In the News
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January 13, 2026
Flu rates soared in December with 30 states classified as “very high” by the CDC. Aubree Gordon, professor of epidemiology, says this was due to many factors, such as the fact “we are in the influenza season and we have a new strain of influenza A H3N2, subclade K, that is a bit better at evading preexisting immunity. Because of that, more people are getting infected and they may be getting sicker.”
Newsweek -
January 13, 2026
“There’s a certain addiction playbook that’s been used from tobacco to opiates to sports betting. You take something that exists, typically exists in nature, like a plant or a fruit, and you alter it so it gives just this just right dose of reward,” said Ashley Gearhardt, professor of psychology. “You can titrate the smell, the flavor, the taste, and then you flood the environment with it. So your consumers, even if they have a slight moment of temptation, the product is right at arm’s reach and the next thing they know, they’re using again.”
PBS NewsHour -
January 13, 2026
Self-driven cars make mistakes that humans would not, such as plowing into flood water, driving through an active crime scene where police have their guns drawn, or freezing in place during power outages. “In like 95% of situations where a disengagement or accident happens with autonomous vehicles, it’s a very regular, routine situation for humans. These are not challenging situations whatsoever,” said Henry Liu, professor of civil and environmental engineering and director of the U-M Transportation Research Institute.
Bloomberg -
January 12, 2026
“Balancing parental supervision with children’s need for play is tricky. Although concerns about injuries in children are valid, minor injuries may be a normal part of development,” co-wrote Laura MacLatchy, professor of anthropology. “Some anthropologists argue for increasing children’s access to thrill-seeking play — including the old-fashioned monkey bars — as a way to help them develop motor skills and skeletal strength.”
The Conversation -
January 12, 2026
“I think that a power vacuum creates chaos, and that chaos is inherently bad. I think in the short run, conditions in Venezuela may be less repressive, but I think there will be even greater problems with regard to the basics of life,” said former U.S. diplomat Michael Montgomery, lecturer at UM-Dearborn. “If we put boots on the ground in Venezuela, we could end up being there a very long time, and it could be a very unpleasant and costly experience.”
CBS Detroit -
January 12, 2026
“One of the big, overarching patterns of 2025 was a broad deterioration in views and expectations for labor markets — a pretty substantial increase in people expecting unemployment to get worse in the future. Even if the consumer themselves is stable in their job, they talk about how hard the labor market is for a young person in their family, trying to look for a job right now,” said economist Joanne Hsu, director of ISR’s Surveys of Consumers.
Marketplace -
January 9, 2026
EV batteries could power a home while slashing energy bills and cutting emissions, said Parth Vaishnav, assistant professor of environment and sustainability, and doctoral student Jiahui Chen. “Putting vehicle batteries between the electricity grid and homes makes it possible for homes to buy electricity for all household uses when it is cheap and clean … and to store it in the car’s battery for later use,” Vaishnav said. “When people think of EV charging,” Chen said, “it’s usually thought of as a burden, a cost that is added to your electric bill. But, with this kind of technology integration, we can make charging an asset.”
The Cool Down -
January 9, 2026
“We have to get used to these relatively slow growth rates. Five percent unemployment, it’s still a relatively low unemployment rate in the grand scheme of things. We have a slow-growing population and an aging workforce. That’s going to put a speed limit on job growth,” said Gabriel Ehrlich, director of the Research Seminar in Quantitative Economics, on Michigan’s combined jobless rate for October and November.
WEMU Radio -
January 9, 2026
“Our elected leaders decided that they wanted to move on from this challenge to democracy, and what that meant was it created a space for January 6 to become just another contested issue between the parties. And so instead of coming together to defend our democracy and our Constitution, what we have now is just division over this as every other issue in the United States between the parties,” said Samuel Bagenstos, professor of law.
Michigan Advance -
January 8, 2026
U-M Health has opened one of the first brain-computer interface clinics in the country, led by Matthew Willsey, assistant professor of neurosurgery and biomedical engineering: “This technology has developed rapidly … We’re at a point in the field where probably in the next five to 10 years, these devices will be available.” Aditya Pandey, professor of neurosurgery, said that “patients will be given as much detail as possible about the potential to receive recently approved neural interfaces … and participate in cutting-edge clinical trials for the newest BCI technology to treat their functional deficits.”
MLive
