Natural Sciences
Three faculty receive presidential awards
Three U-M researchers are among the 85 recipients of the current year's Presidential Early Career Awards for Scientists and Engineers (PECASE), the nation's highest honor for professionals at the outset of their independent research careers. The faculty members are Haoxing Xu, assistant professor in the Department of Molecular, Cellular, & Developmental Biology; Jerome Lynch, associate professor in the departments of Civil and Environmental Engineering, and Electrical Engineering and Computer Science; and Shelie Miller, assistant professor at the School of Natural Resources and Environment. [Read more...]
Physics experiment supports existence of new particle
The results of a high-profile Fermilab physics experiment involving a University of Michigan professor appear to confirm strange 20-year-old findings that poke holes in the standard model, suggesting the existence of a new elementary particle: a fourth flavor of neutrino. The new results go further to describe a violation of a fundamental symmetry of the universe asserting that particles of antimatter behave in the same way as their matter counterparts. "These results imply that there are either new particles or forces we had not previously imagined," says Byron Roe, professor emeritus in the Department of Physics. [Read more...]
Monarch butterflies use medicinal plants to treat offspring
Monarch butterflies appear to use medicinal plants to treat their offspring for disease, research by biologists at the University of Michigan and Emory University shows. Their findings were published online Oct. 6 in the journal Ecology Letters. Few studies have been done on self-medication by animals, but some scientists have theorized that the practice may be more widespread than we realize. "Several criteria must be met in order to demonstrate that self-medication actually is occurring," said U-M chemical ecologist Mark Hunter. "In this study, all of those criteria were met, making it one of the first clear demonstrations of self-medication in an animal. In addition, it's the first example of trans-generational medication, with the mother's behavior benefiting her offspring." [Read more...]
New $46-million labs to enable research at frontiers of mechanical engineering and nanotechnology
A next-generation nano-mechanical engineering lab complex at the University of Michigan will enable researchers to study the forces at work at the smallest scales and to advance nano-technologies in energy, manufacturing, healthcare and biotechnology. The three-story complex will include 60 lab modules and space for 18 professors in a 62,880 square-foot addition to the G.G. Brown Laboratories on Hayward Street on North Campus. "Michigan Engineering has always been strong in traditional large-scale mechanical engineering areas including automotive research. This new facility will propel us to the next level. It will allow researchers to pursue exciting projects at the frontiers of mechanical science and engineering, where the discipline intersects with nanoscience and biology," said David Munson, the Robert J. Vlasic Dean of Engineering. [Read more...]
CI Days in November
Cyberinfrastructure Days (CI Days) is a free, community-building conference held on Tuesday, November 2 and Wednesday, November 3, 2010 and organized by the Office of Research Cyberinfrastructure (ORCI) and Information and Technology Services (ITS). The conference is an opportunity for faculty, students, and staff from across campus to share information and ideas about advanced, integrated computation and information resources and their use in research and learning; learn from nationally renowned leaders; attend tutorials, presentations, and panels; and present your research and learn about others' research at a poster session. [Read more...]
Complexity not so costly after all, analysis shows
The more complex a plant or animal, the more difficulty it should have adapting to changes in the environment. That's been a maxim of evolutionary theory since biologist Ronald Fisher put forth the idea in 1930. Now a new analysis by Jianzhi "George" Zhang and coworkers at the University of Michigan and Taiwan's National Health Research Institutes reveals flaws in the models from which the cost of complexity idea arose and shows that complexity can, indeed, develop through evolutionary processes. In fact, a moderate amount of complexity best equips organisms to adapt to environmental change, the research suggests. [Read more...]
Front row seat to ultrafast chemical reaction
As a chemical reaction in solution reaction proceeds, the vibrations of the close-by molecules change. By tracking these frequency changes, U-M researchers Kevin Kubarych and Carlos Baizare are able to observe details of a chemical reaction as it happens. [Read more...]
Paper wasps punish peers for misrepresenting their might
Falsely advertising one's fighting ability might seem like a good strategy for a wimp who wants to come off as a toughie, but in paper wasp societies, such deception is discouraged through punishment, experiments at the University of Michigan suggest. The research, by evolutionary biologists Elizabeth Tibbetts and Amanda Izzo, is published online in the Aug. 19, 2010 issue of the journal Current Biology. [Read more...]