Research News

  1. Ancient beads or Stone-Age ‘likes’?

    Anthropologists believe early humans exchanged eggshell beads to affirm connections and update their relationship status. Sound familiar?

  2. The nature of pain: Approach brings relief without opioids

    U-M launches an outreach program to teach clinicians more about the different types of pain and approaches to relief that are nonaddictive and more effective than opioids.

  3. Can’t resist tempting food? Scientists explore why

    As research in rats reveals a key brain pathway, neuroscientists contemplate how to translate findings in animals to understanding of human compulsions involving food or drugs.

  4. Toward a portable concussion detector that relies on an infrared laser

    Doctors and engineers collaborate on a noninvasive way to measure whether brain cells are in distress using an infrared laser. The new device could enable concussions to be diagnosed on the sidelines of an athletic event.

  5. Can data preserve peace?

    U-M political scientist J. David Singer founded the Correlates of War Project in 1963 to assess, analyze, and predict the factors that lead to wars. Ironically, the project grew out of a ‘peace studies’ program.

  6. Producing ‘green methane’ with artificial photosynthesis

    A solar-powered catalyst uses artificial photosynthesis to turn carbon dioxide into methane. We could be recycling smokestack CO2 within 5-10 years, researchers say.

  7. A new drug slows aging in mice. What about us?

    U-M researchers are seeing success with anti-aging drugs in the lab. Potential exists to postpone age-related diseases in humans and extend lifespan.

  8. U-M reports record $1.62B in FY19 research spending

    Priorities reflect U-M’s focus on serving society: preventing chronic disease, addressing the opioid crisis, protecting the Great Lakes, and more.

  9. Migratory birds shrinking as climate warms

    A four-decade record shows North American birds are getting smaller and their wings are getting longer. Both changes appear to be responses to the climate.