2024-12-02
- Globally recognized as one of the most influential modern scientists, Elizabeth “Lisa” Ainsworth has been named Professor and C.A. Ewing Chair of Crop Physiology in the Department of Crop Sciences and the Department of Plant...
2024-11-22 - A new greenhouse custom-designed to support research at the Center for Advanced Bioenergy and Bioproducts Innovation (CABBI) is now open at the University of Illinois Research Park. The Plant Biology Innovation Greenhouse (PBIG) features unique cutting-edge capabilities that are already benefiting plant and microbial science researchers on the U. of I. campus. It will propel research by CABBI —...
2024-11-19 - CHAMPAIGN, Ill. — Six researchers at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign have been named to the 2024 Clarivate Analytics Highly Cited Researchers list. The list recognizes researchers and social scientists who have demonstrated exceptional influence, as reflected through their publication of multiple papers frequently cited by their peers during the last decade. The highly cited...
2024-11-06 - CHAMPAIGN, Ill. – I like to encourage people of all ages to help pollinators, the insects, birds and mammals that help flowering plants reproduce. People are more willing to help if they have a chance to get to know their local pollinators. To that end, I like to invite people to visit the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign Pollinatarium to...
2024-10-29 - CHAMPAIGN, Ill. – In a new study conducted by the Realizing Increased Photosynthetic Efficiency (RIPE) project, researchers at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign looked back in time at soybean growth and discovered that modern plants have increased mesophyll conductance. This means that carbon dioxide travels...
2024-10-28 - CHAMPAIGN, Ill. — Thin, stretchy skin — like that of a pig or human — significantly lessens the underlying damage that occurs when it’s punctured. Pig skin even outperforms synthetic materials that are designed to mimic skin, a new study finds. Its special qualities, in particular its ability to dissipate the energy of a puncturing object, greatly reduce the damage to deeper tissues, researchers...
2024-10-24 - URBANA, Ill. – It’s a blazingly sunny September Saturday afternoon at Riggs Beer Company, a family-friendly brewery located on the edge of Urbana. It’s not surprising to see crowds of families basking in the dog days of summer with their food truck lunches and locally brewed pints of beer. Unexpected, however, are the patrons donning medieval and fantasy garb, accompanied by young children, some...
2024-10-07 - When Carl Bernacchi was completing his Ph.D. at the University of Illinois some 20 years ago, Illinois was globally referred to as a “photosynthesis powerhouse.” Today, thanks to Bernacchi and other world-class researchers on Illinois-centric research teams, like the Agroecosystem Sustainability...
2024-10-01 - The U.S. National Science Foundation and partner agencies in the U.S., Canada, Finland, Japan, the Republic of Korea (ROK), and the United Kingdom announced funding of new international centers of excellence in their Global Centers competition. One of the centers, the Alliance for Socially-acceptable...
2024-09-24 - CHAMPAIGN, Ill. — In a new study, researchers at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign tackled a thorny problem: How do nutritional stress, viral infections and exposure to pesticides together influence honey bee survival? By looking at all three stressors together, the scientists found that good nutrition enhances honey bee resilience against the other threats. Their findings are...
2024-09-23 - This past homecoming, the School of Integrative Biology was honored to have IB Honors student Anjali Yedavalli elected to the 2024 Homecoming Court. Anjali took the time to talk to us about her experience being on the court, her time...
2024-09-20 - For evolution, ecology and behavior professor Alison Bell, asking big questions seems to be a lifelong habit. As an undergraduate studying the history and philosophy of science at the University of Chicago, many of those questions were epistemological: How do we know what we know? How is knowledge...
2024-09-09 - Did you miss kickoff on September 3? We've got you covered! Check out the sights and sounds from this year's event. And if you're part of the IB community and missed getting a shirt, you have until Tuesday,September 10 to let sib@life.illinois.edu know your name and shirt size so they can get you one. Thanks to everyone that came out!
2024-09-02 - Drought stress has long been a limiting factor for crop production around the world, a challenge exacerbated by climate change. For more than a century, scientists have targeted a key plant trait known as water use efficiency (WUE) to help crops grow with less water and avoid suffering from drought stress. Greater WUE can help plants avoid drought stress — but for most crops it’s also...
2024-08-29 - CHAMPAIGN, Ill. — I can barely hear Esther Ngumbi over the roar of greenhouse fans as she shows me around her rooftop laboratory in Morrill Hall. The benches are full of tomato plants, and the tomatoes don’t look good. Half of the plants are submerged in bins of water. Their leaves are yellow and withering. Some of the dying tomatoes have flowered. I see one or two baby tomatoes on a couple of...