Articles

My work is a conduit that moves discoveries from scientists' lab benches, fields, and computers into Twitter feeds and conversations. I help scientists share their stories, and I help journalists find scientists with stories to share.

Derek Wildman: Computing genomes for reproductive health

Claire Benjamin

Sep 1, 2015
2 min

Derek Wildman: Computing genomes for reproductive health

More than 2 billion babies will be born over the next 35 years. As many as one in eight of these babies may be born prematurely, with...

Klaus Schulten: Seeing with the quantum biology of vision

Claire Benjamin

Apr 17, 2015
3 min

Klaus Schulten: Seeing with the quantum biology of vision

Klaus Schulten drafts blueprints of life—not with a pen, but with a computer program that his group developed over the last two decades....

Monkey droppings complement field observations, researchers report

Claire Benjamin

Apr 15, 2015
3 min

Monkey droppings complement field observations, researchers report

In South American rainforests, researchers can tell one saddle-back tamarin from another, but what’s more difficult, is to see what the...

First report of a new crop virus in North America

Claire Benjamin

Apr 9, 2015
3 min

First report of a new crop virus in North America

The switchgrass exhibited mosaic symptoms—splotchy, discolored leaves—characteristic of a viral infection, yet tested negative for known...

Microbes scared to death by virus presence

Claire Benjamin

Apr 4, 2015
3 min

Microbes scared to death by virus presence

The microbes could surrender to the harmless virus, but instead freeze in place, dormant, waiting for their potential predator to go...

Scientists find DNA is packaged like a yoyo

Claire Benjamin

Mar 16, 2015
3 min

Scientists find DNA is packaged like a yoyo

To pack two meters of DNA into a microscopic cell, the string of genetic information must be wound extremely carefully into chromosomes....

Claire Benjamin

Mar 1, 2015
2 min

Vijay Singh: Fueling the future

Singh has been working with biofuels from the start, long before many others flocked to the technology that could deliver a...

Jonathan Sweedler: Exploring the brain’s frontier

Claire Benjamin

Feb 1, 2015
3 min

Jonathan Sweedler: Exploring the brain’s frontier

Jonathan Sweedler uses grapefruit-sized sea slugs—that can weigh more than four pounds—to study how chemicals, like serotonin and...

Princess Imoukhuede: A jack-of-all-trades

Claire Benjamin

Dec 1, 2014
2 min

Princess Imoukhuede: A jack-of-all-trades

Princess Imoukhuede, an assistant professor of bioengineering, is not just an interdisciplinary collaborator; she is an interdisciplinary...

Koala study reveals clues about origins of the human genome

Claire Benjamin

Nov 7, 2014
3 min

Koala study reveals clues about origins of the human genome

Eight percent of your genome derives from retroviruses that inserted themselves into human sex cells millions of years ago. Right now the...

James Doroghazi: Designing for the next generation

Claire Benjamin

Nov 1, 2014
2 min

James Doroghazi: Designing for the next generation

At a time when scientists and farmers are thinking about feeding several billion more people, Western corn rootworm, known as the...

James O’Dwyer: From physics to ecological theory

Claire Benjamin

Oct 1, 2014
3 min

James O’Dwyer: From physics to ecological theory

James O’Dwyer, an assistant professor of plant biology at the University of Illinois and member of the Institute for Genomic Biology,...

New research may help doctors personalize cancer treatments

Claire Benjamin

Sep 26, 2014
3 min

New research may help doctors personalize cancer treatments

Most types of tumors, including cancer, require a supply of blood to grow larger than a few millimeters. Scientists have made great...

Claire Benjamin

Sep 1, 2014
2 min

Karen Sears: Looking at life's changes

When most five-year-olds dreamed of careers as superheroes and princesses, Karen Sears (GNDP) decided she wanted to be a...

Climate relicts may help researchers understand climate change

Claire Benjamin

Aug 26, 2014
2 min

Climate relicts may help researchers understand climate change

While hiking through the Ozarks’ characteristic oak and hickory forests as a teenager, ecologist Scott Woolbright discovered something...

Classic Lewis Carroll character inspires new ecological model

Claire Benjamin

Jul 30, 2014
3 min

Classic Lewis Carroll character inspires new ecological model

Inspired by the Red Queen in Lewis Carroll’s Through the Looking Glass, collaborators from the University of Illinois and National...

Transforming the hunt for new antibiotics and cancer therapies

Claire Benjamin

Jul 14, 2014
4 min

Transforming the hunt for new antibiotics and cancer therapies

Pictured left to right: Courtney Cox, James Doroghazi, Joel Melby, principal investigator Doug Mitchell, Jonathan Tietz, and Karol...

Molecular archaeology puts artifacts in perspective

Claire Benjamin

Jul 11, 2014
4 min

Molecular archaeology puts artifacts in perspective

Buried inside the Earth, lay secrets. Archeologists piece together histories often lost to time as they unearth human remains and their...

Illinois study may improve rice productivity

Claire Benjamin

Jun 21, 2014
3 min

Illinois study may improve rice productivity

Transnational rice study on photosynthesis could improve international food security Kyoto University visiting professor and study lead...

Collaborative learning: The OLLI Citizen Scientist Program

Claire Benjamin & August Schiess

May 16, 2014
8 min

Collaborative learning: The OLLI Citizen Scientist Program

Osher Lifelong Learning Institute program helps senior citizens explore new callings Cell and Developmental Biology Professor Stephanie...