Genre-jumping Fulbright scholar takes a novel path

Aspiring scientist Ariel Djanikian, MFA ’04, read the writing on the lab wall when she found herself prioritizing creative writing over her latest experiment. Her fascinating and often tragic family history informs a recurring theme in both of her novels: the obliteration of one group of people for the convenience of another.
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Shade coffee benefits more than birds
Here’s one more reason to say “shade grown, please” when you order your morning cup of coffee. Shade coffee farms, which grow coffee under a canopy of multiple tree species, not only harbor native birds, bats and other beneficial creatures, but also maintain genetic diversity of native tree species and can act as focal points for tropical forest regeneration.
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Male and female shopping strategies show evolution at work in the mall
Male and female shopping styles are in our genes—and we can look to evolution for the reason. Daniel Kruger, research faculty at the University of Michigan School of Public Health, says it’s perfectly natural that men often can’t distinguish a sage sock from a beige sock or that sometimes women can’t tell if the shoe Read more
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J-Hop
For almost 80 years, until 1960, J-Hop highlighted the U-M social calendar. The dance gathered the entire student body — and some controversy, like when the 1913 event included the Tango.
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The late, great 98
Tom Harmon may have been the best college football player ever. His single-handed destruction of Ohio State is the stuff of gridiron legend. But his exploits as a pilot during World War Two made him a hero not just in a game, but in life.
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Hail Satan!
When students come to the university, they face a new world that can shake up their whole way of life. Some fear that even their religious faith will be under siege. But surveys – and students themselves, like Lizzy Lovinger (right) – say that keeping the faith is both a challenge and a blessing.
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Exactly how much housework does a husband create?
Having a husband creates an extra seven hours a week of housework for women, according to a U-M study of a nationally representative sample of U.S. families. For men, the picture is very different: A wife saves men from about an hour of housework a week.
Columns
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President's Message
Renewing our commitment
President Santa J. Ono encourages the U-M community to unite in creating a brighter world of peace. -
Editor's Blog
Make the world go away
Has anyone seen the reset button? Methinks the humans need a do-over. -
Climate Blue
Adding fuel to the fire
Ricky Rood gives Jimi Hendrix a run for his money in this assessment of fire, the wild kind. -
Health Yourself
What’s the dope on psychedelic science? Part 2
Vic Katch concludes his two-part series about the expanding field of scientific research into 'psychedelics' as medicine.