Genetics

Alumna Dr. Irene Jones, retired geneticist, establishes graduate fellowship fund

2026-03-16

On April 26, 1986, reactor number four at the Chernobyl Nuclear Plant exploded, causing a fire to erupt and releasing massive amounts of radioactive material. It remains one of the worst nuclear disasters in human history and its effects are still being studied by scientists today.As a biologist at...

With, not on: Reimagining autism in research

2024-06-13

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...

Decoding the molecular clock that controls neurogenesis in visual center of Drosophila

2022-04-01

The nervous system is made up of diverse cells that arise from progenitors in a specific time-dependent pattern. In a new study, published in Nature Communications, researchers have uncovered the molecular players involved and how the timing is controlled.

Synergistic Toxicity of Nitric Oxide and Hydrogen Peroxide Triggers Catastrophic Chromosomal Fragmentation

2021-06-24

Green Florescent Protein (GFP) being expressed in a strain of E.coli in L.B. agar medium .The plate in the center is the control that is not expressing any GFP.

Professor Andrei Kuzminov and PhD student Pooja Agashe from the Department of Microbiology at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign recently explored hydrogen peroxide’s synergistic effects with nitric oxide (NO).

Researchers identify mechanisms of controlling regeneration for two chromatin-remodeling complexes of Drosophila

2021-04-06

Illustrations - The fly Drosophila has two SWI/SNF nucleosome remodeling complexes, which control different aspects of tissue regeneration--growth and cell fate--as revealed by mutant phenotypes.

Rachel Smith-Bolton, a professor of cell and developmental biology at the University of Illinois, leads an exciting research program on tissue regeneration. Her recent work uses Drosophila as a model to explore the effects of different chromatin modifiers on initiating, spatially controlling, and...

Team deciphers how myotonic dystrophy generates lethal heart dysfunctions

2020-06-08

Roughly 80% of people with myotonic dystrophy – a common form of muscular dystrophy – experience dangerous heart ailments, and heart rhythm defects are the second-leading cause of death in those with the condition. In a new study, researchers traced the molecular events that lead to heart...

John Cronan Lab: Solving the process of lipoic acid assembly in humans

2018-07-24

The Cronan lab recently published a paper in PNAS titled “Protein moonlighting elucidates the essential human pathway catalyzing lipoic acid assembly on its cognate enzymes.”