U of I News Bureau – It took two years on a supercomputer to simulate 1.2 microseconds in the life of the HIV capsid, a protein cage that shuttles the HIV virus to the nucleus of a human cell. The 64-million-atom simulation offers new insights into how the virus senses its environment and completes its infective cycle. "We are learning the details of the HIV capsid system, not just the structure but also how it changes its environment and responds to its environment," said U of I research scientist Juan R. Perilla, who led the study with physics professor Klaus Schulten. Both were members of Beckman's Theoretical and Computational Biophysics Group. Schulten, who died in October 2016, pioneered the application of molecular dynamics simulations to study large biological systems. He called the method "computational microscopy."

Alton Daily News – Gene Robinson, a professor of entomology and of neuroscience, the director of the Carl R. Woese Institute for Genomic Biology, and member of Beckman’s Intelligence, Learning, and Plasticity Group, was cited in an article about the decline of honeybee populations. “Populations have declined over the past 10 years by about 30 percent annually throughout the U.S.,” Robinson said. The article discusses how the ag industry, Illinois beekeepers, and communities across the state have come up with solutions to help honeybee populations rebound.

Chemistry World – Paul Kenis, a professor of chemical and biomolecular engineering and a member of Beckman’s 3D Micro- and Nanosystems Group, was cited in an article in Chemistry World. Scientists at Paris Diderot University, France, and the National University of Cordoba, Argentina, have developed an inexpensive catalytic system that reduces carbon dioxide to methane at ambient pressure and temperature. “The authors describe an interesting approach, first converting carbon dioxide to carbon monoxide and then converting the carbon monoxide to methane with high selectivity,” Kenis said.

U of I News Bureau – Aditi Das, an assistant professor of comparative biosciences and a member of Beckman’s 3D Micro- and Nanosystems Group, and colleagues discovered an enzymatic pathway that converts omega-3-derived endocannabinoids into more potent anti-inflammatory molecules. Chemical compounds called cannabinoids are found in marijuana and also are produced naturally in the body from omega-3 fatty acids. A well-known cannabinoid in marijuana, THC, is responsible for some of its euphoric effects, but it also has anti-inflammatory benefits. The new study in animal tissue reveals the cascade of chemical reactions that convert omega-3 fatty acids into cannabinoids that have anti-inflammatory benefits—but without the psychotropic high.