Latest University of Illinois at Chicago Stories

Unlocking the mechanisms that cause neurodegenerative prion diseases may require a genetic key, suggest new findings reported by University of Illinois at Chicago distinguished professor of biological sciences Susan Liebman.Prions can turn a normal protein into a misfolded form. One prion in mammals promotes progressive neurodegenerative disorders like "mad cow" disease that often prove fatal. But how this process happens remains an open question for scientists.Prions have been...

CHICAGO, April 20, 2011 /PRNewswire/ -- On February 24, 2011, Marvin Klein (BA '53) was inducted into the Chicago Area Entrepreneurship Hall of Fame at its 26th Anniversary Gala Celebration. Mr. Klein was recognized for his entrepreneurial achievements as founder of the environmentally responsible manufacturer PortionPac Chemical Corporation. The Institute for Entrepreneurial Studies at the University of Illinois at Chicago hosted the event at the Chicago Hilton and Towers. (Photo:...

Major Scientific and Clinical Conference to Take Place August 2011 CHICAGO, March 28, 2011 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- The American College of Wound Healing and Tissue Repair (ACWHTR) is a non-profit organization founded by faculty from the University of Illinois at Chicago (UIC) and the Angiogenesis Foundation (Cambridge, MA) in 2010. Created to develop a formal, clinically-based, educational curriculum in wound healing for physicians, the goal of the ACWHTR is to bring the practice of...

Scientists have uncovered ancient stone tools and thousands of other artifacts dating back 15,500 years at an archaeological dig in Texas, suggesting that humans settled the continent 2,500 years earlier than previously believed.The site, located in the Buttermilk Creek complex near Austin, is now the oldest settlement ever found in North America, scientists reported Thursday.The findings could challenge conventional beliefs about who the first American inhabitants were, and when they settled...

Victims of severe traumatic elder abuse are more likely to be female, suffer from a neurological or mental disorder, and to abuse drugs or alcohol, according to research published in the March issue of the Journal of the American Geriatrics Society."Past studies have shown that alcohol abuse by the perpetrator plays a substantial role and is strongly associated with physical abuse," says Lee Friedman, assistant professor of environmental and occupational health sciences at the...

A strong link between victimization experiences and substance abuse has been discovered by researchers at the University of Illinois at Chicago.The correlation is especially prevalent among gays, lesbians and bisexuals -- more so than in heterosexuals, says Tonda Hughes, professor and interim head of health systems science in the UIC College of Nursing. Hughes is lead author of the study, published in the journal Addiction.Researchers compared victimization experiences of unwanted sexual...

Researchers at the University of Illinois at Chicago have discovered a signaling mechanism in the bacterial ribosome that detects proteins that activate genes for antibiotic resistance."The ribosome is one of the most complex molecular machines in the cell," said Alexander Mankin, UIC professor and director of the Center for Pharmaceutical Biotechnology. It is responsible for the production of all proteins in the cell, and in bacteria it is one of the major antibiotic...

Researchers at the University of Illinois at Chicago have shown for the first time that damage to a particular area of the brain and a consequent reduction in noradrenaline are associated with multiple sclerosis.The study is available online in the journal Brain.The pathological processes in MS are not well understood, but an important contributor to its progression is the infiltration of white blood cells involved in immune defense through the blood-brain barrier.Douglas Feinstein, research...

Ebola, a virus that causes deadly hemorrhagic fever in humans, has no known cure or vaccine. But a new study by University of Illinois at Chicago scientists has uncovered a family of small molecules which appear to bind to the virus's outer protein coat and may inhibit its entry into human cells.The results are to be published in the Journal of Medicinal Chemistry and are now online.Previous studies have shown that small molecules can interfere with the Ebola infection process, says Duncan...

University of Illinois at Chicago researcher Dr. John Quigley will describe a promising new approach to blocking malaria transmission during the American Society of Hematology's annual meeting in Orlando, Fla.Quigley will speak at a press briefing Saturday, Dec. 4, at 8 a.m. at the Orange County Convention Center, 9800 International Drive, Room 208C (West Building). His abstract, "Anopheline Orthologs of the Human Erythroid Heme Exporter, FLVCR, Export Heme: Potential Targets to Inhibit...