In the News
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May 21, 2026
“It’s said that when the Buddha speaks to a crowd of thousands of people, every single person there imagines himself sitting alone, and they hear the Buddha speaking to them in their own language, giving a teaching specifically for them,” said Donald Lopez, professor of Buddhist and Tibetan studies. The Buddha, after all, was often described as the great physician, “and it’s only a quack who prescribes the same medicine to every patient,” he said.
The New York Times -
May 20, 2026
The U-M Health Weiser Center for Prostate Cancer has adopted an FDA-cleared, multimodal AI platform that combines patient-specific data to create a personalized 3-D cancer map. “Having access to Unfold AI adds a valuable tool to our evaluation and treatment of (prostate cancer), allowing for additional precision in tumor ablation procedures and a more personalized treatment paradigm tailored to each patient,” said Andrew Wood, clinical assistant professor of urology.
DBusiness -
May 20, 2026
“It was not a cure-all, but I think it really did improve student achievement. There’s evidence that school accountability does change behaviors of teachers and administrators and probably parents and students,” said Brian Jacob, professor of public policy, economics and education, about the deeply unpopular No Child Left Behind law passed in 2002 and replaced in 2015.
The New York Times -
May 20, 2026
“When you consider the amount of misinformation that exists online about how to manage emotion, the need to properly harness AI in support of emotion regulation becomes acute. To be clear, there is enormous potential for AI to be a source of tremendous good here. But also for the opposite. Ideally, we let science be our guide,” said Ethan Kross, professor of psychology and of management and organizations, on the use of AI models for life advice.
International Business Times -
May 19, 2026
Remarks by government officials saying the hantavirus outbreak is under control can be counterproductive if they’re not paired with clear explanations of what they know and don’t know and what they’re still trying to learn, said Anand Parekh, chief health policy officer at the School of Public Health: “There’s probably a portion of the public that appreciates just information as opposed to sort of telling people to worry or not to worry.”
The Washington Post -
May 19, 2026
A new drug nearing regulatory approval, daraxonrasib, is the first to substantially extend the lives of patients with pancreatic cancer. It works by targeting a smooth-surfaced protein inside cells, called KRAS, that researchers often describe as a “greasy ball,” seemingly impervious to assault. “Almost everybody thought that it was going to be impossible to make drugs against KRAS,” said Marina Pasca di Magliano, professor of surgery and cell and developmental biology.
The New York Times -
May 19, 2026
OpenEvidence, an AI-powered medical search tool, is now used by nearly two-thirds of physicians. “I know the right questions to ask OpenEvidence, and then I have to sort of pair whatever response that I get … with my clinical experience and intuition,” said Cornelius James, clinical assistant professor of pediatrics and internal medicine. “I don’t feel concerned about patient safety, because for me, I feel enough of that need to check and double check, trust-but-verify mentality.”
NBC News -
May 18, 2026
“Managing a river system is really, really complex,” said Branko Kerkez, professor of civil and environmental engineering and director of the Digital Water Lab. “When it rains, various (dam) operators are trying to do their best to make sure they’re releasing water in a way that works for their communities … It’s almost like trying to work together in an escape room where the lights are completely off. What the data allows you to do is to sort of give everybody a little flashlight to start solving that coordination challenge.”
WEMU Radio -
May 18, 2026
“If you plot AI capabilities over time, the slope of that line is steep and accelerating,” wrote Jeffrey Sanchez-Burks, professor of management and organizations. “If you plot the slope of human learning about AI … that line is rising far more slowly, and the gap between those two slopes is widening. As long as it does, the average person trying to stay current isn’t falling behind because of any failure on their part. They’re falling behind because the math says they will.”
Fortune -
May 18, 2026
When people aren’t able to exercise in the exact way they want, they often do nothing instead, said behavioral scientist Michelle Segar of the Institute for Research on Women and Gender. She calls it the “perfect workout trap,” which can prevent people from getting started or maintaining a fitness routine. “I encourage an ‘all or something’ mindset,” in which any amount or intensity of physical activity is a win, she said.
The New York Times
