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COVID-19

Decoding Life with MCB: Decoy Proteins

Life is extraordinary. So is the work we do. In a brand new podcast, Decoding Life with MCB, the School of Molecular and Cellular Biology at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign explores the impact of our students, faculty, staff, and alumni in each episode.

Association of Computing Machinery recognizes researchers for their novel SARS-CoV2 simulations

Congratulations to the University of Illinois scientists who were part of two teams selected as finalists for a prestigious award that celebrates outstanding achievement in high-performance computing.

Antibodies from original strain COVID-19 infection don't bind to variants, study finds

People infected with the original strain of the virus that causes COVID-19 early in the pandemic produced a consistent antibody response, making two main groups of antibodies to bind to the spike protein on the virus’s outer surface. However, those antibodies don’t bind well to newer variants, a...

U of I president honors MCB researchers for their work on COVID-19 response

University of Illinois President Tim Killeen on Monday honored 28 key leaders of the system’s COVID-19 response with the Presidential Medallion. The medallion is the highest honor that the system president can bestow.

Frequent COVID-19 testing key to efficient, early detection, study finds

The chance of detecting the virus that causes COVID-19 increases with more frequent testing, no matter the type of test, a new study found. Both polymerase chain reaction and antigen tests, paired with rapid results reporting, can achieve 98% sensitivity if deployed at least every three days.

Effort to curb COVID-19 leads to a deeper understanding of communities and the disease

Several faculty from the College of Liberal Arts & Sciences, including microbiology professor Rachel Whitaker, are collaborating to help and learn from a town struck by the pandemic.

Geographies of death: Study maps COVID-19 health disparities in Greater Santiago

People up to age 40 living in economically depressed municipalities in the Greater Santiago, Chile, metropolitan area were three times more likely to die as a result of the infection than their counterparts in wealthier areas, researchers report in the journal Science. People ages 41-80 in low...

MCB students, faculty, and staff recognized for their extraordinary efforts during COVID-19

We’re proud to share the news that many School of Molecular & Cellular Biology students, faculty, and staff members have received College of Liberal Arts & Sciences Impact Awards. The awards, announced this week, recognize inspiring efforts during the COVID-19 pandemic. So many in our...

Chris Brooke on The 21st radio show: New variants, vaccines and the future of COVID-19

Chris Brooke, assistant professor of microbiology, recently spoke with The 21st public radio show about what scientists know about the virus that causes COVID-19, the emerging variants, and what they still have to learn.

Wu and collaborators develop new molecules which attack the virus that causes COVID-19 and resist 'escape' mutations

An international team of researchers including Nicholas Wu, a professor in the Department of Biochemistry, has published a new study which developed highly potent molecules that can neutralize SARS-CoV-2 by simultaneously targeting multiple sites of vulnerability on the virus.