In the News
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May 13, 2025
“It’s going to be tough for anybody … to put electricity on the grid by then. People don’t want to wait, so they’re trying to short circuit that timeline with alternative concepts, and if one of them is successful, that would be great … but it has not been demonstrated yet,” said Ryan McBride, professor of nuclear engineering and radiological sciences, about the promise of nuclear fusion companies to produce commercial electricity within 10 years.
Fortune -
May 13, 2025
When it comes to social media posts about the new pope, it may be hard to tell the difference between legitimate comments and virtue signaling or trolling, says Cliff Lampe, professor of information: “The challenge is that people do have legitimate differences of opinion … but the lack of context in social media often makes it difficult to know if someone is making an argument in good faith.”
Forbes -
May 12, 2025
“THC in one’s saliva doesn’t necessarily indicate someone is impaired because they could have ingested THC hours or even days prior … and it still shows up in their system,” said Justin Colacino, associate professor of environmental health sciences, about a state bill that would allow police to use roadside saliva tests to detect drug use in suspected impaired drivers.
Bridge Michigan -
May 12, 2025
“It’s not working in those contexts, so it’s certainly not going to work in ours,” said Paula Lantz, professor of public policy and of health management and policy, about the Trump administration’s proposal to pay Americans to have children to boost birth rates — after other countries with robust social and health care systems tried the same thing with little success.
The Guardian (U.K.) -
May 12, 2025
“Political culture imagines that the Supreme Court safeguards the Constitution, when in reality it is chipping away at the constitutional rights of historically marginalized groups. The court is allowing feelings and politics to trump the law and sometimes just be the law,” wrote Leah Litman, professor of law.
Mother Jones -
May 9, 2025
“This is compelling evidence that planets can not only survive the violent death of their star, but also move into orbits where we didn’t previously necessarily expect them to exist,” said Mary Anne Limbach, assistant research scientist in astronomy, who led a study that used the James Webb Space Telescope to detect the first planet seen orbiting a dead star, offering new insights into how planets evolve during the final stages of a star’s life.
Space.com -
May 9, 2025
At the Cooperative Institute for Great Lakes Research, more than $8 million in federal grant renewals — 40% of the institute’s budget — are in limbo and officials say layoffs are imminent for 20 out of 48 employees. “Those employees aren’t directly employed by the federal government, but their funding has been choked off by the grants not being renewed,” said CIGLR associate director Mike Shriberg.
Bridge Michigan -
May 9, 2025
“DEI is about enacting measures to ensure everyone has a fair shot at making it through the door, and then being respected, supported and valued when they get there. It’s about cultivating spaces where all people — no matter who they are or where they come from — can flourish. I’m still wondering how this is vile,” wrote Lilia Cortina, professor of psychology and of women’s and gender studies.
Detroit Free Press -
May 8, 2025
About 10% of internal medicine doctors in the U.S. report a high level of burnout, according to research by Nathan Houchens, clinical associate professor of internal medicine: “Understanding burnout in this population … is particularly relevant given the projected shortage of approximately 40,000 primary care physicians within the next decade.”
U.S. News & World Report -
May 8, 2025
Sleep trackers can become a problem when people prioritize metrics instead of listening to how they feel, says Cathy Goldstein, clinical professor of neurology: “When we see these devices to be a potential risk of worsening sleep … is when they become overly focused on parameters that we know are not necessarily accurate or precise. That’s when we have people break up with their devices for a while.”
Salon
