Physical Science News | University of Illinois

New insight into how nature handles some fundamental processes is guiding researchers in the design of tailor-made proteins for applications such as artificial photosynthetic centers, long-range electron transfers, and fuel-cell catalysts for energy conversion.

As reported in the Sept. 13 issue of the journal Nature Chemistry, Ken Suslick and his team at the University of Illinois have developed an artificial nose for the general detection of toxic industrial chemicals (TICs) that is simple, fast and inexpensive and works by visualizing odors. This sensor array could be useful in detecting high exposures to chemicals that pose serious health risks in the workplace or through accidental exposure.

A team of expert divers, a geochemist and an archaeologist will be the first to explore the sacred pools of the southern Maya lowlands in rural Belize. The expedition, made possible with a grant from the National Geographic Society and led by a University of Illinois archaeologist, will investigate the cultural significance and environmental history and condition of three of the 23 pools of Cara Blanca, in central Belize.

Allen H. Renear and Carole L. Palmer, professors of library and information science at Illinois, say that as techniques originally designed to organize and share scientific data are integrated into scientific publishing, scientists' long-standing practice of reading "strategically" will be dramatically enhanced.

From the pounding of the surf and the rumbling of thunder, to the gentle rustling of leaves, Earth is not a quiet planet. The key is knowing how to listen to the ever-present ambient noise.

Better tools for manipulating DNA in the laboratory may soon be possible with newly discovered deoxyribozymes (catalytic DNA) capable of cleaving single-stranded DNA, researchers at the University of Illinois say.

Nuclear engineer Clifford Singer is one of three writers of a report, produced by the Program in Arms Control, Disarmament and International Security at the University of Illinois that calls for creating specific institutions, funds and financial incentives to manage spent nuclear fuel.

In the classic fairy tale, “The Emperor’s New Clothes,” Hans Christian Andersen uses the eyes of a child to challenge conventional wisdom and help others to see more clearly. In similar fashion, researchers at the University of Illinois have now revealed the naked truth about a classic bell-shaped curve used to describe the motion of a liquid as it diffuses through another material.

New findings from a research team led by University of Illinois chemist Deborah Leckband show that flexibility in the region near the binding sites of DC-SIGN plays a significant role in pathogen targeting and binding.

A team of researchers at the University of Illinois has created the world’s first acoustic “superlens,” an innovation that could have practical implications for high-resolution ultrasound imaging, non-destructive structural testing of buildings and bridges, and novel underwater stealth technology.