Biochemistry

Scientists discover how antibiotics penetrate Gram-negative bacterial cell walls

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.

New "Cryo-EM" technology illuminates life

2021-11-02

Researcher pours ice to prepare specimens for cryo-EM.

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.

Biotech leader reflects on his career, extends support for next generation of innovators

2021-10-15

Illinois alumnus Michael Recny and his family (daughter, Brenna; wife, Cate; son, Donovan) sit together on a beach in various shades of light blue and white.

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...

Biochemistry professor Nicholas Wu earns NIH Director's New Innovator Award

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.

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

2021-09-20

Illustration of the ultrastructural morphology exhibited by SARS-CoV-2 and the spike proteins that adorn the outer surface of the virus.

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...

In Memoriam: Albert Feng, professor and former head of molecular and integrative physiology

2021-09-15

Text: In Memoriam, Professor Albert Feng

Albert Feng, a passionate and beloved scholar who studied the neural basis of sound communication, has passed away.

Light can trigger key signaling pathway for embryonic development, cancer

2021-08-17

Blue light is illuminating new understanding of a key signaling pathway in embryo development, tissue maintenance, and cancer genesis.

New approach eradicates breast cancer in mice

2021-07-20

Researchers discovered a small molecule, ErSO, that eradicates breast cancers in mice by targeting a pathway that protects cancer cells. Photo by L. Brian Stauffer

A new approach to treating breast cancer kills 95-100% of cancer cells in mouse models of human estrogen-receptor-positive breast cancers and their metastases in bone, brain, liver and lungs. The newly developed drug, called ErSO, quickly shrinks even large tumors to undetectable levels.

Cancer Center at Illinois awards two MCB PhD students scholarships for research projects

2021-07-13

Block I with text: Cancer Center at Illinois

Congratulations to two School of Molecular & Cellular Biology PhD students who have been awarded Cancer Center at Illinois (CCIL) Graduate Cancer Scholarships to pursue cancer research projects under the mentorship of Illinois scientists.

MCB faculty among recipients of Cancer Center at Illinois seed grants

2021-06-23

Nine interdisciplinary projects designed by University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign faculty, including several from the School of Molecular & Cellular Biology, were selected for the Cancer Center at Illinois (CCIL) annual seed grant awards.

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