In the News
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November 10, 2025
“This is kind of like a perfect storm, unfortunately,” said Tony Reames, associate professor of environment and sustainability, who noted that delayed federal funding for the Low-Income Home Energy Assistance Program, which helps about 6 million households nationwide pay heating or cooling bills, buy fuel or fix broken heaters, comes at a time of rising gas and electric bills and disruptions in other assistance programs due to the government shutdown.
National Public Radio -
November 7, 2025
James Richardson, professor of physical medicine & rehabilitation, has developed key three tests that aim to identify fall risks before accidents occur: the foot sensation test, hip and trunk strength test, and brain speed test: “You can miss one (test). So, say your feet are numb. If your hips are strong and your brain’s quick, you’re fine. Two of the three being below average, or being average on all three, and you start to get in a gray zone.”
WDIV/Detroit -
November 7, 2025
“Vehicle telematics data … enables us to proactively pinpoint inefficiencies rather than having to install roadside detection systems at every intersection,” said Jerome Zachary, research fellow at the U-M Transportation Research Institute, who helped create a signal timing system that relies on vehicle GPS data to smooth commutes by reducing stops.
Crain's Detroit Business -
November 7, 2025
Detroit’s downtown has made a strong recovery from its 2013 bankruptcy, but some parts of the city have been left behind, said Sam Stragand, senior program manager for the Detroit Partnership on Economic Mobility at Poverty Solutions: “Overall, we have seen fairly widespread increases in both housing wealth and income. (But) there are still pockets of the city with little activity in the mortgage market” and lagging areas in housing wealth, home repairs and high vacancies.
CNN -
November 5, 2025
“It makes for a good press moment for smiling politicians, but F-150 sales won’t move the balance of trade or Ford’s earnings. Ford won’t win many sales, but will win bragging rights if the F-150 is selected by the Japanese government,” said Erik Gordon, clinical assistant professor of entrepreneurial studies, amidst reports that Japan may purchase a fleet of Ford trucks as a diplomatic gesture to the U.S.
Detroit Free Press -
November 5, 2025
Research by Daphne Armstrong, assistant professor of accounting, found that the presence of IRS Taxpayer Assistance Centers in communities, many of which are closing during the government shutdown, are associated with a 4% to 13% increase in entrepreneurship, translating to the creation of about 10 businesses. “Openings associate with increases in entrepreneurship, and closings associate with decreases,” she said.
Forbes -
November 5, 2025
New research shows that tides and glacial earthquakes caused record ice loss at Hektoria Glacier. If the same processes were to occur at larger Antarctic glaciers, they could rapidly accelerate the retreat of ice sheets and raise global sea levels, said Jeremy Bassis, professor of climate and space sciences and engineering. The study is “telling us that those worst-case scenarios are maybe not as implausible as some people might have thought,” he said.
Science -
November 5, 2025
“Before the pandemic, we did see bottle returns eroding a bit, so there’s certainly some assumptions that the dime just isn’t worth what a dime was in the ’70s,” said Shelie Miller, professor of environment and sustainability, who found redemption rates on bottle returns in Michigan are down 18% since 2019. SEAS graduate student Tamanna Sengupta said: “Worldwide, there is general agreement that 10 cents is the best benchmark … So maybe Michigan should be looking at other opportunities to modernize the bottle bill before we start looking at the dime.”
Detroit Free Press -
November 5, 2025
Medicare officials have proposed eliminating coverage for minimally invasive, non-opioid treatment options for chronic pain disorders. “Unless (they) want more Americans to be unable to work, reliant on opioids and suffering in pain, it’s hard to understand their motivation here. Eliminating peripheral nerve block coverage will not result in meaningful cost savings … and may lead to more frequent emergency department and clinic visits,” wrote Tricia Pendergast, resident in anesthesiology.
STAT10 -
November 5, 2025
Tales of the mysterious chupacabra have incited fear and fascination in Latin America since the 1990s. But in almost all cases, the canine-like monsters have turned out to be coyotes suffering from very severe cases of mange, a painful skin disease that can cause animals’ hair to fall out and skin to shrivel. “I don’t think we need to look any further or to think that there’s yet some other explanation for these observations,” said Barry OConnor, professor emeritus of ecology and evolutionary biology.
National Geographic
