How come dishing with a girlfriend does wonders for a woman’s mood?

Beautify your world. Leave an inspirational message in a public place. Connect with a family member. Those are just a few of the proposed acts of kindness pushed out to users of a new smartphone application developed by University of Michigan students.

H1N1 (swine) flu isn’t gone yet. Here are tips from U-M’s health system for dealing with it when flu season starts again in the fall.

A group of common environmental contaminants called phthalates, which are present in many industrial and consumer products including everyday personal care items, may contribute to the country’s alarming rise in premature births.

A study of nearly 14,000 U.S. and English seniors shows that 75-year-olds in the U.S. have memories as good, on average, as 65-year-olds in England.

Improvised explosive devices (IEDs) are a major cause of soldier casualties in Iraq and Afghanistan. A group of U-M students won a contest against Ohio State University by developing a new way to detect IEDs—one that is more effective than any currently in use.

U-M’s Philip Gingerich and Holly Smith are members of an international scientific team that recently announced discovery of a remarkably complete, well-preserved 47-million-year old fossil of an extinct early primate. The fossil is thought to represent an early member of the lineage that gave rise to monkeys, apes and humans.

Six U-M students are part of a group of almost 100 scientists in 40 vehicles who are traversing tornado alley this summer in the largest joint effort ever to study twisters and supercell thunderstorms.

Related: Read the students’ on-the-ground blog.

A U-M expert’s advice for comfort, performance and injury prevention.