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THE DAILY ILLINI
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The independent student newspaper at the University of Illinois since 1871
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Vol. 148 Issue 32
Storm creates travel difficulties Researchers acquire bacterial molecules for use in medicine
late genes by activating those “silent genes.” Zhao said there are some proteins which stop genes from being expressed and their teams are introduced to decoys that bind them with those proteins and move them from genes. Through this method, researchers can use their targeting genes to encode enzymes. “This work is really cool because its basic mechanism is not solely to unmute silent gene clusters, but it can also mute active gene clusters, meaning it can reverse the output. So in both ways we can discover new things,” said Guo Fang, postdoctoral researcher in the research team, in an email. Zhao said other research groups may also be able to use this method as a tool to discover other compounds. Compared with the controversial topic of gene-editing in the last year, Zhao emphasized they are only
BY ZIHAN WANG STAFF WRITER
KENYON EDMOND THE DAILY ILLINI
A winter storm warning was issued for much of central Illinois on Friday, cautioning hazardous roadway conditions all day Saturday. University Chancellor Robert Jones sent a Massmail to students and their parents encouraging students to exercise caution while traveling to Champaign-Urbana, even at the expense of missing classes Monday.
University researchers recently acquired molecule products from bacteria through activating “silent genes.” The molecules have potential use for drugs but need further research. Silent genes are genes that were not able to express their functions because of certain proteins. Researchers used Streptomyces, a kind of bacteria, to produce new molecules. Huimin Zhao, professor in the Department of Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering, said they chose this bacteria because Streptomyces can be prolific to produce small molecules for drugs. Zhao said they use the bacteria as factories, and they manipulate the genes of the bacteria. Those genes can encode enzymes in the bacteria which can compound basic molecules like glucose, oxygen or water into more complex molecules, which can be used for drugs. The researchers manipu-
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Students receive study abroad award UI imaging technique BY DAVID RUVINSKIY STAFF WRITER
Twelve University students have been named recipients of the Benjamin A. Gilman International Scholarship, a monetary award which funds study abroad experiences. Named after a late New York congressman, the scholarship is a grant program designed for students with limited financial
means, said David Schug, national and international scholarships program director for the University. Students collectively received $45,000 in awards. “They have overcome some things in their lives to get here, they’re doing very well, and they found a way that study abroad is going to help them be better in serving others in their career,” Schug said.
“I think that’s the kind of person that they like to give the Gilman scholarship to.” Paisley Meyer, senior in LAS, is one of the recipients. Because of Meyer’s interest in conflict resolution between governments, she plans to apply what she has learned in her global studies major while studying in Vienna. “This was just kind of a city and atmosphere in
which my major was directly involved in,” Meyer said. “All of the things that I have been learning course-wise here at the University of Illinois are now being more put into practice.” Meyer said the Gilman Scholarship is designed for students who qualify for the Federal Pell Grant, a subsidy provided by the governSEE ABROAD | 3A
Government shutdown upsets UI research Federal agencies get affected by government shutdown
BY OLIVIA WELSHANS STAFF WRITER
Research at the University may experience some difficulties in funding and proposal delays due to key federal agencies being affected by the partial government shutdown. If the shutdown is brief, the University will see very little impact with respect to its research, said Melissa Edwards, executive director of Strategic Research Communications, in an email. However, the partial government shutdown has already become the longest running government shutdown in the nation’s history. Federal agencies are responsible for funding many research projects at the University. In the 2017 fiscal year, the National Science Foundation awarded about $136 million to researchers at the University, more than any other university in the nation.
One of the agencies affected is the National Science Foundation, which awarded $136 million to University research in 2017.
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tify cancer cells in the body, without having to surgically remove them for biopsy. “This imaging technology has the potential to open unprecedented perspectives for label-free intravital functional imaging for various branches of cancer research due to its label-free nature, relative simplicity, versatility and rich molecular profiling capability,” said Sixian You, graduate student in bioengineering, who is involved in the project. Without the use of the imaging system, the process of diagnosing cancer takes a few days involving the tissue having to be fixed, processed, sectioned and stained for regular histology and diagnosis. With the portable optimizing imaging system, researchers took 30 min-
BY CAROLINE COYLE STAFF WRITER
A newly developed portable optimizing imaging system created in University bioengineering professor Stephen Boppart’s lab now allows researchers to visualize the microenvironment of surgically removed human breast cancer tissue. The portable optimizing imaging system uses light to identify and categorize different areas of the tissue and cells. This system can identify specific features of tissue that make up a tumor microenvironment. “Our technology enables our ability to visualize, image and quantify cells and the extracellular vesicles that they produce right at the point-of-procedure, immediately when tissue/ cancer is taken out during surgery,” Boppart said. This new system could allow researchers to iden-
SEE IMAGING | 3A
INSIDE SOURCE OFFICE OF THE VICE CHANCELLOR FOR RESEARCH
The NSF is just one of several federal agencies affected by the shutdown. Other agencies include the United States Department of Agriculture, National Institute of Standards and Technology and NASA. The University’s Sponsored Programs Administration created a web page to answer many questions researchers might have
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about how their work will be affected by the government shutdown. The website informs researchers that government agencies will not be able to accept proposals during the shutdown. This can be agency specific, but for the most part, researchers will not be able to submit proposals of research projects for funding until the shutdown is over.
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Researchers who received funding before the shutdown and whose period of performance remains open do not have cause to worry, according to the website. They are still able to expend funds from existing federal rewards. The webpage also urges researchers to keep up with
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