Animals

URBANA, Ill -- The design, testing, and validation of the Illinois RapidVent emergency ventilator has been published in the journal Plos One. The article, “Emergency Ventilator for COVID-19,” by University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign researchers, is the first of its kind to report such details about an emergency ventilator that was designed, prototyped, and tested at the start of the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020.

URBANA, Ill. – When Lizzy Geary began contemplating graduate programs for companion animal nutrition, she knew she needed an edge. As an undergraduate in the Department of Animal Sciences at the University of Illinois, she heard of a new certificate program that would set her apart from the rest.

CHAMPAIGN, Ill. — In 1533, the Bom Jesus – a Portuguese trading vessel carrying 40 tons of cargo including gold, silver, copper and more than 100 elephant tusks – sank off the coast of Africa near present-day Namibia. The wreck was found in 2008, and Department of Animal Sciences researchers say they now have determined the source of much of the ivory recovered from the ship.

Read more from the Illinois News Bureau.

URBANA, Ill. – Spirituality isn’t usually considered a factor in conservation efforts. But indigenous peoples who worship wildlife may be helping protect endangered species from extinction.

The Soligas tribe in the Western Ghats of India reveres the Bengal tiger. Their coexistence in India’s Biligiri Rangaswamy Temple Tiger Reserve has helped the tiger population flourish, says Shadi Atallah, a natural resource economist in the Department of Agricultural and Consumer Economics at University of Illinois. 

URBANA, Ill. – Parents, you might know the feeling. When kids get pushy and demanding, it’s a tempting fantasy to shove them out of the house and let them survive on their own. Of course, we’d never put our babies in harm’s way, but according to new research from the University of Illinois, many songbird parents give nestlings the boot well before they’re ready.

URBANA, Ill. – The University of Illinois is home to some of the latest and greatest centers for advancement in agriculture. A new Feed Technology Center will soon add to the list of esteemed facilities for learning, research, and development. Currently under construction, this new state-of-the-art facility will be an epicenter for innovation across several disciplines.

CHAMPAIGN, Ill. – It is snowing again, and I turn to look through the bus window as it slowly pulls into the final stop. I hide my face in my scarf, hoping to stop the cold air sneaking in. It has been almost six years since I moved to the Midwest from Taiwan, but I still cannot deal with winter and snow. Once off the bus, I follow footprints to the Wildlife Veterinary Epidemiology Laboratory and push open the glass door.

URBANA, Ill. – For many livestock species, artificial insemination (AI) is standard. But it can be tricky to achieve success the first time, thanks to variability in ovulation timing across the herd.

Sperm remains viable for a day or two once they reach the oviduct, the tube connecting the uterus with the ovaries, in pigs and cattle. The amount of time sperm can be stored in the oviduct has a direct bearing on AI success; if ovulation happens just outside that window, the effort and expense of AI has to be repeated.

URBANA, Ill. – Imagine a tropical forest and you might conjure up tall trees hung with vines, brightly colored birds, howling monkeys, and … rain. Indeed, precipitation patterns, along with temperature, dictate where tropical forests are distributed around the world, but surprisingly, scientists know very little about the direct effects of rainfall on animals.

Unless you’re a companion animal lover, a vegan foodie, or a science geek, the word “extrusion” might not hold much meaning. However, extrusion is an everyday term that describes a process crucial to the food and feed industries.