University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign

Social welfare cuts ultimately come with heavy price, researchers say

(Phys.org) -- Slashing government funding for Medicaid, food stamps and other programs that serve the poor – while politically popular with some lawmakers and many conservatives – may do more harm ...

Other Sciences / Social Sciences

created May 24, 2012 | popularity 4.1 / 5 (23) | comments 157

Research: Negative leakage could be key to reducing carbon emissions

(Phys.org) -- The unilateral efforts of a single country or region to reduce the emissions of greenhouse gases could reduce exports, increase imports and lead to higher emissions elsewhere – what economists call “leakage.” ...

Space & Earth / Environment

created May 25, 2012 | popularity 5 / 5 (3) | comments 1

Maps of Miscanthus genome offer insight into grass evolution

Miscanthus grasses are used in gardens, burned for heat and energy, and converted into liquid fuels. They also belong to a prominent grass family that includes corn, sorghum and sugarcane. Two new, indepe ...

Biology / Biotechnology

created May 15, 2012 | popularity 4 / 5 (1) | comments 0 | with audio podcast

'Modern Portfolio Theory' optimizes conservation practices: study

While climate change is likely to alter the spatial distributions of species and habitat types, the nature of those changes is uncertain, making it more difficult for conservationists to implement standard ...

Biology / Ecology

created May 15, 2012 | popularity 3.5 / 5 (2) | comments 0 | with audio podcast

Research: Too much, too little noise turns off consumers, creativity

The sound of silence isn't so golden for consumers, and both marketers and advertisers should take note, says new research from a University of Illinois expert in new product development and marketing.

Other Sciences / Social Sciences

created May 14, 2012 | popularity 4.2 / 5 (6) | comments 2 | with audio podcast

Computing the best high-resolution 3-D tissue images

Real-time, 3-D microscopic tissue imaging could be a revolution for medical fields such as cancer diagnosis, minimally invasive surgery and ophthalmology. University of Illinois researchers have developed ...

Physics / General Physics

created Apr 23, 2012 | popularity 5 / 5 (5) | comments 0 | with audio podcast

Getting news from the Internet not as divisive as many assume

The Internet is changing the way people get their news, but there's little proof that it is fragmenting or polarizing the news audience the way many assume, says professor David Tewksbury, the head of the ...

Other Sciences / Social Sciences

created May 16, 2012 | popularity 2 / 5 (1) | comments 1

Particle-free silver ink prints small, high-performance electronics

University of Illinois materials scientists have developed a new reactive silver ink for printing high-performance electronics on ubiquitous, low-cost materials such as flexible plastic, paper or fabric substrates.

Nanotechnology / Nanomaterials

created Jan 13, 2012 | popularity 5 / 5 (11) | comments 2 | with audio podcast

Researchers track the secret lives of feral and free-roaming house cats

Researchers (and some cat-owners) wanted to know: What do feral and free-roaming house cats do when they're out of sight? A two-year study offers a first look at the daily lives of these feline paupers and ...

Biology / Plants & Animals

created May 26, 2011 | popularity 4 / 5 (28) | comments 10 | with audio podcast

Honey bees study finds that insects have personality too

A new study in Science suggests that thrill-seeking is not limited to humans and other vertebrates. Some honey bees, too, are more likely than others to seek adventure. The brains of these novelty-seeking bees e ...

Biology / Plants & Animals

created Mar 08, 2012 | popularity 4.7 / 5 (7) | comments 0 | with audio podcast

Physicists localize 3-D matter waves for first time (w/ video)

University of Illinois physicists have experimentally demonstrated for the first time how three-dimensional conduction is affected by the defects that plague materials. Understanding these effects is important ...

Physics / General Physics

created Oct 07, 2011 | popularity 4.9 / 5 (15) | comments 6 | with audio podcast

Last universal common ancestor more complex than previously thought

Scientists call it LUCA, the Last Universal Common Ancestor, but they don't know much about this great-grandparent of all living things. Many believe LUCA was little more than a crude assemblage of molecular parts, a chemical ...

Biology / Cell & Microbiology

created Oct 05, 2011 | popularity 4.9 / 5 (11) | comments 11 | with audio podcast

Smart skin: Electronics that stick and stretch like a temporary tattoo (w/ video)

Engineers have developed a device platform that combines electronic components for sensing, medical diagnostics, communications and human-machine interfaces, all on an ultrathin skin-like patch that mounts ...

Technology / Engineering

created Aug 11, 2011 | popularity 4.8 / 5 (17) | comments 22 | with audio podcast

Research: Graphene grows better on certain copper crystals

New observations could improve industrial production of high-quality graphene, hastening the era of graphene-based consumer electronics, thanks to University of Illinois engineers.

Nanotechnology / Nanomaterials

created Oct 27, 2011 | popularity 4.9 / 5 (9) | comments 9 | with audio podcast

Self-cooling observed in graphene electronics

With the first observation of thermoelectric effects at graphene contacts, University of Illinois researchers found that graphene transistors have a nanoscale cooling effect that reduces their temperature.

Nanotechnology / Nanomaterials

created Apr 03, 2011 | popularity 5 / 5 (14) | comments 13 | with audio podcast