Biomedical
Sad dads spank more, read less
Compared to their non-depressed counterparts, depressed fathers are nearly four times more likely to report spanking their child. Depressed dads are also less likely to read to their children.Those are the results of a new study to be published in the April print issue of Pediatrics, by U-M researchers. The study was led by R. Neal Davis, a former fellow at the University of Michigan Health System’s Child Health and Evaluation Research (CHEAR) Unit in the Division of General Pediatrics. Read More
U-M awarded $4.9 million to help reduce obesity in preschool children
The USDA’s National Institute of Food and Agriculture has awarded $4.9 million to the University of Michigan to reduce the prevalence of childhood obesity among Head Start preschoolers in Michigan. Julie C. Lumeng, M.D., a behavioral pediatrician at the U-M's C.S. Mott Children’s Hospital, will lead a research team of faculty from the U-M School of Public Health, the U-M Center for Human Growth and Development, and Michigan State University. Read More
Researchers connect a specific protein to head and neck cancers
The discovery that a certain protein is over-expressed in patients with oral cancer may give new treatment hope to people suffering from the particularly aggressive, localized forms of head and neck cancer. Researchers at the U- M- School of Dentistry found that when they inhibited the expression of that protein, called SIRT3 or Sirtuin-3, in oral cancer cells in a petri dish, the cells did not proliferate and more of them died. Read More
First lab researchers move to U-M’s North Campus Research Complex
The first laboratory-based researchers have moved into the U-M’s North Campus Research Complex (NCRC), bringing with them cutting-edge research that uses stem cells to create new heart muscle and focuses on the crucial squeezing action of the heart. The two researchers, Eric Devaney, M.D., associate professor of cardiac surgery, and, Todd Herron, Ph.D., assistant research professor of Internal Medicine in the Center for Arrhythmia Research, are the first of about 60 researchers in a cardiovascular research cluster moving to the NCRC. The University’s DNA sequencing unit, which provides DNA analysis to researchers, also has moved in 23 staff and about $10 million worth of equipment to NCRC. Read More
U-M develops a potential ‘game changer’ for pathologists
A technique designed by a team, lead by U-M Pathology Informatics director Ulysses Balis, aims to make computer-aided tissue analysis better, faster and simpler. Spatially-Invariant Vector Quantization (SIVQ) can pinpoint cancer cells and other critical features from digital images made from tissue slides. The technology – developed in conjunction with researchers at Massachusetts General Hospital and Harvard Medical School – differs from conventional pattern recognition software by basing its core search on a series of concentric, pattern-matching rings, rather than the more typical rectangular or square blocks. Read more
Targeted therapy shrinks aggressive prostate cancer in mice, cells
Researchers at the U-M Comprehensive Cancer Center have identified a potential target to treat an aggressive type of prostate cancer. The target is a gene called SPINK1. In a study reported in the March 2 issue of Science Translational Medicine, researchers led by Arul Chinnaiyan showed that a ‘blocking’ antibody to SPINK1 could slow the growth of prostate tumors in mice that were positive for the SPINK protein. Read more
Silk moth’s antenna inspires new nanotech tool with applications in Alzheimer’s research
By mimicking the structure of the silk moth's antenna, University of Michigan researchers led the development of a better nanopore—a tiny tunnel-shaped tool that could advance understanding of a class of neurodegenerative diseases that includes Alzheimer's. This project is headed by Michael Mayer, an associate professor in the U-M departments of Biomedical Engineering and Chemical Engineering. A paper on the work is newly published online in Nature Nanotechnology. Read more
U-M updates innovation web site
The "Innovate!" web site has been launched as a refreshed version of the innovation economy site that has existed for the last 18 months. The new site also features a series of vignettes on faculty and student innovators and entrepreneurs. Read more
Prototype drug targets metabolism, halts disease that limits bone marrow transplantation
A prototype drug already shown to hold promise for treating autoimmune disorders like lupus, arthritis and psoriasis halts established graft-versus-host disease (GVHD) in mouse models of bone marrow transplantation, research at the University of Michigan and the University of Florida shows. The research, published in the Jan. 26 issue of Science Translational Medicine, also offers new insights into how the cells that cause GVHD and other immune disorders make adenosine-5'-triphosphate (ATP), the primary source of energy used by cells. [Read more...]