News

2020-01-24 - The Chan group has recently developed a probe named CoxFluor, which is able to distinguish between Cyclooxygenase-2, an enzyme that plays a major role in driving the progression of cancer, and Cyclooxygenase-1, which is expressed in all cells.

2020-01-22 - Composites made from self-assembling inorganic materials are valued for their unique strength and thermal, optical and magnetic properties. However, because self-assembly can be difficult to control, the structures formed can be highly disordered, leading to defects during large-scale production. Researchers at the University of Illinois and the University of Michigan have developed a templating...

2020-01-08 - Scientists have developed new drug compounds that thwart the pro-cancer activity of FOXM1, a transcription factor that regulates the activity of dozens of genes. The new compounds suppress tumor growth in human cells and in mouse models of several types of human breast cancer.

2019-12-16 - Nobel Laureate E.J. Corey, who served on the U of I chemistry faculty from 1951 to 1959, was recently featured in a special News-Gazette series, “University of Illinois: 150 Years and Beyond.”

2019-12-11 - The Miniature Brain Machinery (MBM) program announces new trainees beginning in January 2020. Each new trainee represents an underrepresented demographic in our field. Sara Bell, along with Ryan Miller, a second-year student in Chemical & Biomolecular Engineering, and Miles Norsworthy, a third-year Cell & Developmental Biology student, will join the 11 current trainees in...

2019-12-03 - Scott Denmark, the Reynold C. Fuson Professor of Chemistry, was recently named the 2020 recipient of the Paracelsus Prize by the Swiss Chemical Society. The prize recognizes Denmark’s role as an internationally recognized leader in the development of novel concepts of catalysis, very useful synthetic methods, and insightful mechanistic investigations in organic chemistry. Learn more about the...

2019-11-27 - By folding snippets of DNA into the shape of a five-pointed star using structural DNA nanotechnology, researchers have created a trap that captures Dengue virus as it floats in the bloodstream. Once sprung, the trap – which is non-toxic and is naturally cleared from the body – lights up. It’s the most sensitive test for the mosquito-borne diseases yet devised.

2019-11-27 - Research from the University of Illinois and the University of California, Davis has chemists one step closer to recreating nature’s most efficient machinery for generating hydrogen gas. This new development may help clear the path for the hydrogen fuel industry to move into a larger role in the global push toward more environmentally friendly energy sources.

2019-11-27 - Eight faculty members at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign have been named to the 2019 Highly Cited Researchers list, a global listing of scientists who produced the past decade’s most influential papers, compiled by the Web of Science group, a Clarivate Analytics company.

2019-11-26 - Professor Paul J. Hergenrother, Kenneth L. Rinehart Jr. Endowed Chair in Natural Products Chemistry, is one of 443 newly elected Fellows into the American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS). 

2019-11-26 - To alleviate migraine pain, people are commonly treated with opioids. But, while opioid treatment can provide temporary pain relief for episodic migraines, prolonged use can increase the frequency and severity of painful migraines.

2019-11-25 - Jeffrey Moore has been named the Stanley O. Ikenberry Endowed Chair, which is deemed to be among the most distinguished honors on campus. “All of our faculty stand out in many ways nationally and internationally and yet only a select few are chosen for named appointments,” Provost Andreas Cangellaris said. “This is especially true for the Swanlund endowed chair and the Ikenberry...

2019-11-20 - Researchers from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign and Northwestern University have made it possible to observe and simulate the self-assembly of crystalline materials at a much higher resolution than before.

2019-11-19 - A new web tool speeds the discovery of drugs to kill Gram-negative bacteria, which are responsible for the vast majority of antibiotic-resistant infections and deaths. The tool also offers insights into discrete chemical changes that can convert drugs that kill other bacteria into drugs to fight Gram-negative infections.

2019-11-14 - Scientists have simulated every atom of a light-harvesting structure in a photosynthetic bacterium that generates energy for the organism. The simulated organelle behaves just like its counterpart in nature, the researchers report. The work is a major step toward understanding how some biological structures convert sunlight into chemical energy, a biological innovation that is essential to life...