In the News
-
December 5, 2024
“It’s not uncommon that big corporations, when they want to do large-scale projects, present things in an either-or fashion to shape the debate in the direction they would like. The idea of ‘if you don’t go with this, then we’ll just tear it all down’ seems like extortion to me, and I don’t think the public should allow itself to be extorted,” said Craig Wilkins, associate professor of architecture.
Detroit Free Press -
December 4, 2024
U-M researchers studying Detroit’s recovery from bankruptcy sought to achieve inclusion by talking with humanists, architects, social scientists, urban designers and city planners. “People want the truth about the history of Detroit as a way toward reconciliation. That expresses what the humanities could contribute toward (a) stated goal of an inclusive recovery,” said Robert Fishman, professor emeritus of architecture and urban and regional planning, who led the study with Angela Dillard, vice provost for undergraduate education and professor of history, Afroamerican and African studies and in the Residential College.
The Detroit News -
December 4, 2024
“I’m advocating for their thoughtful use. Because if you have a senior and you just write a prescription and the visit takes five minutes, is that an appropriate level of care?” said Andrew Kraftson, clinical associate professor of endocrinology, who worries about the side effects of weight-loss drugs on elderly patients.
The Associated Press -
December 4, 2024
“What we saw during the Trump administration is that, absolutely, cruelty was the point, and that much of the immigration enforcement tools … were meant to be visible and were meant to be deterrents,” said William Lopez, clinical associate professor of health behavior and health equity, referring to the separation of children from their parents, workplace raids and the promise to build a border wall.
MSNBC -
December 3, 2024
Doctoral student Grace Zhang and Regina Baucom, professor of ecology and evolutionary biology, found that morning glory plants can withstand the effects of weed killers and show resistance to insect damage. “Resistance is a big problem, tolerance is a big problem. But beyond that, we don’t really have a great idea of how herbicides impact plant evolution in general and how it might impact how plants interact with other things in their environment,” Zhang said.
Earth.com -
December 3, 2024
Although parallel parking can be stressful, many drivers avoid using their vehicle’s smart-parking features to assist with the maneuver because they simply don’t trust the systems, says Greg Stevens, research director at Mcity: “You sit there and go, ‘Oh, this is so stressful,’ (but) getting over that trust hump has been a big issue.”
WIRED -
December 3, 2024
“Any information that is pushing anyone in the direction of more extreme or rigid thinking about weight or food … the potential for that to normalize disordered thinking or provide ideas of increasingly harmful behavior is really high,” said Kendrin Sonneville, associate professor of nutritional sciences, about pro-anorexia chatbots that encourage users to engage in disordered eating behaviors.
Futurism -
December 2, 2024
Vaccines aren’t distributed evenly throughout Michigan, and those who are vaccine-hesitant may be clustering together geographically more, says Abram Wagner, assistant professor of epidemiology: “There are some areas where there are few individuals who are vaccinated. We really need to hone in on those … neighborhoods, communities, social groups which have low vaccination coverage.”
The Detroit News -
December 2, 2024
Jennifer Garner, assistant professor of nutritional sciences, says it’s hard to disentangle some of prospective Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr.’s more reasonable food-improvement goals with the false health claims he has spread: “I think there’s rightful concern based on other issues and how his approach to those issues might play in here.”
BBC -
December 2, 2024
“Black students understandably want DEI efforts to eradicate anti-Blackness, but as is the case with many intractable societal problems, the total eradication of deeply held attitudes requires more than DEI programming, which cannot realistically be expected to completely undo years of socialization,” wrote Kevin Cokley, professor of psychology and associate chair for diversity initiatives.
Diverse: Issues In Higher Education
