MCB

Cholesterol metabolite causes immune system to attack T cells instead of breast cancer, study finds

2020-09-15

In breast cancer tumors, a molecule produced when the body breaks down cholesterol hijacks the myeloid immune cells that normally arm T cells to fight cancer, a new study in mice found. Instead, the hijacked myeloid cells disarm the T cells and even tell them to self-destruct.

Summer undergraduate research in the age of COVID-19

2020-09-14

A tight shot of a microscope with a soft orange gradient layer.

For years, the School of Molecular and Cellular Biology has offered undergraduates the opportunity to pursue hands-on research under the guidance of our accomplished faculty. But when the COVID-19 pandemic effectively shut down campus in spring, it was unclear how or even if undergraduate research...

MCB researchers shed light that detoxification machinery is kept on in some liver disease states

2020-09-14

Left: Bhoomika Mathur, PhD graduate from the Anakk lab. Right: Professor Sayee Anakk.

Bile acids are cholesterol metabolites that are well known for their role in fat digestion. Many liver diseases such as gallstones, fatty liver disease, congenital disorders lead to cholestasis, which is characterized as accumulation of bile acids in the liver. The Anakk laboratory at the...

Collaborative team awarded $12.5 million for new NSF Biology Integration Institute

2020-09-10

The National Science Foundation (NSF) announced a five-year, $12.5 million grant to integrate biology to a collaborative team based in the Carl R. Woese Institute for Genomic Biology at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign. The new institute, Genomics and Eco-evolution of Multi-scale...

Remembering Ananda Mohan Chakrabarty

2020-09-02

Faculty in the University of Illinois School of Molecular and Cellular Biology and Department of Biochemistry are remembering the late Professor Ananda Mohan Chakrabarty, who passed away on July 10, 2020, in Chicago.

Asma Hatoum-Aslan, new microbiology professor, named Burroughs Wellcome Fund Investigator

2020-08-31

Congratulations to University of Illinois professor Asma Hatoum-Aslan, who was recently named a 2020 Investigator in the Pathogenesis of Infectious Disease by the Burroughs Wellcome Fund.

Precision pathogenesis: a novel approach for studying bacterial toxins in disease

2020-08-18

Illustration of a mouse, with the side view of the abdomen mapping out organs.

In a recent publication, the lab of Steven Blanke, Professor of Microbiology and Ralph S. Wolfe Professorial Scholar, has introduced a new approach for observing the effects of the microbe Helicobacter pylori’s single protein toxin, called the vacuolating cytotoxin, or VacA, in the absence of...

Decoy receptor neutralizes coronavirus in cell cultures

2020-08-04

As the COVID-19 pandemic continues to spread, scientists and health care providers are seeking ways to keep the coronavirus from infecting tissues once they’re exposed. A new study suggests luring the virus with a decoy – an engineered, free-floating receptor protein – that binds the virus and...

MCB students launch big dreams with the iVenture program

2020-07-24

iVenture is a year-long program that aids student entrepreneurs from across campus to develop their startup ideas. The program provides students with multiple resources and support to help their venture succeed.

Researchers uncover a key mechanism for embryonic implantation during early pregnancy

2020-07-14

Nearly two percent of pregnant women will face recurrent miscarriages, defined as the spontaneous loss of three or more consecutive pregnancies. Of that two percent, half of those miscarriages cannot be explained. Scientists assume genetic factors may play a role, but to date they have not been...

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