Join the conversation: #scifuture
The New York Times – Decades ago, synthetic polymers became popular because they were cheap and durable. Now, scientists are creating material that self-destructs or breaks down for reuse on command.
FierceBiotech – Research by U of I crop scientists—including Nathan Schroeder, a member of Beckman’s Cellular and Molecular Foundations of Intelligent Behavior Group—offers new hope for fighting neurodegenerative diseases such as Alzheimer’s, Parkinson’s and amyotrophic lateral sclerosis. Many researchers are looking at the genetic cause of the unhealthy accumulation of toxic proteins to find ways to treat them but, in a twist, the agricultural scientists’ findings showed a common soybean pest might offer fresh inspiration as a new model of regeneration.
Department of Bioengineering – When the good and bad bacteria in our mouth become imbalanced, the bad bacteria form a biofilm (aka plaque), which can cause cavities, and if left untreated over time, can lead to cardiovascular and other inflammatory diseases like diabetes and bacterial pneumonia.
A team of researchers, headed by Beckman faculty member Dipanjan Pan, an associate professor of bioengineering, has recently devised a practical nanotechnology-based method for detecting and treating the harmful bacteria that cause plaque and lead to tooth decay and other detrimental conditions.
Gene E. Robinson, a professor of entomology and the director of the Carl R. Woese Institute for Genomic Biology, and Andrew Suarez, a biologist and member of Beckman's Bioimaging Science and Technology group, were quoted in an article about the effect of an ancient insulin-signaling pathway on ant colonies' division of reproductive labor.
In India and other countries in Southeast Asia, curcumin is often used as a spice in cooking, particularly chicken or fish. It is known for its therapeutic effect and as a way to kill germs present in raw meat. Dipanjan Pan, an associate professor of bioengineering and member of Beckman's Bioimaging Science and Technology Group, and colleagues in his lab collaborated with Peter Stang, the editor-in-chief of the Journal of American Chemical Society and Distinguished Professor of chemistry at the University of Utah, on ways to be able to render curcumin soluble, deliver it to infected tumors, and kill cancer cells.
Bioengineering professor Rohit Bhargava discusses how advances in chemical imaging, machine learning, and 3D printing are changing how we think of and fight cancer. Cancer is more than just an isolated collection of diseased cells. The environment around the tumor plays an important part in whether the cancer spreads or not. By building real-world 3D models of a tumor environments, scientists hope to better predict and fight cancer growth.
From cell phones to electric cars, society is more and more dependent on reliable and portable energy. University of Illinois Professor Nancy Sottos discusses green energy and our ever-growing need for energy storage. Sottos is a professor in the Materials Science and Engineering department at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign and a member of the Beckman Institute's Autonomous Materials Systems group. To read a full Q&A with Professor Sottos about the future of energy storage, please visit... https://beckman.illinois.edu/news/2018/6/scifuture-energy Energy storage is a huge challenge for a greener future. What hurdles do you think green energy faces? Join the conversation: #scifuture
Mark Nelson, professor of molecular and integrative physiology, discusses "What Does a Brain Do?" This talk was part of the Summertime Tower Tutorial Talk series at the Beckman Institute at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. The talk was presented on July 13, 2018.
Part of the Summertime Tower Tutorial Talk series at the Beckman Institute. Geoffrey Herman is a Teaching Assistant Professor in Computer Science at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. The session's originally scheduled speaker, Matt West, was unable to appear. This interactive talk was presented on July 6, 2018
The handheld medical devices of science fiction are becoming science fact. Doctor Stephen Boppart looks at how technology, including phones and personal health monitors, will change our visits to the doctor's office and our relationship to our own health. Boppart is an MD, Ph.D. and professor in the Electrical and Computer Engineering and Bioengineering departments at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. What do you think the future of health care will look like? Tell us at #scifuture. And to read a full Q&A with Dr. Boppart about the doctor's office of the future, please visit... https://beckman.illinois.edu/news/2018/5/scifuture-doctor
University of Illinois aerospace engineering professor Scott R. White, an innovator of self-healing and self-regulating materials, died on May 28, 2018, of cancer at age 55. In this tribute video, White discusses his work on autonomous systems and shows his keen sense of humor in outtakes from an interview about one of his group's publications. White was recognized globally as an expert in autonomous materials—materials that can adapt or respond on their own. His Autonomous Materials Systems Group at the Beckman Institute for Advanced Science and Technology at the U. of I. developed self-healing plastics, electronics, batteries and coatings; coatings and materials that indicate when they are damaged or strained; self-destructing devices to reduce electronic waste; and many other innovations to make materials safer and more reliable on both the micro and macro scale. To learn more about White and his work, please visit: https://beckman.illinois.edu/news/2018/05/scott-white http://autonomic.beckman.illinois.edu/ http://whitegroup.beckman.illinois.edu/
Pioneers in the field of autonomous materials discuss the current state-of-the-art in autonomous polymers that can self-protect, self-report, self-heal, regenerate, and finally trigger their own decomposition for recycling. This research is conducted by the members of the Autonomous Materials Systems group at the Beckman Institute at the University of Illinois. The leaders of the group are Aerospace Engineer Scott White, Materials Scientist Nancy Sottos, and Chemist Jeffrey Moore. This work is reviewed in the latest issue of NATURE Insight. To learn more, please visit:
The Elevator Pitch. Scientists dread it, but they shouldn't. Sandra Tsing Loh analyzes the language, celebrates the science, lauds the presenters, and gives her take on remaking "60 Second Science" videos. Tsing Loh is the host of the syndicated daily radio science minute and NPR podcast "The Loh Down on Science" and adjunct associate professor in drama and science communication at University of California, Irvine. This lecture was presented at the Beckman Institute on the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign campus on April 20, 2018. For more information on the SmithGroup lecture series, please visit www.beckman.illinois.edu/events/smithgroup-lectures.
Director Jeffrey Moore hosts a town hall meeting to discuss the current state and future directions of the Beckman Institute.
Professor Stephen Boppart uses light to diagnose diseases such as cancer. Called "biophotonics," the technique generates high-resolution, real-time, non-invasive images of biological tissue at the cellular and molecular level. Boppart is a professor at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign in the departments of Electrical and Computer Engineering and Bioengineering. He heads the Biophotonics Imaging Laboratory at the Beckman Institute and is a full-time faculty member in the Bioimaging Science and Technology group.
March 14 (3.14) is "Pi Day." Sing along with our favorite mathematical constant.
Laura Kiessling, professor of chemistry at MIT, presents the 2017 Beckman-Brown Lecture on Interdisciplinary Science. Her talk focuses on the roles of carbohydrate-binding proteins in checking glycan IDs. Topics include probing the fundamental chemical forces underlying the recognition of carbohydrates to understanding how nature exploits these interactions to detect microbes. Kiessling's research combines tools from organic synthesis, polymer chemistry, structural biology, and molecular and cell biology. The Annual Beckman-Brown Lecture on Interdisciplinary Science honors Dr. Arnold O. Beckman, the founder of the Institute, and Dr. Theodore “Ted†Brown, the founding director. The series is funded by a gift from the Arnold and Mabel Beckman Foundation. The lecture was presented at the Beckman Institute on the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign campus on November 3, 2017.
Honoring the life and career of Dr. Klaus Schulten, professor of physics and leader in the field of computational biophysics, the symposium took place at the Beckman Institute on November 7-9, 2017. **OPENING REMARKS** [00:01-00:38] Zan Luthey-Schulten, University of Illinois (chair) [00:38-16:37] Tamer Basar, Center for Advanced Study, Electrical and Computer Engineering, University of Illinois [16:54-29:58] Jeffrey Moore, Director, Beckman Institute, University of Illinois **SESSION 5** [30:23-1:07:12] "In situ Structures of Molecular Complexes by Cryo-electron Tomography" Peijun Zhang, University of Oxford [1:07:12-1:44:36] "Large-scale Molecular Dynamics Simulations of Cadherin Complexes" Marcos Sotomayor, Ohio State University [1:45:20-2:11:25 ] "Magnetic Compass Sense of Migratory Birds: A Perspective" Ilia Solov'yov, University of Southern Denmark [2:11:59-2:39:09] "Building a Bridge from Molecular Simulation to Understand How Bacteria Work" Peter Freddolino, University of Michigan [ 2:39:33-3:17:24] "Computational Drug Discovery: From Proteome to Drugs" Jerome Baudry, University of Alabama, Huntsville [3:17:24-3:22:09] "Closing Remarks" Organizing Committee: Zan Luthey-Schulten, Emad Tajkhorshid, Chris Chipot, and Alek Aksimentiev For more information, please visit go.illinois.edu/schulten
Honoring the life and career of Dr. Klaus Schulten, professor of physics and leader in the field of computational biophysics, the symposium took place at the Beckman Institute on November 7-9, 2017. **SESSION 4** [00:01-08:32] Video: Sculpting Proteins [08:32-8:59] Alek Aksimentiev, University of Illinois (Chair) "Molecular Mechanisms of Synaptic Neurotransmitter Release" Axel T. Brunger, Stanford University and Howard Hughes Medical Institute (Removed at presenter's request) [09:41-49:36] "Over a Decade of Studying Membrane-protein Insertion" James 'JC' Gumbart, Georgia Institute of Technology [50:23-1:32:48] "Molecular Simulation at the Mesoscale" Rommie E. Amaro, University of California, San Diego [1:32:48-1:35:19] Video: Klaus Schulten Memorial Video Tribute "Opening Windows into the Cell: Bringing Structure to Cell Biology using Cryo-electron Microscopy" Elizabeth Villa, University of California, San Diego (Removed at presenter's request) [1:35:36-2:17:54]"Molecular Simulations of Lipid Membrane Sensing and Remodeling Dynamics" Gerhard Hummer, Max Planck Institute of Biophysics and Goethe University [2:18:11-3:00:53] "Accurate Prediction of Membrane Permeabilities in Rational Lead Discovery" Chris Chipot, University of Illinois and Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique [3:00:59-3:27:12] "Closing Remarks" Sir Anthony Leggett, University of Illinois and Nobel Laureate (2003, Physics) For more information, please visit go.illinois.edu/schulten
Honoring the life and career of Dr. Klaus Schulten, professor of physics and leader in the field of computational biophysics, the symposium took place at the Beckman Institute on November 7-9, 2017. **OPENING REMARKS** [00:01-00:47] Chris Chipot, University of Illinois (Chair) [00:47-11:43] Mark Berger, NVIDIA Corporation [11:43-15:39] William Gropp, National Center for Supercomputing Applications [15:39-27:47] Laxmikant 'Sanjay' Kale, Computer Science, University of Illinois **SESSION 3** [28:17- 1:11:57] "Towards a Mechanistic Understanding of Ribosomal Function" Helmut Grubmuller, Max Planck Institute for Biophysical Chemistry "Physics of DNA and Chromatin Function" Taekjip Ha, Johns Hopkins University (Removed at presenter's request) [1:12:29-1:49:58] "Molecular-level Description of Excitation Energy Transfer in Light-harvesting Systems" Ulrich Kleinekathofer, Jacobs University Bremen [1:50:52-2:24:54] "Computational Microscopy of Biological and Synthetic Nanopores" Aleksei Aksimentiev, University of Illinois For more information, please visit go.illinois.edu/schulten
