In the News
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March 9, 2026
Sleep scientists used to focus on how much sleep people got and how many times they woke up overnight. Now, attention is shifting to “sleep regularity,” or sticking to a consistent wake-up schedule. Keeping your wake time steady helps ensure that “all your underlying circadian rhythms are nice and stable. Everything’s occurring at the right time. And that’s a huge positive for our health,” said Helen Burgess, professor of psychiatry and co-director of the Sleep and Circadian Research Laboratory.
TIME -
February 27, 2026
The latest results from the U-M National Poll on Healthy Aging show that pet ownership for nearly a third of people over 50 comes with financial stress, while another third of people in this age range cite costs as the main reason for not having a pet. “Some of the people who could potentially get the most benefit from having a pet may also be the ones who have cost-related challenges to pet ownership,” said poll researcher Preeti Malani, professor of internal medicine.
WWJ Radio -
February 27, 2026
Scores of refill stores have opened in recent years as retailers and customers seek fresh ways to reduce waste. But if refilling requires a special trip, the added transportation emissions can cancel out the benefits, said Shelie Miller, professor of environment and sustainability: “If you are making dedicated trips just to reduce packaging, it actually can be worse for the environment than if you use the single-use product.”
The Associated Press -
February 27, 2026
“If blue-state governors and mayors want to get serious about delivering excellent public services … they will have to push back against a core constituency within the Democratic Party that often makes government deliver less and cost more: unions representing teachers, police officers and transit workers,” co-wrote Nicholas Bagley, professor of law. “Democrats need a new bargain with public-sector unions — one that respects their voices and livelihoods but puts public services first.”
The New York Times -
February 26, 2026
Proposed statewide zoning reforms are a “vital step” in addressing the growing housing affordability crisis in Michigan cities, said Lan Deng, professor of urban and regional planning. Under current economic conditions “new development can only be justified for higher-end development. … The state must diversify its housing stock to ensure young households and first-time homebuyers aren’t priced out of the market. The proposed reform represents a crucial effort to expand those options,” she said.
The Detroit News -
February 26, 2026
Children with co-occurring persistent pain and mental health symptoms are 40% more likely to initiate use of alcohol, tobacco or marijuana during early adolescence, according to research by Terri Voepel-Lewis, professor of nursing: “Care providers need to screen youth for symptoms, as well as substance use behaviors, and many providers are already doing this starting in adolescence. But it needs to start probably in late childhood.”
Michigan Public -
February 26, 2026
Dental patients may not need X-rays every year, according to new American Dental Association guidelines. “In some cases, a dental X-ray delivers less radiation than a single day of the natural radiation we are all exposed to just by living in the world. Yet, it is important to follow the As Low As Reasonably Achievable principle recognized in both dentistry and medicine to minimize exposure over a patient’s lifetime and only order X-rays when clinically necessary,” said Erika Benavides, a clinical professor of dentistry.
U.S. News & World Report -
February 25, 2026
While the quality of play in Major League Soccer has grown exponentially in the last decade or so, the league probably won’t benefit much from this summer’s World Cup in North America, said Stefan Szymanski, professor of sport management. “They just don’t have a television audience to sort of build and maintain momentum,” he said. “In some ways what MLS needs is not more people going to games. What they need is more people watching it on TV.”
The Guardian (U.K.) -
February 25, 2026
Joelle Abramowitz, associate research scientist at the Institute for Social Research, said that informal self-employment often “lacks benefits, stability and a path to growth” compared to other ways you can work for yourself (formal contract work or owning a business). But in a tech-centric society, freelance self-employment is an ever more popular choice that can also be strikingly fluid — with people able to shift into more stable formal work or move into a more entrepreneurial role, she said.
Inc. -
February 25, 2026
“The court is more willing and inclined to rule against presidents toward the end of their tenure, as they are less popular. The rulings would be consistent with that trend since we have seen dwindling support for Donald Trump, and the tariffs are not all that popular,” said Leah Litman, professor of law, after the Supreme Court handed down rulings on both tariffs and National Guard deployment that marked the justices’ first major decisions against the president.
The Washington Post
