Feed of Latest U-M Research News
Natural Sciences
Whooping cough immunity long-lasting, study shows
Immunity to whooping cough lasts at least 30 years on average, much longer than previously thought, an analysis by researchers at the University of Michigan and the University of New Mexico shows. The research, by U-M professor of ecology and evolutionary biology Pejman Rohani and his former postdoctoral fellow Helen Wearing, now an assistant professor at the University of New Mexico, is scheduled to be published Oct. 23, 2009 in the open-access journal PLoS Pathogens. Once thought to be under control, thanks to widespread childhood vaccination, whooping cough (pertussis) has been on the rise since the 1980s in the United States and several other countries. This increase has fueled concerns about the effectiveness of current vaccination practices and raised the question of whether whooping cough can ever be eradicated. [Read more...]
Underwater Archaeology
Exploring the bottom of Lake Huron for signs of ancient human life
The bottom of Lake Huron is filled with more than shipwrecks—there are also clues left behind from ancient man. LSA Professor of Anthropology John O’Shea found archaeological evidence of a 9,000-year-old hunting culture in the depths of Lake Huron, in collaboration with U-M Professor Guy R. Meadows, Director of U-M’s Marine Hydrodynamics Laboratories. [Read more...]
Muddy Waters
In the Fall 2009 issue of LSA Magazine, three experts from the College of Literature, Science & the Arts weigh in on the greatest threats facing the Great Lakes, and what can be done about the damage humans have inflicted (and continue to inflict) on the world's largest freshwater resource. [Read more...]
A Very Loud Number
In this blog post, U-M Vice President for Research discusses the broader meaning of the $1B milestone in research spending: "By now, many have heard that the University of Michigan broke the $1,000,000,000 threshold for research expenditures in Fiscal Year 2009 (FY09). Indeed, by National Science Foundation accounting, U-M has moved into third place for research expenditures by U.S. universities in 2008 (the latest year for which such numbers are available). Only the University of California at San Francisco and the University of Wisconsin rank higher." [Read more...]
Color differences within and between species have common genetic origin
Spend a little time people-watching at the beach and you're bound to notice differences in the amount, thickness and color of people's body hair. Then head to the zoo and compare people to chimps, our closest living relatives. The body hair difference is even more pronounced between the two species than within our own species. Do the same genes cause both types of variation? Biologists have puzzled over that question for some time, not just with respect to people, chimps and body hair, but for all sorts of traits that differ within and between species. Now, a study by University of Michigan researchers shows that, at least for body color in fruit flies, the two kinds of variation have a common genetic basis. The research, led by evolutionary biologist Patricia Wittkopp, appears in the Oct. 23, 2009 issue of the journal Science.
Zell Lurie Institute awards student entrepreneurs more than $50,000 in grants
The Samuel Zell & Robert H. Lurie Institute for Entrepreneurial Studies at the Stephen M. Ross School of Business has announced the recipients of the Fall 2009 Eugene Applebaum Dare to Dream Grant Program, where students apply for funding to advance their innovative, high-potential business concepts toward launch. The 30 grant recipients submitted projects that range from a light sport aircraft design and manufacturing firm to an online fundraising platform for performers to a stationary bicycle that generates electricity. [Read more...]
Looking for common factors in tissue regeneration
Biologists long have marveled at the ability of some animals to re-grow lost body parts. Newts, for example, can lose a leg and grow a new one identical to the original. Zebrafish can re-grow fins. Using zebrafish as a model, researchers at the University of Michigan have found that some of the same genes underlie the process in different types of tissues. Genes involved in fin regeneration and heart repair are also required for rebuilding damaged light receptors in the eye, they found, suggesting that a common molecular mechanism guides the process, no matter what body part is damaged. [Read more...]
Physics professor awarded 2010 APS Frank Isakson Prize
Duncan Steel, Robert J. Hiller Professor of Engineering in the Department of Electrical Engineering and Computer Science, Professor of Physics, Professor of Biophysics, and Research Professor in the Institute of Gerontology, was awarded the 2010 Frank Isakson Prize for Optical Effects in Solids from the American Physical Society. Prof. Steel received this award, "For seminal contributions to nonlinear optical spectroscopy and coherent control of semiconductor heterostructures." His research has focused on the development and application of various laser-matter interaction studies and quantum optics in fields including plasmas, optical phase conjugation, atomic and molecular spectroscopy, condensed matter physics, protein folding and quantum computing. [Read more...]
Being a standout has its evolutionary benefits, study shows
Standing out in a crowd is better than blending in, at least if you're a paper wasp in a colony where fights between nest-mates determine social status. That's the conclusion of a study by University of Michigan researchers published online this week in the journal Evolution. "It's good to be different, to wear a nametag advertising your identity," said graduate student Michael Sheehan, who collaborated on the research with evolutionary biologist Elizabeth Tibbetts. [Read more...]
“Behind-the-Scenes” Days at U-M museums, archives, more
The University of Michigan is inviting the community to look behind the scenes of its Museums, Archives, and Libraries on Friday, October 9 and Saturday, October 10. Tours of collection areas, conservation laboratories, exhibit preparation areas, and other spaces not usually open to the public. The free events are part of a city-wide celebration of arts, science and culture that includes Ann Arbor's annual Art Walk, a chance to tour the city's galleries and meet the artists. [Read more...]