Carrots are healthy, but active enzyme unlocks full benefits
URBANA, Ill. – Carrots are a good source of beta-carotene, which is a precursor of vitamin A. But to get the full health benefits of this superfood, you need an active enzyme to produce this vitamin.
Male weeds may hold key to their own demise
URBANA, Ill. – Scientists are getting closer to finding the genes for maleness in waterhemp and Palmer amaranth, two of the most troublesome agricultural weeds in the U.S.
Finding the genes could enable new “genetic control” methods for the weeds, which, in many places, no longer respond to herbicides.
Animal sciences professor Ryan Dilger honored as University Scholar
CHAMPAIGN, Ill. — Ryan Dilger, associate professor in the Department of Animal Sciences, has been named one of five University Scholars at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign campus. The honor recognizes excellence in teaching, scholarship, and service.
New ACES major prepares students to make an impact across the food system
URBANA, Ill. – Sustainability is an important focus in the College of Agricultural, Consumer and Environmental Sciences (ACES) at University of Illinois, and students are learning how to create more sustainable systems across all of ACES’ areas of study.
Tanzania farmers distrust fertilizer quality, are less willing to pay for it
URBANA, Ill. – Smallholder farmers in Sub-Saharan Africa use fertilizer well below recommended rates, contributing to consistently low agricultural productivity. Farmers in Tanzania and Kenya, for example, apply just 13 kilograms of fertilizer per hectare, compared with 165 to 175 kilograms in India and Brazil. Low use directly affects cereal yields, which average 1.2 to 1.7 metric tons per hectare, compared to 4 to 4.5 metric tons in South America and Asia.
ACES offers Global Service Learning course as alternative to study abroad
While students wait eagerly for study abroad programs to open back up, the ACES Global Service Learning course is proving to be a fulfilling alternative.
ACES students engaging with worldwide partners through Global Virtual Experiences
Learning to adapt and overcome challenges are central competencies that can be learned through studying abroad, and 2020 has spurred a need for even more creativity and flexibility within the field. Given that travel restrictions have limited in-person experiences for students and institutions over the past nine months, virtual project-based programs have become increasingly present with opportunities for students to still connect around the world and develop global competencies in an innovative and resourceful way.
Racial microaggressions contribute to disparities in STEM education
URBANA, Ill. – Careers in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) are one of the fastest-growing areas of work in the United States, yet racial and gender disparities remain in STEM occupations.
New program for African American couples leads to stronger relationships, improved health
URBANA, Ill. – For individuals looking to improve their health in 2021, strengthening your couple relationship may be part of the answer, according to findings from a recent University of Illinois study.
The study examined long-term changes in partners’ health after participating in a new program for two-parent African American families.
Drones and AI detect soybean maturity with high accuracy
URBANA, Ill. – Walking rows of soybeans in the mid-summer heat is an exhausting but essential chore in breeding new cultivars. Researchers brave the heat daily during crucial parts of the growing season to look for plants showing desirable traits, such as early pod maturity. But without a way to automate detection of these traits, breeders can’t test as many plots as they’d like in a given year, elongating the time it takes to bring new cultivars to market.