Research News

  1. 'Mean Girls' at College: Social Whirl Derails Many

    You’re not done with high school when you go to college, according to a new study of student culture. An in-depth look at the lives of young women shows the high school peer culture that divides students into homecoming queens, wannabes, and nerds thrives in college.

  2. Do Cockroaches Hold the Key to Building Better Robots?

    Video: Everybody knows cockroaches can run—really fast—even as they dodge shoes, brooms, airborne magazines… That ability to course-correct in a flash may help engineers design steadier robots and improve doctors’ understanding of human gait abnormalities.

  3. Water on the Moon?

    U-M researchers have detected traces of water within the crystalline structure of mineral samples from the moon. The finding seems to contradict a predominant theory about the moon’s formation.

    Plus: How Do You Land a Probe on a Comet?

    And: What Will it Take to Get Humans to Mars?

  4. Old Drug May Point to New Treatment for Diabetes, Obesity

    Amlexanox, a drug that treats asthma and other conditions, also reverses obesity, diabetes, and fatty liver in mice, say researchers at U-M’s Life Sciences Institute.

  5. Eat Less or Move More?

    Whether one believes obesity is caused by overeating or a lack of exercise can determine whether he or she will gain or lose weight, according to new research to be published in the journal Psychological Science.

    Related: Sugar-Loving Baby Boomers Face Risk of Osteoporosis

  6. Capturing Circulating Cancer Cells

    Engineering and medical researchers at U-M have devised a system they hope will trap circulating tumor cells, the ones they believe contribute to the process of cancer spreading from its original site to distant tissues. It’s a feat no research team has yet accomplished.

  7. Overeating linked to newly discovered brain mechanism

    A part of the brain usually thought to control movement also may cause people to overeat, say U-M researchers.

  8. Look who's talking now: Smart cars

    Ann Arbor is home to a first-of-its-kind test of “smart” technology that allows vehicles and highway infrastructure to communicate with each other. The goal is to help reduce crashes and improve traffic congestion.

  9. Scientists Detect Dark Matter Scaffolding of the Universe

    University of Michigan physics researcher Jörg Dietrich and a team of scientists are the first to detect part of the invisible dark matter skeleton of the universe, where more than half of all matter is believed to reside. The discovery confirms a key prediction in the prevailing theory of how the universe’s current web-like structure evolved.

    Related: As predicted, U-M researchers help find Higgs-like particle.