2021-12-06
- In order to cause disease, the human pathogen Staphylococcus aureus must adapt to the changing host environment. Many of these adaptations are mediated through two-component signal transduction systems (TCSs) that coordinate gene expression in response to environmental stimuli. In a new study reported in the Journal of Bacteriology, researchers at Illinois provide insight into the signal...
2021-12-02 - In the last decade, scientists have discovered that the antiviral system known as cGAS-STING is an important innate immune system in humans because it senses double-stranded DNA in cytoplasm resulting from viral and bacterial infections. Recent research shows that the cGAS-STING system may have its evolutionary origin from bacteria. cGAS-STING shares similar mechanisms to cyclic-oligonucleotide-...
2021-11-24 - Chemical disinfection makes water from both natural sources and wastewater streams drinkable; however, the process also creates byproducts, not all of which are understood or regulated. A new study from University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign researchers has found that one byproduct disrupts hormones in the brain that regulate the female reproductive cycle in mice and also damages cells in the...
2021-11-19 - Longtime Urbana resident Eric Jakobsson is being remembered as a devoted husband and father, a brilliant scientist and mentor, a political bridge-builder and all-around nice guy.
2021-11-17 - The School of Molecular & Cellular Biology is pleased to announce the winners of its annual Undergraduate Research Symposium.
2021-11-13 - Researchers at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign are hopeful their findings on the gating mechanisms behind epilepsy-associated potassium channels could provide a foundation for new therapeutic strategies for treating epilepsy, especially in young patients. Their research was recently published in Communications Biology.
2021-11-11 - Biochemistry researchers at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign are conducting trailblazing work on a group of conserved proteins that are directly related to abnormal cell proliferation and developmental and neurological disorders. In a new article published in Cell Reports, biochemistry professor Hong Jin and her team have deciphered the function of developmentally-related GTPase (Drg)...
2021-11-11 - This Veterans Day, student researcher Elizabeth Spurlock reflects on her experience investigating issues related to brain health in populations who have served. Her research is conducted in partnership with the Beckman Institute and the Chez Veteran Center at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign.
2021-11-11 - For the past few decades, scientists have observed a trend of increased height and younger age of puberty onset in humans. Now, research outlining a new pathway in humans linking body fat to puberty onset and growth could provide an explanation as to why these changes are occurring. Their findings could have dramatic implications for diseases and conditions that cause loss of lean mass, delayed...
2021-11-09 - In a study reported in the journal Chemical Science, researchers developed a new method to determine how antibiotics with specific chemical properties thread their way through tiny pores in the otherwise impenetrable cell envelopes of Gram-negative bacteria.
2021-11-02 - Thanks to the installation of a cryogenic electron microscope at the University of Illinois, researchers are exploring what was once hidden or difficult to study at the molecular level.
2021-10-19 - The School of Molecular & Cellular Biology partnered with the eClose Institute to offer a new program for middle and high school students from historically excluded groups that introduces them to scientific research opportunities.
2021-10-15 - From helping bring a powerful, first-in-class HIV treatment to market to his most recent position as the CEO and co-owner of a preclinical contract research organization, Michael Recny (PhD, biochemistry, ’83) has paved a successful career path in the biotechnology industry, a field that was just emerging at the time he graduated from the University of Illinois.
2021-10-11 - The School of Molecular & Cellular Biology and Department of Cell & Developmental Biology are thrilled to welcome new faculty member Kevin Van Bortle! He joins us from the Stanford University School of Medicine, where he conducted his postdoctoral research. We recently spoke with him about his research and teaching interests, what drew him to the University of Illinois, and how he spends...
2021-10-05 - Nicholas Wu, a professor of biochemistry at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign, has received a National Institutes of Health Director’s New Innovator Award, part of the Common Fund’s High-Risk, High-Reward Research program.