Microbial gene discovery could mean greater gut health
URBANA, Ill. – As the owner of a human body, you’re carrying trillions of microbes with you everywhere you go. These microscopic organisms aren’t just hitching a ride; many of them perform essential chemical reactions that regulate everything from our digestion to our immune system to our moods.
Sophomore embraces food justice, offers advice for new students
We can’t get everything we want, and if you’ve ever wanted something really badly but didn’t get it, you know how true this statement is. This might resonate especially well with high school seniors who didn’t end up going to their dream college.
Soy kits provide earning power for women entrepreneurs in Malawi
URBANA, Ill. – Women’s ability to work as entrepreneurs can help alleviate poverty and malnutrition in developing countries. As local governments and development organizations aim to encourage business opportunities, it’s important to identify projects suited for women’s lives in rural households.
Excitement surrounds roster of 2021 ACES student awards
URBANA, Ill. – Each year the College of Agricultural, Consumer and Environmental Sciences at University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign presents top awards to outstanding junior and senior level ACES students. Last week, ACES shared the great news with the 2021 recipients of the Hugh P. Morrison Award, Robert M. Harrison Leadership Award, and Warren K. Wessels Award.
Kefir packs less of a probiotic punch than labels claim
URBANA, Ill. – Gut health is having a moment, with sales of fermented foods such as kefir, kombucha, and kimchi steadily on the rise. The benefits of “good bacteria” in fermented foods and supplements go well beyond the gut, moderating immune responses, heart health, weight, and even mood. But do products hold up to the claims on their labels?
Professionals credit robust online master’s work with ag career successes
URBANA, Ill. – Alex Pate is on a mission to make sure fellow Chicagoans have access to healthy, locally grown foods. As a farm manager with City Farm, the oldest sustainable urban farm in the city, Pate collaborates with mutual aid organizations to get free produce in the hands of those who need it.
Growing sweet corn at higher densities doesn’t increase root lodging risk
URBANA, Ill. – Sweet corn growers and processors could be bringing in more profits by exploiting natural density tolerance traits in certain hybrids. That’s according to 2019 research from USDA Agricultural Research Service (ARS) and University of Illinois scientists.
ACES alum’s gift encourages professional development for ABE students
URBANA, Ill. - A lot can change in 100 years, and a lot has, especially in the agriculture industry. Much of this growth is thanks to the research and innovation of brilliant individuals who attended schools like the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign and its highly ranked Department of Agricultural and Biological Engineering (ABE), which turns 100 years old this year.
Genetic markers developed to census endangered rhinoceros
URBANA, Ill. -- Today, the Sumatran rhinoceros (Dicerorhinus sumatrensis) is critically endangered, with fewer than 100 individuals surviving in Indonesia on the islands of Sumatra and Borneo. To ensure survival of the threatened species, accurate censusing is necessary to determine the genetic diversity of remaining populations for conservation and management plans.
ACES and Sierra Leone’s Njala University continue more than 55 years of collaboration
Advancing its long legacy of collaborations and capacity-building projects around the world, the College of Agriculture, Consumer and Environmental Sciences (ACES) remains engaged with one of its first international partners, Sierra Leone’s Njala University.