Science

Remembering Rahmbamarama, the Obama Era's Most Zealous Fan Community

“OH HOLY MOTHER OF HOT, THIS GODDAMN SLOE-EYED VIXEN,” reads the first comment of the Livejournal post titled “GONNA RAHM THIS MOFO DOWN YOUR THROAT!” The November 2008 post was a series of photos of Rahm Emanuel, the Illinois politician who had recently been named President-elect Barack Obama’s chief of staff.Read more...
Tags: Science, Obama, Barack Obama, Illinois, Rahm Emanuel, LiveJournal

Medicaid expansion helps uncover undiagnosed HIV infections

Expanding eligibility for Medicaid, the federal-state health insurance program for low-income individuals, was associated with a 13.9% increase in HIV diagnoses, says new research co-written by Dolores Albarracín, a professor of psychology and of business administration at Illinois, and Bita Fayaz Farkhad, pictured, an economist and a postdoctoral researcher in psychology at Illinois.
Tags: Science, Illinois, Medicaid, Dolores Albarracin, Bita Fayaz Farkhad

Dairy calves benefit from higher-protein starter feed, Illinois study says

Dairy producers know early nutrition for young calves has far-reaching impacts, both for the long-term health and productivity of the animals and for farm profitability. With the goal of increasing not just body weight but also lean tissue gain, a new University of Illinois study finds enhanced milk replacer with high crude-protein dry starter feed is the winning combination.
Tags: Science, Illinois, University Of Illinois

Study: Negative mental health effects of pandemic lockdowns spike, then fade

Social distancing policies correlated with immediate increases in interest in information about 'isolation' and 'worry' - but those effects tapered off two to four weeks after their respective peaks, says new research co-written by Dolores Albarracín, a professor of psychology and of business administration at Illinois, and Bita Fayaz Farkhad (pictured), an economist and a postdoctoral researcher in psychology at Illinois.
Tags: Science, Illinois, Dolores Albarracin, Bita Fayaz Farkhad

Illinois researchers publish article describing Illinois RapidVent Emergency Ventilator

The design, testing, and validation of the Illinois RapidVent emergency ventilator has been published in the journal Plos One. The article, "Emergency Ventilator for COVID-19," by University of Illinois Urbana researchers, is the first of its kind to report such details about an emergency ventilator that was designed, prototyped, and tested at the start of the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020.
Tags: Science, Illinois, University of Illinois Urbana

4 members of Congress have tested positive for COVID-19 in the wake of the Capitol insurrection

A unit of the DC National Guard outside the Capitol. REUTERS/Jonathan Ernst Four Democratic members of Congress have tested positive for COVID-19 since the Capitol insurrection last Wednesday. Lawmakers were forced to shelter together in a secure location for hours. Several Republican representatives were caught on video refusing to wear masks. Rep. Bonnie Watson Coleman of New Jersey was the first lawmaker to announce a positive test on Monday, followed by Reps. Pramila Jayapal of Washing...
Tags: Politics, New York, Texas, Science, Congress, Washington, Cbs News, Massachusetts, Trends, Pennsylvania, House, New Jersey, Oklahoma, Republican, Illinois, Msnbc

The Capitol insurrection seems to have caused a superspreader event among lawmakers. Some Republicans refused to mask up.

Members of Congress evacuate the House chamber as protesters attempt to enter during a joint session of Congress on January 6, 2021 in Washington, DC. Drew Angerer/Getty Three members of Congress have tested positive for COVID-19 following the Capitol insurrection. When the mob invaded the building, lawmakers — some of them maskless — had to shelter together in a secure location for hours. Some representatives now consider that lockdown a superspreader event, an instance in which an inf...
Tags: Politics, Texas, Science, Supreme Court, Congress, Washington, Cbs News, White House, US, Trends, Joe Biden, Pennsylvania, Washington Dc, House, New Jersey, Cbs

Illinois residents value strategies to improve water quality

Illinois residents value efforts to reduce watershed pollution, and they are willing to pay for environmental improvements, according to a new study from agricultural economists at the University of Illinois.
Tags: Science, Illinois

3 members of Congress have tested positive for COVID-19 after sheltering together during the Capitol insurrection

A unit of the DC National Guard provides a security presence at the US Capitol in Washington. REUTERS/Jonathan Ernst Three Democratic members of Congress have tested positive for COVID-19 since the Capitol insurrection and riots on January 6.  Lawmakers were forced to shelter together in a secure location for hours. Several Republican representatives were caught on video refusing to wear masks.  Rep. Bonnie Watson Coleman of New Jersey was the first lawmaker to announce a positive test on ...
Tags: Politics, Texas, Science, Congress, Cdc, Washington, Cbs News, Trends, Pennsylvania, House, New Jersey, Oklahoma, Republican, Illinois, Delaware, New York Magazine

Rep. Brad Schneider becomes 3rd member of Congress to test positive for COVID-19 after Capitol siege

Representative Brad Schneider (D-IL). Samuel Corum/Getty Images Rep. Brad Schneider has tested positive for COVID-19, he announced on Tuesday. "Today, I am now in strict isolation, worried that I have risked my wife's health and angry at the selfishness and arrogance of the anti-maskers who put their own contempt and disregard for decency ahead of the health and safety of their colleagues and our staff," Schneider said. The Illinois Democrat is the third member of Congress to contract the ...
Tags: Politics, Science, News, Congress, Washington, Trends, House, New Jersey, Illinois, Donald Trump, Trump, Mike Pence, Capitol, Schneider, Bonnie Watson Coleman, Brad Schneider

'It's going to get much uglier': The US is not prepared for the next phase of COVID-19 vaccinations

Seniors and first responders wait in line to receive a COVID-19 vaccine at the Lakes Regional Library on December 30, 2020 in Fort Myers, Florida. Octavio Jones/Getty Images The US coronavirus vaccine rollout is off to a slow start as states struggle with logistical challenges. Public-health experts worry the next round of vaccinations, for the elderly and essential workers, will be even more chaotic.  Several state health departments told Business Insider they are still sorting out the lo...
Tags: Florida, Texas, Science, News, Mississippi, Congress, Colorado, Cdc, Virginia, US, Trends, Bloomberg, Joe Biden, Walgreens, Healthcare, Miami

Disposable surgical masks best for being heard clearly when speaking, study finds

Researcher Ryan Corey recently heard from a friend who teaches at a school where some of the students have hearing loss. The friend wanted to know if he had any ideas to help her communicate with these students while wearing a mask to slow the spread of COVID-19. Corey, who also has hearing loss, did not know what to tell her. So, he headed to the Illinois Augmented Listening Laboratory to look for solutions.
Tags: Science, Illinois, Corey, COVID, Ryan Corey

Moving scenes show the first coronavirus vaccine in the US being administered to healthcare workers across the country

Vincent Kalut / Photonews via Getty Images Healthcare workers administered shots to their colleagues across the nation this week, beginning the next long-awaited phase of the pandemic since it began in March. The Food and Drug Administration gave emergency use approval to the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine last Friday, and the first batches of the vaccine rolled out earlier this week. The vaccine is said to be 95% effective, experts said. Visit Business Insider's homepage for more stories. The f...
Tags: New York, Science, News, California, Washington, US, Los Angeles, Trends, Ap, Cnn, Features, Chicago, Austin, Pennsylvania, Ronald Reagan, Tennessee

Warmer springs mean more offspring for prothonotary warblers

Climate change contributes to gradually warming Aprils in southern Illinois, and at least one migratory bird species, the prothonotary warbler, is taking advantage of the heat. A new study analyzing 20 years of data found that the warblers start their egg-laying in southern Illinois significantly earlier in warmer springs. This increases the chances that the birds can raise two broods of offspring during the nesting season, researchers found.
Tags: Science, Illinois

The Mystery of Illinois' Short-Lived Cookie Monster Mural

Forget the monoliths—there’s a new monument perplexing America. An artist was commissioned by a local business owner to create a mural of Sesame Street’s Cookie Monster on the side of his building. There was only one problem: This patron of the arts didn’t actually own the building, and he’s all but disappeared. Read more...
Tags: Art, Science, Cookie Monster, Interview, Sesame Street, America, Artists, Mysteries, Illinois, Murals

U.S. Could See 2,000 Covid-19 Deaths Per Day by Christmas: Report

The U.S. could see 2,000 Americans dying per day by Christmas if strict new mitigation strategies aren’t adopted, according to warnings from doctors on the White House Coronavirus Task Force and a new report from CBS News. The alarming news comes as the U.S. reports 1,565 deaths from covid-19 on Tuesday alone, with…Read more...
Tags: Health, Science, Thanksgiving, Minnesota, Cbs News, Nurses, White House, Christmas, Joe Biden, Ptsd, Healthcare, Doctors, Wisconsin, Pfizer, Vaccines, Illinois

Any hope of keeping Earth habitable now requires sucking carbon back out of the atmosphere, a new study found

The Nathaniel B. Palmer, research ship next to the Thwaites Glacier in western Antarctica. Adam Jenkins, National Science Foundation/Via International Thwaites Glacier Collaboration Even if the world were to stop emitting greenhouse gases right now, the Earth would keep warming for centuries, a new study shows. The researchers suggest sucking carbon dioxide out of the atmosphere and storing it underground — a solution known as carbon capture and storage. That's considered a type of geoengi...
Tags: Texas, Science, News, Climate Change, Environment, US, Trends, Global Warming, Earth, Paris, Switzerland, Carbon Emissions, Illinois, Geoengineering, Greenhouse Gas, Saskatchewan

The US could be on track to hit 1 million daily coronavirus cases by the end of 2020, a new report finds

Healthcare worker Dante Hills passes paperwork to a woman at a COVID-19 testing site in Miami, Florida. Lynne Sladky/AP Photo The US could see 1 million daily coronavirus cases by the end of 2020, according to a new report from Pantheon Macroeconomics. That's based on the current trend of average cases rising 34% from week to week. Experts predict this surge could be the largest, and perhaps deadliest, yet. Visit Business Insider's homepage for more stories. In March, when New York City ho...
Tags: Texas, Science, News, New York City, Brown University, US, Trends, Joe Biden, Pennsylvania, United States, South Dakota, Washington Dc, Healthcare, Michigan, New Mexico, Biden

COVID-19 hospitalizations at record high in US, nearing 62,000, as the country adds 131,000 new cases

People stand in line at a clinic in Long Beach, California offering quick coronavirus testing for a fee, on Monday, June 29, 2020. Brittany Murray/MediaNews Group/Long Beach Press-Telegram via Getty Images The US has broken its April 15 record for COVID hospitalizations, according to The Covid Tracking Project, as winter nears. The US has recorded 1 million new cases within the first ten days of November 2020. Today, at least 131,000 cases were recorded nationally, according to The Covid T...
Tags: Utah, Science, News, Cdc, US, Trends, North Dakota, Wisconsin, Pfizer, States, Illinois, Anthony Fauci, Long Beach California, Doug Burgum, COVID-19, Covid Tracking Project

US nears 62,000 daily COVID-19 hospitalizations, an all time high, as it breaks another record of 131,000 new daily cases

People stand in line at a clinic in Long Beach, California offering quick coronavirus testing for a fee, on Monday, June 29, 2020. Brittany Murray/MediaNews Group/Long Beach Press-Telegram via Getty Images The US has broken its April 15 record for COVID hospitalizations, according to The Covid Tracking Project, as winter nears. The US has recorded 1 million new cases within the first ten days of November 2020. Today, at least 131,000 cases were recorded nationally, according to The Covid T...
Tags: Utah, Science, News, Cdc, US, Trends, North Dakota, Wisconsin, Pfizer, States, Illinois, Anthony Fauci, Long Beach California, Doug Burgum, COVID, Covid Tracking Project

Texas becomes first US state to exceed one million coronavirus cases, as the surge strains medical facilities

A nurse prepares to swab a patient at a COVID-19 testing center on July 7, 2020 in Austin, Texas. Sergio Flores/Getty Images Texas became the first state to surpass a million coronavirus cases in the United States on Saturday, as the country battled a third wave of new infections and recorded over 100,000 infections three times in less than a week. In Texas, the surge is straining medical facilities, with the city of El Paso converting a convention center into a field hospital. If Texas we...
Tags: Texas, Science, News, California, US, Trends, United States, Illinois, El Paso, Reuters, Los Angeles County, Pandemic, Coronavirus, COVID-19, COVID, Austin Texas Sergio Flores Getty Images Texas

Europe's COVID-19 outbreak is worsening from disaster to catastrophe, as the US scrambles to contain its third wave

French President Emmanuel Macron, German Chancellor Angela Merkel, and US President Donald Trump at the G20 meeting in Hamburg, Germany, in July 2017. JOHN MACDOUGALL/AFP via Getty Images Europe's COVID-19 outbreak is rapidly resurging, prompting a flurry of new lockdowns like those seen in the spring. In the last ten days, France, Italy, Germany, Britain, and Sweden have reported new records for daily infections. France and Germany announced second national lockdowns on Wednesday, with It...
Tags: Europe, UK, New York, Science, News, Sweden, Wales, California, France, Germany, Angela Merkel, US, Trends, Ap, Getty Images, Chicago

Illinois study tracks evolution of SARS-CoV-2 virus mutations

Since COVID-19 began its menacing march across Wuhan, China, in December 2019, and then across the world, the SARS-CoV-2 virus has taken a 'whatever works' strategy to ensure its replication and spread. But in a new study published in Evolutionary Bioinformatics, University of Illinois researchers and students show the virus is honing the tactics that may make it more successful and more stable.
Tags: Science, Illinois, Wuhan China, Evolutionary Bioinformatics University of Illinois

The public health director for Illinois broke down in tears while announcing a new state record for COVID-19 infections

Dr. Ngozi Ezike, Director of the Illinois Department of Public Health, cries during the daily news briefing in Chicago on October 23, 2020. WMBD News/YouTube The Director of the Department of Public Health in Illinois broke down in tears while announcing a new state record for coronavirus infections on Friday.   Dr. Ngozi Ezike was brought a box of tissues, took a moment to compose herself, apologized, and continued.  As of Sunday morning, there have been at least 376,034 cases and 9,765 d...
Tags: Science, US, Trends, Chicago, New York Times, News UK, Illinois, Donald Trump, Illinois Department of Public Health, Department of Public Health, IDPH, JB Pritzker, COVID-19, Ezike, UK Weekend, Ngozi Ezike

Paper: Congress must clarify limits of gene-editing technologies

How the next Congress decides to handle the issue editing human sperm and eggs will affect the science, ethics and financing of genomic editing for decades to come, said Jacob S. Sherkow, a professor of law at Illinois who studies the ethical and policy implications of advanced biotechnologies.
Tags: Science, Congress, Illinois, Jacob S Sherkow

Amazon Faces Allegations It Harvested and Stored Sensitive Voice Data

Amazon is being hit with a class-action suit alleging that the tech giant’s severs are storing biometric voice data from countless callers, in contravention of an Illinois privacy law. Read more...
Tags: Amazon, Science, Privacy, Aws, Illinois, Biometrics, Stored Sensitive Voice Data

Illinois research links soil nitrogen levels to corn yield and nitrogen losses

What exactly is the relationship between soil nitrogen, corn yield, and nitrogen loss? Most farmers would be forgiven for assuming a straightforward linear relationship: more nitrogen, more grain yield, and maybe, more loss. That's the assumption many nitrogen management models are based on, but it turns out there's very little published science to back up that assumption.
Tags: Science, Illinois

Coronavirus live news: England to announce three-tier lockdown system; India reports 73,000 new cases

Trump plans in-person rally on Monday as next presidential debate cancelled; Europe records 100,000 daily cases for first time; Canada at ‘tipping point’. Follow latest updatesNorth of Engand leaders not consulted on local lockdownsSpain declares emergency in Madrid as Berlin emerges as hotspotUK workers to get two-thirds of wages if firms told to shutAustralia: Is Victoria ready to come out of lockdown?See all our coronavirus coverage 11.23am BST Sir Keir Starmer, leader of the Labour party...
Tags: Europe, England, Science, France, Berlin, India, West Virginia, World news, Canada, United States, Infectious Diseases, Wyoming, Labour, Victoria, Party, Oklahoma

Attention, People of Illinois: It’s Time to Make Facebook Pay

With every passing day, Facebook gives us more evidence that it’s incapable of running itself responsibly, and every day it faces zero consequences. The profits rise and the what-are-you-gonna-do shrugs get more emphatic. But today is different. Today, some of you out there have a chance to cause the social network a…Read more...
Tags: Facebook, Science, Illinois, Biometric, Please Take Immediate Action

Research helps people, lunar rovers, get there on time

Illinois graduate student Pranay Thangeda relies on the bus system in Champaign-Urbana to get to class. He wanted to understand why, despite arriving at the bus stop on time, he was sometimes late. He developed a tool that considers transportation variables weighed against how great a margin of error bus riders are willing to accept, which can also apply to getting a lunar rover to its destination, and with a high degree of reliability.
Tags: Science, Illinois, Champaign Urbana