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Two undergrads improve plant carbon-cycle models

Diana Yates.

In the summer of 2012, two undergraduate students tackled a problem that plant ecology experts had overlooked for 30 years. The students demonstrated that different plant…

How iBioFAB is building on changes in synthetic biology

Emily Scott.

In the concourse research lab of IGB, a robotic system is changing the face of synthetic biology.

Described as a one-of-a-kind “living foundry,” the system is a platform…

Brief interactions spur lasting waves of gene activity in the brain

Diana Yates.

A five-minute encounter with an outsider spurs a cascade of changes in gene activity in the brain that can last for hours, researchers report in a study of stickleback fish.…

DOE Funds Major Bioenergy Research Center At Illinois Through IGB and iSEE


The U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) is doubling down on energy research at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, funding a multi-million dollar Bioenergy Research…

New grant to study fish genomics, behavior

Kathryne Metcalf.

The three-spined stickleback is a funny sort of a fish. They’re somewhat non-distinct: drabbish silver, small, and minnow-like, native to salt- and freshwater bodies throughout…

Study identifies key player in heart enlargement

Steph Adams.

The heart is a dynamic muscle that grows and shrinks in response to stressors such as exercise and disease. The secret to its malleability lies in individual cells, which get…

Report evaluates computational genomics skills of African scientists

Emily Scott.

A new paper co-authored by Illinois and African scientists describes how an African bioinformatics network tested researchers’ ability to perform computational genomics tasks…

Rachel Whitaker Receives Allen Distinguished Investigator Award


The Paul G. Allen Frontiers Group today announced five new Allen Distinguished Investigator (ADI) awards to researchers conducting pioneering research in epigenetics, aging,…

Foundation for Food and Agriculture Research Supports Crops in Silico

Olivia Harris

The Foundation for Food and Agriculture Research (FFAR) has awarded Principal Investigator Amy Marshall-Colón, Assistant Professor of Plant Biology at the University of…