Research

Supported by a $2 million grant from the National Institutes of Health, the Auerbach Lab will examine how different genes associated with autism spectrum disorders may similarly impact our brain’s neurons, resulting in heightened sensitivity to sounds.  Autism spectrum disorders are...

The gut microbiome interacts with the loss of female sex hormones to exacerbate metabolic disease, including weight gain, fat in the liver and the expression of genes linked with inflammation, researchers found in a new rodent study. The findings, published in the journal...

A new study by University of Illinois scientist Dr. Kannanganattu V. Prasanth and his team of researchers at Illinois and across multiple institutions has shed light on a novel family of noncoding RNAs (ncRNAs), and their significant...

Chemists have determined for the first time the crystal structure and unlocked the mechanism of reaction activity of a key component of the monensin enzyme.  “The main finding was the first crystal structure for this family of enzymes,” said...

Salmonella is notorious for surviving and replicating in macrophages, which are normally lethal to invading bacteria because of their inhospitable environment. In a new study, researchers have discovered how a system of proteins, called TamAB, helps Salmonella survive under the...

Estrogen receptor-positive breast cancer is the most common form of breast cancer, affecting approximately 75 percent of breast cancer patients. In advanced and metastatic form, it is lethal, claiming the lives of nearly 350,000 individuals annually. Presently, no drug is able to eradicate these...

When confronted with infection or injury, our body rallies to fight and heal itself and inflammation is a key part of this early defense system. But inflammation can also go awry, as exhibited in chronic illnesses such as obesity and type 2 diabetes. Biochemistry professor...

University of Illinois researchers have elucidated a mechanism whereby gastric cells detect and respond to toxin infiltration within the cell’s powerhouse, the mitochondria. The Blanke lab, within the Department of Microbiology in the School of Molecular & Cellular...

Hypopituitarism occurs when the pituitary gland, a small, pea-sized gland at the base of the brain, does not make enough hormones that are essential for growth, metabolism, and reproduction.  Lori Raetzman, a professor of...