SIB News
Scientists engineer shortcut for photosynthetic glitch, boost crop growth by 40 percent
Scientists Don Ort (left), Paul South (center) and Amanda Cavanagh (right) study how well their plants modified to bypass photorespiration perform beside unmodified plants in real-world conditions. They found that plants engineered with a synthetic shortcut are about 40 percent more productive
Publication Date: 16 January 2019
Oxford students make their way to Illinois’ research fields
This summer, a new exchange program allowed nine interns from the University of Oxford the opportunity to conduct research alongside highly qualified researchers and experience a different culture at the University of Illinois.
Publication Date: 04 January 2019
Dracula ants possess fastest known animal appendage: the snap-jaw
The mandibles of the Dracula ant, Mystrium camillae, are the fastest known moving animal appendages, snapping shut at speeds of up to 90 meters per second.
Publication Date: 12 December 2018
Four Illinois faculty members elected AAAS Fellows
From left, mechanical science and engineering professor Narayana Aluru, computer science professor William Gropp and plant biology professors Andrew Leakey and Ray Ming are among 416 scientists elected AAAS Fellows this year.
Publication Date: 30 November 2018
North American checklist identifies the fungus among us
Some fungi are smelly and coated in mucus. Others have gills that glow in the dark. Some are delicious; others, poisonous. Some spur euphoria when ingested. Some produce antibiotics. All of these fungi – and hundreds of thousands, if not millions, more – occur in North America. Of those that are known to science, 44,488 appear in a new checklist of North American fungi, published this month in the journal Mycologia.
Publication Date: 29 November 2018
Scientists study puncture performance of cactus spines
The spines of Cylindropuntia fulgida, also known as jumping cholla, have a reproductive role. They latch on to passersby and carry small chunks of cactus flesh to new locations.
Publication Date: 28 November 2018
Caterpillar, fungus in cahoots to threaten fruit, nut crops
New research reveals that Aspergillus flavus, a fungus that produces carcinogenic aflatoxins that can contaminate seeds and nuts, has a multilegged partner in crime: the navel orangeworm caterpillar, which targets some of the same nut and fruit orchards afflicted by the fungus. Scientists report in the Journal of Chemical Ecology that the two pests work in concert to overcome plant defenses and resist pesticides.
Publication Date: 05 November 2018
Berenbaum named PNAS editor-in-chief
Entomology professor and department head May Berenbaum has been appointed editor-in-chief of the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.
Publication Date: 31 October 2018
Study finds potential benefits of wildlife-livestock coexistence in East Africa
A study of 3,588 square kilometers of privately owned land in central Kenya offers evidence that humans and their livestock can, in the right circumstances, share territory with zebras, giraffes, elephants and other wild mammals – to the benefit of all.
Publication Date: 31 October 2018
Prof. Mark Hauber receives grant for international collaboration on invasive birds
Professor Mark Hauber receives a $270,000 grant to collaborate with Tel Aviv University researchers on how invasive birds succeed in new habitats.
Publication Date: 25 October 2018