URBANA, Ill. – The state of Illinois has experienced a consistent decrease in the population since 2014. A new report from the University of Illinois suggests statewide paid parental leave policy could be the part of the answer to reversing the flood of residents out of the state and invigorating population growth. 

URBANA, Ill. – Alexander County sits near the confluence of the Mississippi and Ohio Rivers, at the southernmost tip of Illinois. The sparsely populated jurisdiction is perhaps best known for devastating floods resulting from repeated failures of the Len Small levee in 1993, 2011, and 2016. Homes and businesses have been severely damaged, residents stranded, and rich agricultural land irreversibly degraded by sand deposition and erosion.

URBANA, Ill. ­– Urban areas face increasing problems with stormwater management. Impervious surfaces on roads and buildings cause flooding, which impacts the water quality of streams, rivers and lakes. Green infrastructure, including features such as rain barrels, green roofs, rain gardens, and on-site water treatment, can provide affordable and environmentally sound ways to manage precipitation.

CHAMPAIGN, Ill. — Artificial sweeteners such as sucralose provide the seductive taste of sweetness without the calories contained in sugar – a seeming win-win for people who need to control their blood sugar and insulin levels or weight.

However, simply tasting or consuming sucralose may affect blood glucose and insulin levels on glucose tolerance tests, scientists at the University of Illinois found in a new study.

Read more from the Illinois News Bureau.

CHAMPAIGN, Ill. —  University of Illinois Provost Andreas C. Cangellaris held the investiture of Stephen P. Long as the Stanley O. Ikenberry Chair Professor of Plant Biology and Crop Sciences on Jan. 27 at the Spurlock Museum. 

To encourage and support ACES undergraduate students to pursue work related to food and nutritional security in low and middle income countries, the ACES Office of International Programs has launched the Global Food Security Scholars internship program.

Five talented and motivated ACES undergraduate students have been selected to receive salary support for an approved on-campus internship during spring semester 2020. Selected scholars will also receive up to $1500 to support the costs of participating in an international travel experience that is associated with the internship.

URBANA, Ill. – In the battle against herbicide-resistant weeds, farmers are increasingly eager to add non-chemical control methods to their management toolbox. Impact mills, which destroy weed seeds picked up by a combine, have been shown to kill 70-99% of weed seeds in soybeans, wheat, and other small-statured cropping systems.

A new research collaboration will shed new light on soil samples from the University of Illinois’ Morrow Plots, the oldest agricultural research field in the United States. The collaboration between the Biomedical Imaging Center at the Beckman Institute and the College of Agricultural, Consumer, and Environmental Sciences aims to develop new methods and models to study how different soil processes affect soil and plant health. Read more.

URBANA, Ill. – Robert G. F. Spitze was a true champion for faculty and student success during his 30-year tenure in the College of Agricultural, Consumer and Environmental Sciences (ACES). Spitze passed away on January 21, 2020.

URBANA, Ill. – The U.S. and China recently agreed to a phase one trade deal that aims to resolve the current trade war between the two countries. But that is just the latest development in longstanding and complicated U.S.-Chinese trade disputes.