On average, women outlive men, and at any given age men have higher mortality rates. But why? U-M researcher Daniel Kruger’s new study shows that it’s the result of an evolutionary gambit: men often risk everything for the chance to reproduce.

Most Americans live within 25 miles of their mothers, according to a report issued by the University of Michigan Retirement Research Center.

They often get a bad rap, but in-laws can be a woman’s best friend.

Plus: Americans live surprisingly close to their mothers

U-M researchers have found that PTSD, the severe anxiety disorder that can follow traumatic events, is not just a psychological problem. “Traumatic events can get under your skin and literally alter your biology,” says researcher Monica Uddin, whose team found that trauma seems to change gene expression, altering the immune system.

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.

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.”

In findings that took the experimenters three years to believe, U-M engineers and their collaborators have demonstrated that light itself can twist ribbons of nanoparticles. Matter readily bends and twists light. That’s the mechanism behind optical lenses and polarizing 3-D movie glasses. But the opposite effect—light bending matter—has rarely been observed.

Sea lilies can break off their own stalks and ‘crawl’ away from sea urchins that try to eat them. The remarkable survival strategy is an example of how an ‘arms race’ between predators and prey can guide the evolution of species.

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