interdisciplinary training program
Claudia Lutz
The grand scale of present-day biological research has made team science a necessity. Career scientists have learned collaborative skills on the fly; last year, with support…
