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.”

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

“For amputees, what they experience when they’re trying to walk normally is what I would experience if I were carrying an extra 30 pounds,” says U-M professor Art Kuo. He has developed a prototype of an artificial foot that recycles energy otherwise wasted in between steps, making it easier for amputees to walk.

The remains of a new dinosaur, discovered near the world-famous Carnegie Quarry in Dinosaur National Monument, may help explain the evolution of the largest land animals ever to walk the earth.

An extraordinary 67-million-year-old fossil reveals a snake attacking a nest of dinosaur eggs and hatchlings. The finding provides a rare glimpse at an unusual feeding behavior in ancient snakes. Includes Video and a slideshow about the fossils.

U-M’s Ross School of Business is part of a new partnership that provides free online learning for the state’s unemployed workers. The courses focus on health care, government and nonprofits, emerging technologies and entrepreneurship, and aim to help 100,000 unemployed Michigan workers to re-enter the work force in a new career.

A new study shows cryoablation—killing cancer by freezing it in its place—could be an effective treatment for breast cancer. The study, done in mice, found that cryoablation also helped prevent cancer from spreading to other organs. The results have translated to a clinical trial that’s now enrolling patients.

A musical version of solar wind melds science and art…and helps researchers discern hidden data about the sun. Plus video.