Feed of Latest U-M Research News
Natural Sciences
New antioxidant system found
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
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...]
Coppola wins Carnegie/CASE U.S. Professor of the Year honor
Brian Coppola, the Arthur F. Thurnau Professor of Chemistry, has been selected as a 2009 U.S. Professor of the Year by the Carnegie Foundation for Advancement of Teaching and the Council for Advancement and Support of Education. Founded in 1981, the U.S. Professors of the Year Awards Program is the only national program specifically designed to acknowledge outstanding undergraduate teaching. Coppola was selected from more than 300 top professors in the United States. [Read more...]
U-M joins the launch of new web site: ScienceWorksForUs.org
The University of Michigan and other leading public and private research universities today announced the launch of ScienceWorksForUS, an initiative that will highlight the scientific research and related activities that have been made possible by the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 (ARRA), also known as the stimulus. The centerpiece of the initiative is a Web site that highlights Recovery Act-sponsored research in all 50 states, telling the stories of the research and the researchers contributing to America's recovery. The web site went live today at www.ScienceWorksForUS.org.
U-M has received more than $200M in stimulus funds through October 2009
In data assembled by the U-M's Division of Research Development and Administration, the U-M has received funding for 342 projects through October, 2009 under the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA). The total dollar value of these projects is $206.4M. To date, the five largest grants support solar energy research, diabetes research, an ongoing study of health and retirement issues in the U.S., the creation of a database to support genetic research in the behavioral and health sciences, and a study of pulmonary fibrosis. [Download table of project awards by U-M schools, colleges and other major units...]
A world without ice
U-M geophysics professor Henry Pollack explains how scientists know that CO2 is at its highest level in 800,000 years, and what it means for the planet. [Read more...]
The U-M Museum of Zoology - a priceless collection of life
Prof. William Fink spoke for the U-M Saturday Morning Physics lecture series about the role of the Museum of Zoology for the campus, including it's value for research and teaching and as an international resource. [View lecture...]
Deal of the Year - University of Michigan’s North Campus Research Complex
Pfizer departure paved the way for major university expansion
The 2008 departure of pharmaceutical giant Pfizer from its 174-acre campus in northern Ann Arbor was the single biggest blow to the region's economy in decades. But Pfizer's exodus, which displaced more than 2,100 workers, paves the way for the University of Michigan's biggest expansion in five decades. U-M, which acquired the site in June for $108 million, plans to hire 2,000 to 3,000 workers to populate the 2 million square feet of facilities over the next 10 years. The acquisition of the ex-Pfizer site, renamed the North Campus Research Complex, is AnnArbor.com Business Review's "Deal of the Year" for 2009. [Read more...]
U-M scientists move forward with plans for embryonic stem cell projects
Nov. 4, 2009 is the one-year anniversary of the vote approving Proposal 2, the state constitutional amendment that eased restrictions on human embryonic stem cell research in Michigan. The amendment permits Michigan scientists to derive new human embryonic stem cell lines. While no such projects have begun at U-M, researchers here have taken several significant steps this year to prepare for them. [Read more...]
Hybrid molecules show promise for exploring, treating Alzheimer’s
One of the many mysteries of Alzheimer's disease is how protein-like snippets called amyloid-beta peptides, which clump together to form plaques in the brain, may cause cell death, leading to the disease's devastating symptoms of memory loss and other mental difficulties. In order to answer that key question and develop new approaches to preventing the damage, scientists must first understand how amyloid-beta forms the telltale clumps. University of Michigan researchers have developed new molecular tools that can be used to investigate the process. The molecules also hold promise in Alzheimer's disease treatment. The research, led by assistant professor Mi Hee Lim, was published online this week in the Journal of the American Chemical Society. [Read more...]