HIGHLIGHTS
Awards
Ryan Bailey (Precision Proteomics, Chemistry) is one of 29 scientists who will receive the National Institutes of Health Director’s New Innovator Award for 2007.
Jonathan Sweedler (Precision Proteomics, Chemistry) received the Pittsburgh Analytical Chemistry Award in 2007 from the Society of Analytical Chemists of Pittsburgh for contributions to analytical chemistry.
Grants
H. Rex Gaskins, Eugene Greenberg, Carle Foundation, “Pilot Study to Establish Procedures that Enable Measurement of Sulfate-Reducing Bacteria and Sulfomucin Goblet Cells on Colonic Mucosa and Fecal Samples,” 4/30/06-4/29/07.
Hans Blaschek, Bryan White, Hao Feng, DOE, “Pre-Treatment and Conversion of Fiber-Rich Distillers Dried Grains for Productin of Value-Added Products,” 9/1/06-8/31/09.
Press Releases
Researchers observe spontaneous 'ratcheting' of single ribosome molecules (6/5/08) Researchers at the University of Illinois report this week that they are the first to observe the dynamic, ratchet-like movements of single ribosomal molecules in the act of building proteins from genetic blueprints.
Their study, published in the journal Molecular Cell, reveals a key mechanism in the interplay of molecules that allows cells to build the proteins needed to sustain life.
Novel Toxin Receptor Discovered for Ulcer-Causing Stomach Pathogen (5/22/08) Helicobacter pylori is one tough bug. It can survive in the human stomach, a zone with a pH somewhere between that of lemon juice and battery acid. Now researchers have discovered how an H. pylori toxin gets into cells, a feat that helps the bacterium live in one of the most inhospitable environments in the body.
In the News
Genetic Engineering
Medical News Today (Bexhill-on-Sea, England, June 20) -- “Until we resolve how we are going to deal with the food capabilities of this science (genetic engineering), the medical applications will remain largely undeveloped and many opportunities for curing and treating disease will go unrealized,” said Matthew Wheeler, a professor of animal sciences in the U. of I. Institute for Genomic Biology.
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Disappearance of Honey Bees
“Nature” (produced by WNET-Channel 13, New York City; broadcast by PBS June 15) -- U. of I. entomologists May Berenbaum and Gene Robinson were among the experts interviewed for “Silence of the Bees,” a documentary on the disappearance of honey bees.
read entire article
Also:
Evanston Review (Illinois, June 19) -- May Berenbaum, the head of the department of entomology at Illinois, runs the university's BeeSpotter program, a project that relies on citizen scientists to identify bee populations around Illinois.
Mundelein Review (Illinois, June 19)
Park Ridge Advocate (Illinois, June 19)
Pioneer Press (Glenview, Ill., June 19)
Vernon Hills Review (Illinois, June 19)
Wauconda Courier (Illinois, June 19)
Wilmette Life (Illinois, June 19)
