Michigan’s local leaders overwhelmingly support adding rooftop solar infrastructure in their communities, while a majority strongly oppose developing nuclear power. According to the Michigan Public Policy Survey, 86% of local government leader respondents either strongly or somewhat support adding rooftop solar panels.

Timekeeping in the brain is done with neurons that relax at different rates after receiving a signal; now memristors—hardware analogues of neurons—can do that too. Artificial neural networks may soon be able to process time-dependent information, such as audio and video data, more efficiently.

AI is developing rapidly, and there’s no consensus on what that means. Some think it will lead to human extinction. Others point out that it could help address medicine shortages or plan vacations. So what do humans do with all this? LSA faculty and alumni experts weigh in on what to make of AI’s changing landscape.

The best way to help smartphone users manage their screen time may be to make phones progressively more annoying to use, according to new U-M research. Delaying a phone’s swiping and tapping functions forces users to think harder, making it easier for them to consider whether to keep scrolling.

Using human cells in laboratory rats, Michigan Medicine researchers have developed a functional model of thoracic aortic aneurysm, creating new opportunities for understanding disease development and treatment. No treatments currently exist for the condition, which is a weakening and bulging at the body’s largest blood vessel in the chest.  

College sports deliver some of the most thrilling moments in athletics. But it’s not all fun and games for gambling addicts whose fortunes rise and fall with each contest. Now, as online betting becomes more popular and accessible, college students are increasingly vulnerable to getting hooked, warn U-M experts.

U-M investigators need your help to understand statewide environmental exposures and cancer risk. Researchers hope to recruit 100,000 Michiganders ages 18-49 from diverse racial and ethnic backgrounds, with a focus on residents in Metro Detroit, Flint, Grand Rapids, Kalamazoo, Lansing, and Saginaw.

Over the last decade, researchers at U-M have found exposure to environmental toxins — from pesticides used in agriculture to volatile organic compounds in the manufacturing industry — is linked to the development of amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, or ALS. The buildup of exposures is possibly associated with recreational activities such as woodworking and gardening.

U-M researchers have found that people who experienced greater childhood adversity, reporting one or more traumatic or adverse events, had poorer muscle metabolism later in life. The researchers say the effects of childhood adverse events remained significant even after they controlled for other factors that could potentially impact muscle function such as age, gender, educational attainment, and more.