Michigan Today - October 2008

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U-M HERITAGE »

Time machine

img: at the fishbowl

Stand outside the Fishbowl and Mason Hall, and you're right where U-M began. Take a trip through time in this slideshow.

Sports

The accidental coach

img: Red Berenson

As a young man, Red Berenson kept preparing for life after hockey. Now 68, he's still among the best in the business.

Most emailed stories

Alumni

Student by student by student

Doug Ross

Doug Ross is proving that inner-city schools really can work.

Health

Is there a smoking gene?

smoker

If your first cigarette gave you a buzz, your affection for smoking might be genetic.

TALKING ABOUT WORDS »

Campaigns and slogans

vote button

The presidential campaign has generated new words and catchphrases, but will anyone ever match the best political slogan ever?

TALKING ABOUT MOVIES »

Pine vs. Holly

Liz Taylor

Britain's legendary Pinewood Studio has produced some of the world's best and, alas, worst films.

sign on wall street reading 'jump!'
Business

Crash

U-M business professors explain what went wrong, who (and what) is to blame, how it will affect us and where we go from here.

(Image above has been edited.)

image: Dr. Oveta Fuller
Faculty at Work

Medicine and ministry

Dr. Oveta Fuller is a respected researcher in microbiology and immunology, an expert on viral infections. But her most vital work takes place outside the lab, when she combines her scientific knowledge with faith. Turns out that one of her most effective weapons against AIDS is the fact that she's not only a scientist, but a pastor.

Images of the month »

Olympians return

Michael Phelps and coach Bob Bowman at Michigan Stadium

U-M welcomes home its two dozen Olympians at the Big House.

Click image for slideshow

On Campus

U-M Tech Transfer helps launch 13 new businesses in FY 2008

U-M licensed 13 new business startups in fiscal year 2008, part of an ongoing push to help the economy in Michigan and the US. From kidney treatments to next-generation vehicle batteries, the new companies are among 49 startups launched by U-M research in the last five years.

image: espresso book machine
On Campus

U-M at forefront of new era in publishing

A Time Magazine "Best Invention of 2007," the Espresso Book Machine has been called "the ATM of books." Now the University of Michigan is the first university library to install the book-printing machine, which produces perfect-bound, high-quality paperback books of nearly any digitized book within minutes.

image: aerosteon dinosaur
Research News

Meat-eating dinosaur from Argentina had bird-like breathing system

The remains of a 30-foot-long predatory dinosaur discovered along the banks of Argentina's Rio Colorado is helping to unravel how birds evolved their unusual breathing system. University of Michigan paleontologist Jeffrey Wilson was part of the team that made the discovery. En Espanol

image: components of large hadron collider
Research News

Michigan integral to world's largest physics experiment

The epic Large Hadron Collider (LHC) is a machine that could either verify or nullify the prevailing theory of particle physics. Based in Europe, it currently involves 25 University of Michigan physicists and students. More than 100 U-M researchers have been involved in the project over the years.

image: wasp face
Research News

Remembrance of tussles past: paper wasps show surprisingly strong memory for previous encounters

With brains less than a millionth the size of humans', paper wasps hardly seem like mental giants. But new research at the University of Michigan shows that these insects can remember individuals for at least a week, even after meeting and interacting with many other wasps in the meantime. En Espanol

Research News
image: handgun

Gun shows do not increase homicides or suicides

A new study run in part at the University of Michigan finds no evidence that gun shows lead to substantial increases in either gun-related homicides or suicides. The study also shows that tighter regulation of gun shows does not appear to reduce the number of firearms-related deaths.

Research News
image: person using Talking Points system

"Tag the world": New Bluetooth system orients blind and sighted pedestrians

A new Bluetooth system designed primarily for blind people places a layer of information technology over the real world to tell pedestrians about points of interest along their path as they pass them. With the potential to describe historical sites, locate restrooms, or list nearby restaurants, the "Talking Points" system is a start on creating an "audio virtual reality" for sighted and non-sighted people. En Espanol