Empowering over 600 farmers in Sierra Leone through service learning
Through my studies at the University of Illinois, I have developed a close affinity to Sierra Leone. In no way am I a Sierra Leonean, but I am a friend.
International sabbaticals benefit faculty and college
An international sabbatical promotes professional and personal development and can increase an individual’s value to the university, as demonstrated by several College of Agricultural, Consumer and Environmental Sciences (ACES) faculty who have pursued such opportunities to study and conduct research in a foreign country.
Illinois researchers spearhead efforts to establish guidelines for personalized nutrition approaches
Personalized nutrition (PN) has gained popularity in recent years as a customized approach to health outcomes. PN combines biomedical, genetic, and lifestyle data to provide individualized recommendations, and a plethora of companies offer various forms of health screenings, apps, programs, products, and diet advice.
Studies reveal key genes for corn architecture, identifying future breeding targets
The physical structure of corn plants — including the angle of leaves bending from the stem and the number of pollen-laden tassel branches — makes a big difference for yield. Compact plants can be planted closer together, adding up to more ears per acre. But compact corn didn’t happen by accident; years of hybrid breeding did that. Now, two new genome-based studies are making it possible to precisely adjust corn architecture to meet future demands.
Illinois researchers develop next-generation organic nanozymes and point-of-use system for food and agricultural uses
Nanozymes are synthetic materials that have enzyme-like catalytic properties, and they are broadly used for biomedical purposes, such as disease diagnostics. However, inorganic nanozymes are generally toxic, expensive, and complicated to produce, making them unsuitable for the agricultural and food industries.
Genomic tools provide clearer view of health for endangered bats
How do wildlife researchers know when an endangered population is sick? They can detect infectious microbes in animal waste, but the presence of a microbe doesn’t always equate to impactful symptomatic infections.
Voices of ACES Blog
Discovering Passion and Purpose: How one ACES junior discovered her calling
When Allison Kokal, a junior, first applied to the College of ACES at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign, she was searching for what she thought would be her second-choice major. That was until she saw Plant Biotechnology on the list of options. It was then that Kokal knew she had found her true calling.