Research at U-M

The Other Side of the Dream

leekatt — Sun, 22 Nov 2009 15:00:54 +0000

For some immigrant groups, the stress of migrating to the United States can lead to substance use and abuse. In the process of migrating to the United States, Latino men who have sex with men face the additional burden of having to redefine their sexual identity to meet the cultural norms of mainstream white gay culture, says Jose Bauermeister, a research assistant professor in health behavior and health education and supervisor of the newly founded Sexuality and Health Research Lab at the School of Public Health. In his research, Bauermeister finds that homosexual activity can be a catalyst for drug use. [Read more...]

Improving Care for the Vulnerable

leekatt — Fri, 20 Nov 2009 21:49:25 +0000

U-M’s Kyle Grazier, a professor of health management and policy in the School of Public Health, says society also pays a high price for failing to care for vulnerable populations. Untreated addiction often leads to drunk driving, suicide, broken families, and juvenile delinquency. Lack of transitional housing and job training programs brings more homelessness and crime. In recent research, she interviewed individuals receiving services and developed a guide to the essential features of successful programs. [Read more...]

Smartphone app illuminates power consumption

leekatt — Fri, 20 Nov 2009 18:13:20 +0000

A new application for the Android smartphone shows users and software developers how much power their applications are consuming. PowerTutor was developed by doctoral students and professors at the University of Michigan. Battery-powered cell phones serve as hand-held computers and more these days. We run power-hungry applications while we depend on the phones to be available in emergencies. “Today, we expect our phones to realize more and more functions, and we also expect their batteries to last,” said Lide Zhang, a doctoral student in the Department of Electrical Engineering and Computer Science and one of the application’s developers. “PowerTutor will help make that possible.” [Read more...]

MbusinessLink: Pathway To Discovery

leekatt — Fri, 20 Nov 2009 15:44:53 +0000

At the University of Michigan Life Sciences Institute (LSI), U-M scientists are working with corporate partners from Johnson & Johnson Pharmaceutical Research and Development, a leading pharmaceutical company, to develop new therapies for diabetes, inflammation and obesity. MbusinessLink, a publication of the U-M Business Engagement Center, reports that future breakthroughs stemming from this collaboration could help to improve the health and well-being of millions of patients worldwide. [Read more...]

Results are mixed for impact of No Child Left Behind Act

leekatt — Thu, 19 Nov 2009 21:13:42 +0000

The first known rigorous national impact evaluation of the No Child Left Behind (NCLB) Act finds that the legislation has had mixed effects on student achievement. The research indicates that the NCLB reforms generated statistically significant increases in the average math performance of 4th graders as well as improvements at the lower and top achievement percentiles. There was also evidence of improvements in 8th grade math achievement, particularly among traditionally low-achieving groups and at the lower percentiles. However, the authors find no evidence that NCLB increased reading achievement in either 4th or 8th grade. “The prior evidence on the achievement effects is quite limited. Earlier studies have either focused on single districts or states, relied on state developed assessments that are subject to ’score inflation,’ or used weak research designs that confound the impact of NCLB with other social, educational and economic factors,” said Brian Jacob, a professor at the U-M Ford School of Public Policy. “We believe this new research sheds much-needed light on the results of what was arguably the most far-reaching education policy initiative of the last 40 years.” [Read more...]

New antioxidant system found

leekatt — Thu, 19 Nov 2009 20:53:08 +0000

The U-M’s Kate Carroll, along with colleagues in Belgium, have discovered a new antioxidant system that protects single amino acids known as cysteines. The body’s proteins, which are made up of amino acids and perform essential roles, can be injured by reactive species known as oxidants. Over time, the injuries can lead to cancer, heart disease, Alzheimer’s disease and other serious medical conditions. To guard against such harm, our cells have special proteins that can repair or reverse oxidative damage. But until now, no such repair system had been identified for single cysteines, which are particularly susceptible to the damage. The research appears in the Nov. 20 issue of the journal Science. [Read more...]

An atomic-level look at an HIV accomplice

leekatt — Thu, 19 Nov 2009 18:45:49 +0000

Since the discovery in 2007 that a component of human semen called SEVI boosts infectivity of the virus that causes AIDS, researchers have been trying to learn more about SEVI and how it works, in hopes of thwarting its infection-promoting activity. Now, scientist Ayyalusamy Ramamoorthy and coworkers at the University of Michigan have determined the atomic-level, three-dimensional structure of a SEVI precursor known as PAP248-286 and discovered how it damages cell membranes to make them more vulnerable to infection with HIV. [Read more...]

Recession may be over, but recovery will be gradual

leekatt — Thu, 19 Nov 2009 16:54:14 +0000

With the severe national recession of the past two years finally behind us, the pace of economic recovery will be slow and unemployment will remain high for quite some time, say economists at the University of Michigan. “Based on the data currently available, the recession that began at the close of 2007 appears to have ended sometime this summer—the longest and steepest drop in output since the Great Depression,” said U-M economist Joan Crary. “The federal government’s series of unprecedented policy actions—both fiscal and monetary—deserve much of the credit for this dramatic shift from an economy that nearly went into free fall to one that is at least clawing its way back up. We have now shifted out of reverse and into first gear.” [Read more...]

The Limits of Carbon Pricing: Can High Prices Alone Cut Emissions?

leekatt — Thu, 19 Nov 2009 16:51:13 +0000

U-M Professor Andy Hoffman writes in his latest Perspectives blog posting that “we place too much faith in pricing as a singular mechanism for solving environmental problems in this country. The most vivid example is the call to create a price for carbon as the solution to the climate change problem. As the logic goes; if we set a price for carbon high enough, innovators will create new gadgets that emit fewer greenhouse gases, investors will invest in them, companies will adopt them and consumers will buy them. But, not so fast. We are not like some sort of mice chasing a piece of cheese whenever it is placed in front of us. Unlike mice, we are not so singular in focus. We actually care who is placing the cheese and we may even ignore the cheese if it is not placed in the right way.” This first appeared on the Newsweek.com “Green Business” blog on November 18, 2009. [Read more...]

Chances of surviving a cardiac arrest at home or work unchanged in 30 years

leekatt — Thu, 19 Nov 2009 16:11:43 +0000

The chance of surviving an out-of-hospital cardiac arrest has not improved since the 1950s, according to a report by the University of Michigan Health System. The analysis shows only 7.6 percent of victims survive an out-of-hospital cardiac arrest, a number that has not changed significantly in almost 30 years. It’s a dismal trend considering enormous spending on heart research, new emergency care protocols, and the advent of new drugs and devices such as defibrillators. [Read more...]