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News about research advances, awards, and more.
Long-term alcohol use suspends liver cells in limbo, preventing regeneration
Excessive alcohol consumption can disrupt the liver’s unique regenerative abilities by trapping cells in limbo between their functional and regenerative states, even after a patient stops drinking, researchers at University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign and collaborators at Duke University and the...
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Microbiologists uncover novel proteins essential for maintaining magnesium homeostasis in Salmonella
In a newly published research, scientists from the School of Molecular & Cellular Biology have reported the discovery of novel proteins that keep Salmonella’s magnesium levels in balance.Yumi Iwadate, postdoctoral research...
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High-volume antibody testing platform could accelerate disease research and treatment development
Antibodies are the critical targeting agents of the immune system and the crux of immune therapy and vaccine development, but studying them is slow, expensive and labor-intensive. Now, researchers at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign have developed a new high-volume method that can...
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MCB graduate research shines at annual retreat
Over 240 scholars from across the School of Molecular & Cellular Biology and related units gathered at the I Hotel and Conference Center on Aug. 19, 2025, for the school's annual Graduate Research Retreat. Seventy-two graduate students presented their research as oral or poster presentations....
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Map-making neurons change even in familiar settings, study finds
Neurobiologists at Northwestern University and the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign, including Jason Climer in the School of Molecular & Cellular Biology, found the brain’s internal GPS changes each time mice navigate a...
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Fruit fly study reveals a gene’s hidden ability to keep regrowth on the right track
Regeneration, the ability to heal damaged or lost tissues, is both everyday and a real life superpower. Health research inspired by the remarkable regeneration of animals like starfish or the salamanders axolotls asks how future therapeutics could promote the regrowth of hard-to-heal tissues, limbs...
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Colorectal cancer treated with cholesterol inhibitor in U. of I. study
University of Illinois researchers have successfully treated a common type of colorectal cancer tumor with a cholesterol inhibitor drug, demonstrating a promising treatment for the disease in animal experiments.The study,...
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New study reveals critical regulatory role of protein BRD4 in colorectal cancer chemotherapy resistance
School of Molecular & Cellular Biology professor Lin-Feng Chen has published new research reporting an important factor driving chemoresistance for patients with colorectal cancer. The research was published in the journal...
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To overcome antibiotic resistance, new research says to let it flow
Some notoriously difficult to treat infections may not be as resistant to antibiotics as has been thought, according to new research using a microfluidic device that more closely duplicates the fluid flow found in the body than standard cultures.
The University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign...
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Genome map of yerba mate reveals insights into caffeine biosynthesis, paves way for new varieties
A recent biochemistry PhD graduate was part of the team of researchers to generate the first genome assembly of Yerba mate, a plant species and herbal tea native to South America. The resulting structural data, published in eLife, provides...