Lawrence Kasdan, director of ‘The Big Chill,’ ‘Grand Canyon’ and other classics, recalls his U-M days.

In the ruins of a city that was once Rome’s neighbor, archaeologists last summer found a 1,000-pound lead coffin. Who or what is inside is still a mystery, said U-M’s Nicola Terrenato, who leads the largest American dig in Italy in the past 50 years. “We’re very excited about this find. Romans as a rule were not buried in coffins to begin with and when they did use coffins, they were mostly wooden. There are only a handful of other examples from Italy of lead coffins from this age.”

The Law School’s Innocence Clinic secures the freedom of a man falsely imprisoned for murder since 2001.

The muscle-building abilities of hormones known as insulin-like growth factors (IGFs) are legendary. But key details about how IGFs work on muscle cells have been lacking. Now, researchers have cleared up a longstanding mystery about the workings of IGFs. The team’s findings could lead to new treatments for muscle-wasting diseases and new ways of preventing the muscle loss that accompanies aging.

After enduring one of its worst years ever in 2009, Michigan’s economy will flounder this year before showing some improvement in 2011, say University of Michigan economists