URBANA, Ill. – Proteins have been quietly taking over our lives since the COVID-19 pandemic began. We’ve been living at the whim of the virus’s so-called “spike” protein, which has mutated dozens of times to create increasingly deadly variants. But the truth is, we have always been ruled by proteins. At the cellular level, they’re responsible for pretty much everything.

URBANA, Ill. – Despite soybean’s high protein and oil content and its potential to boost food security on the continent, Africa produces less than 1% of the world’s soybean crop. Production lags, in part, because most soybean cultivars are bred for North and South American conditions that don’t match African environments.

URBANA, Ill. – For the first time, the University of Illinois’ annual Agronomy Day will take place in-person in multiple locations around the state throughout summer 2021. And, like last year’s virtual event, presentations will be made available online to those unable to travel or safely attend in-person events. The adjustments extend the event’s practical, science-based content to more participants than ever.

URBANA, Ill. – Looking back over the highlights and successes of his 40-year career in academic programs, Jesse Thompson returns to the same theme over and over—relationships.

“I guess my story kind of begins with my ag teacher,” Thompson says, recounting how the high school supporter helped shape his vision for a career. “He had aspirations for me that I didn’t have at that time.” From there, Thompson’s list of mentors—and students he has mentored over the years—only grows.

Most survivors of squamous cell head and neck cancers report that their sense of taste is dulled, changed or lost during radiation treatment, causing them to lose interest in eating and diminishing their quality of life.

Some of the greatest things about the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign are the diverse people you meet and the variety of classes you can take. You might even find your classes challenge some of your previously held ideas and experiences.

An hour before the sun goes down, my colleagues and I arrive at our site: a human-made pond in the middle of the forest. The high-pitched croaking of Cope's gray treefrogs greets us as we get out of our truck. Surrounded by trees and full of salamanders, these ponds are an essential water resource for our forest-dependent bats. We do a brief survey of the site, then set up our mist nets around the pond’s perimeter. We’re hoping to catch our target species – the Indiana bat, Myotis sodalis.

URBANA, Ill. - Graduate students at the University of Illinois looking to expand their careers in nutrition can now apply to a new certificate program, Nutrition Policy and Food/Feed Regulations, in the Division of Nutritional Sciences (DNS) at U of I.

The certificate program provides graduate students with the knowledge and skills needed to succeed in the regulatory environment of human food and feed industries and prepares them for leadership positions in industry and government.

URBANA, Ill. – For the most accurate accounting of a product’s environmental impact, scientists look at the product’s entire life cycle, from cradle to grave. It’s a grand calculation known as a life cycle assessment (LCA), and greenhouse gas emissions are a key component.

URBANA, Ill. – After nearly two years of construction, the new Feed Technology Center at the University of Illinois is complete and open for business. Bringing this facility online cements the university’s role as a national leader in animal nutrition innovation and signals its active collaboration with the grain, livestock, companion animal, and feed industries.