Research News

  1. Modest moss supports billions of tons of carbon storage

    Did you know that over its lifetime, a tree can absorb more than a ton of carbon from the air and store it in wood and roots? Researchers now contend that mosses have the potential to store a massive amount of carbon in the soil beneath them, an important antidote to climate change.

  2. An eye on the sky

    The Extremely Large Telescope (or ELT) could change everything we know about the universe — including how the first galaxies were created and where life on other planets may exist. And U-M is the only U.S. university involved in helping develop it.

  3. A surprisingly simple way to foil car thieves

    Skyrocketing vehicle theft rates have drawn attention to an inconvenient truth: the increasing amount of technology in our vehicles can make them more vulnerable to hacking or theft. U-M researchers have found a solution, though, leveraging perhaps the lowest-tech feature of today’s vehicles — the cigarette lighter.

  4. Unlocking the mind

    Imagine an everyday brain-computer interface, where brain activity is translated into actionable insights. Two U-M alums behind the startup Neurable plan to make neurotechnology easily accessible to everyone, everywhere, so humans can participate in the world in a completely new way.

  5. After the raid

    The unseen effects of confinement and other carceral control policies extend far beyond a prison’s walls, says Professor Heather Ann Thompson. LSA’s Carceral State Project aims to document and confront forces of carceral control, through both scholarship and community action.

  6. State awards U-M $1M for Michigan School Safety Initiative

    State support will allow U-M teams to conduct a comprehensive needs assessment of Michigan schools, evaluate the effectiveness of existing school safety actions and convene a Michigan-specific school safety advisory board.

  7. U.S. families experience more chronic food insecurity now than 20 years ago

    Researchers find the rate of families reporting chronic food insecurity between 2015-19 more than doubled compared to families surveyed in 1999 to 2003. Bad timing: SNAP and similar benefits may decrease as the federal Public Health Emergency for COVID-19 comes to an end.

  8. Study shows promising treatment for tinnitus

    Some 15% of adults in the U.S. have tinnitus, that ringing, buzzing, or hissing sound of silence. U-M researchers at the Kresge Hearing Research Institute suggest relief may be possible.

  9. A promising new target for antibiotics

    In an effort to prevent another global health crisis, scientists have discovered a promising target for new and improved antibiotics. Riboswitches are small stretches of RNA that regulate a process necessary for the production of proteins by the bacterial cell.