There is much more carbon stored in Earth’s soil than in its atmosphere. A significant portion of this soil carbon is in organic form (carbon bound to carbon), called soil organic carbon (SOC). Notably, unlike the inorganic carbon in soils, the amount of SOC, and how quickly it is built up or lost, can be influenced by humans. Since its advent about 10,000 years ago, agriculture has caused a significant amount of SOC to be released into the atmosphere as carbon dioxide, contributing to climate change. 

URBANA, Ill. – What are the most important factors to consider for developing effective drug use prevention programs? Many current programs for adolescents focus on elements including peer and family relationships, school connection, and youth’s self-confidence and self-assertion. However, a new study from the University of Illinois suggests another factor may be equally–or even more–influential: whether the youth believes drug use is wrong.

URBANA, Ill. – In Kirsten Wyatt’s agriculture science classroom in Paxton, an unusual piece of equipment helps high school students learn genomics. Not a microscope or a PCR machine, but a popcorn popper.

This week’s 5 Questions Friday features Jorden Brotherton, professor in the Department of Food Science and Human Nutrition. He teaches hospitality management and oversees the Spice Box, a fine-dining, student-run restaurant in Bevier Hall.

What books are you currently reading (non-work)?

URBANA, Ill. – It’s exciting to once again welcome high school students to the University of Illinois to explore all you can be part of after graduation.

If you care about science and the environment, you will be especially interested in a new opportunity. Experience ACES Visit Days will spotlight programs that feature a food, farming, and family foundation.

You will learn so much. And even experience some surprises.

This week’s 5 Questions Friday features Tyler Swanson, ACE major with environmental economics & policy concentration

Where did you grow up? Do you have an agriculture background? If so, please describe.

Agricultural runoff from Midwestern farms is a major contributor to a vast “dead zone” in the Gulf of Mexico. Nitrogen, phosphorous and other farm nutrients drain into the Mississippi River, which empties into the Gulf, spurring algae to overpopulate and suffocating other aquatic life. Illinois is a main culprit in this ongoing environmental blight. News Bureau life sciences editor Diana Yates spoke with U. of I.

URBANA, Ill. – Interpersonal trust is a crucial component of healthy relationships. When we interact with strangers, we quickly gauge whether we can trust them. And those important social skills may be shaped by our earliest relationship with caregivers.

Adolescents who had an insecure attachment to their mothers as toddlers are more likely to overestimate the trustworthiness of strangers, according to a new study from the University of Illinois.

International Seed Grant recipients from the College of Agricultural, Consumer and Environmental Sciences (ACES) continue to use this longstanding, successful program as a springboard to build new collaborations and make impacts around the world.  

Urbana, Ill. – A new study by Cancer Center at Illinois Education Program Leader, Zeynep Madak-Erdogan and her team, have found a new mechanism of endocrine resistance in breast cancers metastasized to the liver. Madak-Erdogan is an associate professor in the Department of Food Science and Human Nutrition.