2019-10-01 - A new study reveals genetic differences that influence how corn responds to higher concentrations of ground-level ozone.

2019-09-30 - As their Latin name indicates, pineapples are truly “excellent fruits”—and thanks to a freshly completed genome sequencing project, researchers have gained a new understanding of how human agriculture has shaped the evolution of this and other crops.

2019-09-30 - Many new parents are familiar with terms like “baby brain” or “mommy brain” that hint at an unavoidable decline in cognitive function associated with the hormonal changes of pregnancy, childbirth, and maternal caregiving. A new study of parental care in stickleback fish is a reminder that such parenting-induced changes in the brain and associated shifts in cognition and behavior are not just for...

2019-09-30 - Researchers at the University of Illinois have shown through a multi-year study that cowbirds (Molothrus ater) conform to Bateman’s Principle, which holds that reproductive success is greater in males than in females when they have more mates. Cowbirds are distinct from 99% of other bird species in that they are brood parasites and lay their eggs in nests of birds of other species for...

2019-09-30 - Making important commercial or financial decisions can be a very difficult task, especially with a variety of perspectives and stakeholders to consider. Dr. Marianne Alleyne, assistant professor in entomology, and Molly Sturgis, graduate student researcher in industrial and enterprise systems engineering, have turned to bees to see what kinds of insights could be translated to human decision-...

2019-09-24 - Climate change is already having a negative impact on our food supply.

2019-09-20 - A single protein has been identified to play a role in improving photosynthesis under high concentrations of atmospheric carbon dioxide, according to a study published in in silico Plants. The protein, known as Gm-GATA2, is predicted to overcome limitations imposed by photosynthetic acclimation under elevated CO2 levels—and is a promising candidate for research into how we can better...

2019-09-12 - Five University of Illinois professors at the Urbana-Champaign campus, including Brian Allan, have been named University Scholars in recognition of their excellence in teaching, scholarship and service. They will be honored at a Sept. 12 ceremony at the I Hotel and Conference Center, 1900 S. First St., Champaign.

2019-09-10 - While the brains of honey bees are tiny compared to those of humans, the insects are capable of some surprisingly advanced thinking.

2019-08-30 - Trelease Woods, a centuries-old forest on the cusp of Champaign-Urbana, offers lessons to students and professors alike at the University of Illinois. A fragment of a once much larger forest around the city of Urbana, the woods contain trees that are 400 years old and tell a story of the history of the area.

2019-08-14 - In Kenya, cattle reduce tick populations and help protect wildlife

2019-08-01 - A new computer model incorporates how microscopic, mouth-like pores on leaves (pictured) may open in response to light—an advance that could help scientists create virtual plants to predict how higher temperatures and rising levels of carbon dioxide will affect food crops.

2019-07-24 - Just as humans are usually left- or right-handed, other species sometimes prefer one appendage, or eye, over the other. A new study reveals that American robins that preferentially use one eye significantly more than the other when looking at their own clutch of eggs are also more likely to detect, and reject, a foreign egg placed in their nest by another bird species – or by a devious scientist.

2019-06-27 - A Bruker 9.4 Tesla preclinical animal MRI system will be sited at the Beckman Institute. The addition of the system to the institute’s Biomedical Imaging Center will aid in research in many areas, including brain development and function, and cellular mechanisms in cancer. The installation project will begin this fall and is expected to take a year.

2019-06-25 - Katherine Micek, of Orland Park, Illinois, was offered a Fulbright English Teaching Assistantship in Malaysia. She received her B.S. in Integrative Biology in May 2017.