In the News
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October 23, 2025
“This supports the idea that teens with psychological vulnerabilities are being profiled … and fed more harmful content. We know that a lot of what people consume on social media comes from the feed, not from search,” said Jenny Radesky, associate professor of pediatrics, about new research that shows teens who say Instagram regularly made them feel bad about their bodies saw three times more “eating disorder adjacent content” on the platform than those who did not.
The Economic Times -
October 23, 2025
“We should be helping students develop a functioning philosophy for living a meaningful life. That’s not just for humanities departments. Business schools need to take this seriously because of the impact our students have on society,” said Andrew Hoffman, professor of sustainable enterprise, who believes business is not just a tool for wealth creation, but also a vehicle for purpose.
Poets & Quants -
October 22, 2025
The collapse of the Soviet Union in 1991 created a moment when the West could have built a new, cooperative security framework, said Ronald Suny, professor emeritus of history: “There was a real question at that time about whether NATO should even continue. Russia over time felt humiliated that it wasn’t being listened to, that the West no longer wanted to treat it as a great power. That situation, it seems to me, led us to the war in Ukraine. We squandered that opportunity.”
WJBK/Detroit -
October 22, 2025
For older women, doing favors for close friends, like offering a ride or lending a hand, can boost happiness and provide a greater sense of purpose — but not so much for men, said Crystal Ng, research fellow at the Institute for Social Research: “Offering emotional support to friends may be linked to a lower positive mood for older men, possibly due to expressing empathy or discussing emotions. It may conflict with masculine role expectations, leading to discomfort or emotional strain.”
U.S. News & World Report -
October 22, 2025
“Long-term, regular use of these substances to get to sleep might actually lead to worse sleep problems and increased risk for use of substance use, so we think it’s really important that people understand those risks,” said Megan Patrick, research professor at the Institute for Social Research, who found that 22% of Americans ages 19 to 30 use cannabis or alcohol to help them fall asleep.
WWJ Radio -
October 21, 2025
“There hasn’t been a lot of polling, and given the breakdown of the primary and the endorsements and fundraising, Sheffield is the favorite. Kinloch was in a tough position in one debate using the opportunity to try and throw the kitchen sink and change the dynamic. It’s tough to do in an hour,” said Aaron Kall, director of U-M Debate, on the recent debate between Detroit mayoral candidates Mary Sheffield and Solomon Kinloch Jr.
Bridge Detroit -
October 21, 2025
RxKids, the Flint-based cash aid program for new parents, is set to expand after the state legislature approved $270 million to expand it into more Michigan communities over the next three years. “It’s really exciting during this time, when it seems like everything is polarized, to have a program that’s getting support across the aisle,” said RxKids co-director Luke Schaefer, professor of public policy and social work and faculty director for Poverty Solutions.
The Detroit News -
October 21, 2025
“When a government erects barriers to comprehensive reproductive care, it doesn’t just cause more death and suffering for women and their families. Such policies are often a first step in the gradual decline of democracies,” wrote Seda Saluk, assistant professor of women’s and gender studies. “Restrictions on reproductive freedoms often necessitate other kinds of restrictions to enforce and maintain them.”
The Conversation -
October 20, 2025
Transferring the algorithm of TikTok’s content-recommendation system from China’s ByteDance to its new U.S. owners is more complicated than a single set of copy-paste code, said Nicole Ellison, professor of information: Such systems were often governed by “very complicated computational formulas that look at many, many, many data points about an individual” to predict what type of content they will engage with or enjoy. Even if ByteDance offered “the whole code base and said, ‘Yep, it’s yours,’ if it didn’t come with any people who were involved in creating that code base, it would be very, very hard to make good use of it,” said Paul Resnick, professor of information.
Business Insider -
October 20, 2025
“Right now, hospice prescribing is a black box. Medications covered under the hospice benefit are not reported to Medicare, so we have almost no visibility into what patients are receiving. That makes it impossible to monitor prescribing safety or quality on a national level,” said Lauren Gerlach, assistant professor of psychiatry, who found that hospice drugs commonly handed out to people with Alzheimer’s disease and dementia might be hastening their deaths.
U.S. News & World Report
