2024-05-22
- By converting their data into sounds, scientists discovered how hydrogen bonds contribute to the lightning-fast gyrations that transform a string of amino acids into a functional, folded protein. Their report, in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, offers an unprecedented view of the sequence of hydrogen-bonding events that occur when a protein morphs from an unfolded to a folded...
2024-05-17 - In 2007, Waïl Hassan was writing a book about the literature of Arab immigrants in the United States and Britain when he uncovered something else that was very intriguing. By reading the works of multiple Latin American writers of Arab descent, he found that Arab immigrants who lived in Latin America had consistently more prominent levels of achievement than those who lived in the U.S. This...
2024-05-06 - Researchers at the University of Illinois have contributed to a large-scale international study that has reconstructed a comprehensive "tree of life" for flowering plants. The study offers new light on the evolutionary history of angiosperms, which account for approximately 90 percent of all terrestrial plant species. The study, ...
2024-05-06 - Two College of LAS professors have been elected to the National Academy of Sciences, one of a scientist's highest professional honors. Biochemistry professor emeritus Steve Sligar and chemistry professor emeritus Ken Suslick are among 120 newly...
2024-05-02 - The Tibetan plateau—the world’s highest and largest plateau—poses a challenge to the people who live there because of its extreme climate. In a new study, researchers have discovered stone artifacts that suggest that there were more cultural exchanges between those who lived on the plateau and those living on its perimeter. “The Tibetan plateau has an average elevation of more than 4,500 meters...
2024-04-30 - Radio ads with an emotional appeal — featuring personal stories of either a happy organ transplant recipient or a sad patient languishing on the waiting list — increase nondonor listeners’ support for organ donation and may be effective at overcoming some of the qualms that deter them from joining the donor registry, a new study suggests. More than 570 African American, Hispanic, and white...
2024-04-25 - College of Liberal Arts & Sciences faculty members Alison Bell and Charles Gammie have been elected members of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences, one of the oldest honorary societies in the United States. Founded in 1780, the academy recognizes scientists, artists, scholars and leaders who have distinguished themselves in the public, private and nonprofit...
2024-04-24 - One day when she was a girl Wendy Heller got on her bicycle to go to school. The next thing she knew she was on the ground, her mangled bicycle beside her, and a stranger was asking if she was okay. Heller had no recollection of what happened, but it was the start of a fascinating journey into the many things that affect the mind. “This was very, very disturbing but it was also very, very...
2024-04-24 - On any given drive across the countryside you may see cornfields or a forest. Chunyuan Diao, a professor in the Department of Geography & Geographic Information Science, sees a complex terrestrial ecosystem that can provide clues to improving food security, climate change, and sustainability. Diao joined the U of I in 2017 and she has become a highly...
2024-04-19 - The call for reparations for people of African descent to compensate for slavery has a long history, but it has been discussed more broadly and gained support in recent years. Illinois, California and New York have established commissions to examine how to address the repercussions of slavery and racial discrimination, and several cities have done so as well. Last year, Evanston, Illinois,...
2024-04-19 - Three professors in the College of LAS have been elected 2023 Fellows of the American Association for the Advancement of Science. They are among the 502 scientists, engineers and innovators recognized for their scientifically and socially distinguished achievements by the world’s largest general scientific society. The new fellows are ...
2024-04-17 - Carbon monoxide emissions from industrial production have serious consequences for human health and are a strong indicator of overall air pollution levels. Many countries aim to reduce their emissions, but they cannot control air flows originating in other regions. A new study from the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign looks at global flows of air pollution and how they relate to economic...
2024-04-16 - Three College of LAS students were awarded U.S. Department of State Critical Language Scholarships to study foreign languages this summer. Shireen Aydogan, Karel Pene, and Sylvia Techmanski received full scholarships to spend 8-10 weeks abroad studying one of 14 critical languages. The program is part of an initiative to expand the number of Americans...
2024-04-16 - College of LAS student Sylvia E was awarded a Barry M. Goldwater scholarship, which is granted to individuals for their potential to contribute to the advancement of research in the natural sciences, mathematics, or engineering. The Barry M. Goldwater Scholarship and Excellence in Education Program was established by Congress in 1986 to honor...
2024-04-12 - A professor from the College of Liberal Arts & Sciences been awarded a 2024 Guggenheim Fellowship. Evolution, ecology and behavior professor Alison Bell is among 188 writers, scholars, artists and scientists chosen through a rigorous peer-review process from nearly 3,000 applicants, according to the John Simon...
2024-04-11 - An annual study of recent alumni reports that 91 percent of LAS alumni who graduated during the 2022-2023 period secured a first destination within six months of commencement. Of that figure, 50 percent of new graduates found employment and 40 percent sought further education such as graduate or professional school. Roughly 1 percent went into volunteer or service work. The average salary for...
Book: What scholars need to know to thrive in the competitive world of research, creative enterprise2024-04-09 - Before his service as director of the White House Office of Science and Technology Policy and science advisor in 2019, meteorology professor Kelvin Droegemeier developed an online course designed to give researchers from all disciplines the skills needed to navigate the complex landscape of scholarly endeavor. Droegemeier thought that there was a lot of valuable information in those videos,...
2024-04-05 - In January the University of Illinois announced that five College of LAS faculty members have been named university endowed chairs or professors, an honor awarded to highly distinguished scholars for excellence in research, teaching, and service. We asked each of them to...
2024-04-02 - A new method safely extracts valuable metals locked up in discarded electronics and low-grade ore using dramatically less energy and fewer chemical materials than current methods, report University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign researchers in the journal Nature Chemical Engineering. Gold and platinum group metals such as palladium, platinum, and iridium are in high demand for use in...
2024-04-01 - Have you ever wondered how plants protect themselves from predators? This is a question Erinn Dady addresses in her research as a graduate student in the Department of Entomology. Dady grew up in Champaign-Urbana. Prior to becoming a plant researcher she worked for several years in local restaurants, including as the head pastry chef...
2024-03-29 - Leslie Looney is an astronomy professor and director of the Laboratory for Astronomical Imaging. He spoke with News Bureau physical sciences and media editor Lois Yoksoulian about the significance of solar eclipses and what to expect on April 8. There are many different types of solar eclipses: What kind will North America witness in April...
2024-03-29 - Some political figures seek to remove references to slavery from the study of American history, adding to the vast knowledge gaps that stem from the transatlantic slave trade. To better understand these histories, scholars and individuals are turning to genetic genealogy to discover and retrace descendant-family lineages. In a recent paper published in the journal American Anthropologist,...
2024-03-25 - How well do Americans succeed at distinguishing statements of fact from statements of opinion? The answer: Not very well at all, according to new research co-written by a team of University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign scholars. Americans struggle to tell the difference between statements of fact and statements of opinion – a troubling trend that has grave implications for civic discourse and...
2024-03-21 - Brian Gaines is a professor of political science and the Honorable W. Russell Arrington Professor in State Politics at the U of I System’s Institute of Government and Public Affairs. Gaines, who studies elections and public opinion, spoke with News Bureau business and law editor Phil Ciciora about the state of the...
2024-03-19 - New, highly stretchable sensors can monitor and transmit plant growth information without human intervention, report University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign researchers in the journal Device. The polymer sensors are resilient to humidity and temperature, can stretch over 400 percent while remaining attached to a plant as it grows and send a wireless signal to a remote monitoring location,...