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News about research advances, awards, and more.
When an orange behaves like an apple: New research pinpoints rules governing reaction outcomes of G-protein-modifying toxins
A group of researchers from the University of Illinois has identified a set of rules governing the reaction preferences of a family of G-protein-modifying toxins. G proteins are proteins that regulate cellular processes through interactions between hormone receptors and downstream signaling...
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From 'CyberSlug' to 'CyberOctopus': New AI explores, remembers, seeks novelty, overcomes obstacles
By giving artificial intelligence simple associative learning rules based on the brain circuits that allow a sea slug to forage — and augmenting it with better episodic memory, like that of an octopus — scientists have built an AI that can navigate new environments, seek rewards, map landmarks and...
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With, not on: Reimagining autism in research
In the past six months, Laura Hetrick has spoken to more researchers than she has in her last 14 years at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign.
“The last thing an autistic person wants to hear is, ‘You...
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New antibiotic kills pathogenic bacteria, spares healthy gut microbes
Researchers have developed a new antibiotic that reduced or eliminated drug-resistant bacterial infections in mouse models of acute pneumonia and sepsis while sparing healthy microbes in the mouse gut. The drug, called lolamicin, also warded off secondary infections with Clostridioides...
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New study highlights need for cell-type-specific therapies in treatment of HIV
Researchers from the University of Illinois have demonstrated the importance of cell-type-specific targeting in the treatment of HIV. Their findings, published in PNAS, are one of the first to examine the differential or cell-type...
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Researchers decode movement pattern of landmark polar protein
A trio of researchers from the Department of Microbiology has discovered an essential function of a landmark protein in regulating movement across bacterial cells.
Members of the Mera Lab determined how the coiled-coil polar protein TipN moves a region of the chromosome called parS. They also...
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New study seeks to better understand virus shedding patterns
A new study from the School of Molecular & Cellular Biology seeks to better understand shedding patterns among common respiratory viruses by closely examining the immune system before, during, and after infection.
The FLUdetect study, headed by...
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Congratulations to winners of the 2024 Graduate Research Retreat
The School of Molecular & Cellular Biology is pleased to announce the award winners from the 2024 Graduate Research Retreat, held at the I Hotel and Illinois Conference Center on Friday, March 29. Awards were...
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Researchers identify key regulators underlying regeneration in Drosophila
Some animals possess the remarkable ability to regenerate lost structures, exemplified by a lizard regrowing its tail. However, this regenerative process must be tightly regulated by the body to ensure proper tissue organization and to prevent abnormal growths, such as cancer. Yet, the precise...
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New study uncovers novel receptor function in Fragile X syndrome
Fragile X syndrome is one of the most commonly inherited forms of autism and intellectual disability, and no treatment currently exists. But a team of University of Illinois researchers led by Vipendra Kumar, a postdoctoral researcher in the Department of Molecular & Integrative Physiology, has...