In the News
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September 20, 2022
Although the protection afforded by the flu vaccine wanes over time, it is still a good idea to get a flu shot and to wear a mask in crowded indoor spaces, says Emily Martin, associate professor of epidemiology: “Masking helps reduce the spread of a lot of respiratory viruses, not just flu.”
The New York Times -
September 20, 2022
The major credit card companies will adopt a new “merchant code” to categorize gun purchases, making it easier to flag suspicious sales. But the combination of law enforcement with wide-ranging surveillance over purchase histories teeters on “terrifying and potentially dystopian,” says Shobita Parthasarathy, professor of public policy, who believes it could have unintended consequences.
National Public Radio -
September 19, 2022
“The clearest avenue for action, to relieve the current rise in hardship and ensure the lessons of the pandemic safety net are not lost to history, is to revive the expanded child tax credit. Most wealthy Western nations use a universal child allowance or child benefit. … For the final six months of 2021, the U.S. finally joined this group, and the results, as we now know, were staggering. Child poverty, child food insecurity, and other measures of material hardship all fell sharply. … We can, and should, bring it back,” wrote H. Luke Shaefer, professor of social work and public policy and faculty director of Poverty Solutions; Patrick Cooney, assistant director of policy impact at Poverty Solutions; and Betsey Stevenson, professor of public policy.
Vox -
September 19, 2022
According to state and national test scores, math learning grew worse during the pandemic. But changing test scores do not equate with learning loss in math, says Deborah Loewenberg Ball, professor of education: “They’ve lost school math. School has a very narrow view of math. It comes down to what we test. It’s not what kids would be doing at home with families. … This is about a larger question about what we want kids to do in math.”
The Detroit News -
September 19, 2022
“I would consider this a stunning example of the Solar Orbiter mission succeeding in its objective. It’s really tying what’s happening in the sun to consequences in the solar wind,” said Justin Kasper, professor of climate and space sciences and engineering, on new images from the sun-orbiting spacecraft that may explain strange phenomena within the sun’s atmosphere that have puzzled solar physicists for decades.
Science -
September 16, 2022
A $5 million federal grant to build out virtual reality software will “supercharge” Mcity’s capabilities well beyond its testing grounds on campus, says Henry Liu, director of Mcity. “This investment will increase access to the state-of-the-art test facility, providing more equity to researchers across the country … navigating the transition to a new world of safer, greener, more equitable and accessible mobility for all,” said Alec Gallimore, the Robert J. Vlasic Dean of Engineering.
Crain's Detroit Business -
September 16, 2022
A newly constructed U-M facility, home to the most powerful laser in the U.S. — called ZEUS — was to send its first pulses into an experimental target this week. It will “have a huge range of applications across science, technology, engineering and medicine,” said Louise Willingale, associate professor of electrical engineering and computer science.
The Associated Press -
September 16, 2022
“When you’re financially healthy, you have money set aside in savings, you have room on your credit card to be able to afford an emergency. So what this is saying is that many Detroiters are not financially healthy,” said Afton Branche-Wilson, assistant director of community initiatives at Poverty Solutions, about a report that many families living in poverty would struggle if faced with a $400 emergency.
Michigan Radio -
September 15, 2022
“The incredible structures we observe will detail how the feedback cycle of stellar birth occurs in our galaxy and beyond,” said Edwin Bergin, professor and chair of astronomy, commenting on the new James Webb Space Telescope images that captured the most detailed and sharpest images ever taken of the Orion Nebula 1,350 light-years away.
Insider -
September 15, 2022
“The mere fact they were top-secret FBI documents, they only should have been stored, processed, handled in a Sensitive Compartmented Information Facility and Mar-a-Lago clearly was not,” said Javed Ali, associate professor of practice of public policy, on the more than 300 classified documents the FBI recovered during its search of Mar-A-Lago.
Salon
