In the News
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February 9, 2023
A proposal to provide free preschool for 4-year-olds in Michigan could increase access and improve teacher pay, says Christina Weiland, associate professor of education and of public policy: “It’s a problem that’s highly solvable if you put the resources to it. It would really be a shame, especially before we have the details from the (Whitmer) administration, to get to this point of false tradeoffs … about what could be possible.”
Chalkbeat Detroit -
February 9, 2023
“In my view, the electric vehicle transition should be part of a broader shift to clean mobility that invests in public transit, walking and biking, as well as systems like EV charging that support private car use. New clean mobility systems should be designed so that all Americans have safe and reliable options for getting to their destinations,” wrote Sita Syal, assistant professor of mechanical engineering.
Fast Company -
February 8, 2023
Community gardening could reduce violent crimes in neighborhoods, say researchers at the School of Public Health’s Prevention Research Collaborative. “If you engage residents and improve their neighborhoods, they’ll get to know each other, they’ll build social resources. They’ll then feel like their environment is safer and more orderly,” said Laney Rupp, research area specialist. Data manager Catherine Gong said, “It is a good way to work on crime prevention, but it needs to be sustainable. It can be hard.”
Great Lakes Echo -
February 8, 2023
“The Biden administration was right to shoot it down,” said John Ciorciari, associate professor of public policy. “The official Chinese narrative is not plausible, and whether or not the balloon was able to record sensitive intelligence data, it presented a clear test of U.S. resolve. … Allowing it to cross the United States without incident would have set a deeply problematic precedent.”
Nikkei Asia -
February 8, 2023
Ben van der Pluijm, professor of earth and environmental sciences, said massive earthquakes in Turkey are a consequence of the region’s geology. Turkey rests on the Anatolian plate, which is being squeezed by the much larger Arabian plate to the south and Eurasian plate to the north: “It’s a really tiny plate that’s squeezed between two big guys that are pushing towards one another.”
The Wall Street Journal -
February 7, 2023
“The fact that the virus enters the nucleus does not mean that it integrates into the genome of humans,” said Beth Moore, professor of microbiology and immunology, refuting claims by social media users that the COVID-19 vaccine from Johnson & Johnson alters recipients’ DNA.
The Associated Press -
February 7, 2023
Twitter’s decision to stop its free Application Program Interface, which allows third-party developers and users to access the app’s data, may shut down many popular bot accounts, as well as impact researchers who study social media. “User data is a pretty good way to make money … So it’s not surprising they’re trying to monetize the API,” said Libby Hemphill, associate professor of information and digital studies.
Vice -
February 7, 2023
Pregnant women and new moms in rural areas are at greater risk of poor health because they are more likely to be uninsured, according to Lindsay Admon, assistant professor of obstetrics and gynecology: “Being uninsured during the time of pregnancy has been associated with less adequate prenatal and postpartum care, which decreases opportunities to address risk factors affecting health outcomes for both the birthing person and baby.”
U.S. News & World Report -
February 6, 2023
U-M scientists discovered a 319 million-year-old, well-preserved brain in a fish skull found in England more than a century ago. “Not only does this … small fossil show us the oldest example of a fossilized vertebrate brain, it also shows that much of what we thought about brain evolution from living species alone will need reworking,” said Rodrigo Figueroa, doctoral student in earth and environmental sciences. Matt Friedman, director of the Museum of Paleontology, said, “That’s why holding onto the physical specimens is so important … who knows, in 100 years, what people might be able to do with the fossils in our collections now?”
MLive -
February 6, 2023
A study by Megan Patrick, research professor at the Institute for Social Research, shows that teens who first start heavy drinking by 11th grade have higher average weekly alcohol consumption later in life: “Most of the young adults who ever engage in high-intensity drinking (8+ drinks for women, 10+ drinks for men) went from their first drink to high-intensity drinking within only two years.”
Healio
