University of Illinois

Office for University Relations

University of Illinois Good Works Update

November 16, 2007

The Good Works Update comes out weekly and highlights the best news of the week from the University of Illinois as compiled by the Office for University Relations.

Urbana-Champaign Campus Good Works

Researchers successfully simulate photosynthesis and design a better leaf
(November 9, 2007) University of Illinois researchers have built a better plant, one that produces more leaves and fruit without needing extra fertilizer. The researchers accomplished the feat using a computer model that mimics the process of evolution. Theirs is the first model to simulate every step of the photosynthetic process.
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The key to unlocking the secret of highly specific DNAzyme catalysis
(November 12, 2007) Using an extremely sensitive measurement technique, researchers at the University of Illinois have found clear evidence that a lead-specific DNAzyme uses the “lock and key” reaction mechanism. In the presence of zinc or magnesium, however, the same DNAzyme uses the  “induced fit” reaction mechanism, similar to that used by ribozymes.
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U of I Scientist Does Nutritional Detective Work in Botswana
(October 25, 2007) Many Americans have a soft spot for Botswana, developed while reading the best-selling #1 Ladies Detective Agency series. But few have had a chance to do any sleuthing of their own in that African country. That changed when University of Illinois scientist Karen Chapman-Novakofski acquired a Batswana doctoral student and learned how little data existed about the health and nutrition of that country's elderly.
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Chicago Campus Good Works

$4.2 million CDC Grant to UIC targets minority health disparities
(November 13, 2007) The University of Illinois at Chicago has received a five-year, $4.2 million grant from the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention to target racial and ethnic health disparities in the prevalence of diabetes and cardiovascular disease among Latinos and African Americans.
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New way to screen for promising anti-cancer agents
(November 9, 2007) A quick and simple test shows promise as a way to screen for drugs that may be effective in the prevention and treatment of cancer, according to a study published in the Sept. 15 issue of the journal Clinical Cancer Research.
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Effects of Social Isolation Traced to Brain Hormone
(November 14, 2007) The anxiety and aggression that result from social isolation have been traced to altered levels of an enzyme that controls production of a brain hormone. The study, done in mice by researchers at the University of Illinois at Chicago College of Medicine, is reported in this week's online addition of the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.
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Springfield Campus Good Works

English graduate wins outstanding master's thesis award
(November 12, 2007) Denise Howard Long has won the University of Illinois at Springfield's Chapin Outstanding Master's Thesis award for the 2006-07 academic year. Her thesis – titled "The Breadwinner in Post-World War II American Literature: Constructing Masculinity at Midcentury" – was chosen from among eight theses and projects nominated by graduate departments at the university.
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