In the News
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September 25, 2024
“Genetics is a lot more complicated than what we are taught in medical school. … I don’t believe that people who truly understand the science can say that risks to carriers are negligible,” said hematologist Angela Weyand, clinical associate professor of pediatrics, about the misconception that only males — and not females — are affected by genetic diseases linked to the X chromosome.
The Atlantic -
September 24, 2024
“They’ve had to pay very high interest rates the last few years. What that means is that the revenue that they’re getting from residential solar is not enough or barely enough to cover the cost of debt,” said Peter Adriaens, professor of civil and environmental engineering, about the challenges faced by solar panel companies to maintain their profit margins and manage costs, leading to layoffs, cutbacks and business changes, if not bankruptcy.
CNET -
September 24, 2024
Charlene Zietsma, professor of environment and sustainability, says it’s more effective to help entrepreneurs adapt skills they already use at home and apply them to their businesses: “When we teach, we look for successful examples and tell people to follow them, and we sometimes forget about the motivational aspect. … Using examples like cooking a meal or getting kids to school helped people feel more comfortable with the training.”
Concentrate -
September 24, 2024
“This is the ultimate safety feature. A lot of us think maybe we’re on the cusp of deploying this nationally. … I just wonder when the consumers are really going to find out about it and want it on their cars,” said Debra Bezzina, managing director of the Center for Connected and Automated Transportation, about new vehicle anti-crash technology that can see around other cars and corners.
Gizmodo -
September 23, 2024
“There appear both material and operational conditions and circumstances within the owner’s and crew’s control where they were not following regulations and law to provide safe sailing conditions,” said Jonathan Page, clinical professor of naval architecture and marine engineering, on the federal lawsuit against the owner and operator of the container ship that collapsed the Francis Scott Key Bridge in Baltimore last March.
The New York Times -
September 23, 2024
“It’s sort of shocking that there isn’t this net benefit,” said Scott Yanco, research fellow in environment and sustainability, who found that German blackbirds who migrated to balmy southern Europe or northern Africa do not spend any less energy staying warm than those riding out the cold in Germany — debunking a long-held assumption about the benefits of spending the winter in warm climates.
The New York Times -
September 23, 2024
While the extreme weather that hit Europe recently is not unprecedented, it could become more likely in the future under a changing climate, says Richard Rood, professor emeritus of climate and space sciences and engineering: “The climate is so warm that every storm or weather event is influenced by a warming climate. It’s impossible to have an event, especially an extreme event, that doesn’t have some relation to climate change.”
The New York Times -
September 20, 2024
“Technology develops faster than quality research can be conducted and published. Parents are doing what they think is best, but marketers are trying to make money, not support brain development. Marketing is winning over the research,” said Christine Snyder, director of child and family care at the U-M Children’s Centers, who studies the impact of screen use on kids.
WebMD -
September 20, 2024
Globe-circling hurricanes on Saturn, which can last months, leave patches of ammonia gas in the atmosphere that date back as far as 150 years and act as a fossilized record, says Cheng Li, assistant professor of climate and space sciences and engineering: “Atmospheres seem ephemeral. When we talk about fossils, we don’t really think about atoms.”
Smithsonian Magazine -
September 20, 2024
“At the end of the day, this is about trust and mistrust. We haven’t done what we need to do in order to build the trust with this population, in order for the science to be as efficacious as it needs to be,” said Melissa Creary, associate professor of health management and policy, about the physical, psychological and financial challenges faced by people with sickle cell disease.
Scientific American
