URBANA, Ill. – Researchers and policymakers are increasingly looking at paternity leave for its potential positive impacts on families and societies. Changes in cultural values, including a deeper understanding of the importance of fathers’ involvement with families have prompted some countries to pursue social policies encouraging fathers to be more involved in the care and raising of children.

While the effects of maternity leave on the mother and the children have been widely studied, less research has been done on paternity leave.

URBANA, Ill. – The Archer Daniels Midland Company today announced a $2.5-million gift to assist with funding construction of the Feed Technology Center, a key asset that will advance educational and research opportunities within the College of Agricultural, Consumer and Environmental Sciences at the University of Illinois, and will advance animal agriculture and companion animal nutrition across the globe.

URBANA, Ill. – Children are losing their connection to nature.

It’s more than an unfortunate abstraction. Scientists say our increasingly indoor lifestyle negatively affects our health and well-being, not to mention our drive to protect the natural world. And it may be hampering kids’ ability to learn and thrive. A new e-book, published by Frontiers in Psychology, examines the many ways putting children back in contact with nature could make them more successful in school and in life.

Opioid-based therapies can be used to treat chronic pain that affects 30% to 40% of the population in the U.S. and Europe. These therapies aim at balancing pain management without causing an addiction risk.

URBANA, Ill. – The amount of calcium in pig diets must be calculated precisely. Too much can decrease phosphorus digestibility and feed intake, leading to lower weight gain in pigs.

URBANA, Ill. – Invasive silver carp have been moving north toward the Great Lakes since their accidental release in the 1970s. The large filter-feeding fish, which are known to jump from the water and wallop anglers, threaten aquatic food webs as well as the $7 billion Great Lakes fishery. But, for the past decade, the invading front hasn’t moved past Kankakee. A new study, led by scientists at the University of Illinois, suggests that Chicago’s water pollution may be a contributing to this lack of upstream movement.

URBANA, Ill. – In the United States, a majority of children exceed the recommended amount of empty calories in their diets, and fail to meet the recommendation for fruit and vegetables—especially dark green vegetables. Practitioners look to intervention programs that could help children develop better dietary habits.

URBANA, Ill. – As modern societies become increasingly urban, sedentary, and screen-oriented, people are spending less time in nature. We’re also more likely than ever to suffer from mental illnesses. A new article in Science Advances links the two phenomena, suggesting that adding natural elements to urban landscapes could improve mental health.

URBANA, Ill. – When tornadoes touch down, we brace for news of property damage, injuries, and loss of life, but the high-speed wind storms wreak environmental havoc, too. They can cut through massive swaths of forest, destroying trees and wildlife habitat, and opening up opportunities for invasive species to gain ground.

URBANA, Ill. – Waterhemp and Palmer amaranth, two aggressive weeds that threaten the food supply in North America, are increasingly hard to kill with commercially available herbicides. A novel approach known as genetic control could one day reduce the need for these chemicals. Now, scientists are one step closer.