Genetic study of house dust mites demonstrates reversible evolution

…a research team led by two University of Michigan biologists has used a large-scale genetic study of the lowly house dust mite to uncover an example of reversible evolution…

Cryptic clams: U-M biologists find species hiding in plain view

Two University of Michigan marine biologists have identified three cryptic species of tiny clams, long believed to be members of the same species, which have been hiding in plain view along the rocky shores of southern Australia for millions of years.

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Calling all cars: U-M takes center stage in safe transportation

UMTRI will install wireless communication devices on nearly 3,000 vehicles that will let cars, trucks and buses “talk” to each other, as well as to traffic lights and other road signals located at intersections, curves and highway sites throughout a test-pilot area in northeast Ann Arbor.

Click here for the story.

Religion is a potent force for cooperation and conflict, research shows

“Moralizing gods, emerging over the last few millennia, have enabled large-scale cooperation and sociopolitical conquest even without war,” said University of Michigan anthropologist Scott Atran, lead author of the article with Jeremy Ginges of the New School for Social Research.

“Sacred values sustain intractable conflicts like those between the Israelis and the Palestinians that defy rational, business-like negotiation. But they also provide surprising opportunities for resolution.”

Click here for the story.

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Here’s a round-up of stories involving new science research at the University of Michigan:

Power to the professors: A bold, new way to fund research begins at U-Michigan

A first-of-its-kind, real-time research funding initiative at the University of Michigan puts $15 million into the hands of professors to jumpstart new projects they believe in.

Click here to read more (video)

“Gut”-throat competition: U-M research on digestive tract bacteria yields surprising findings

…new research from the University of Michigan Health System … [shows] that the bacteria that usually live in our digestive tracts compete against invading bacteria such as E. coli to help our bodies fend them off.

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U-M researchers identify potential target for anthrax drug

Researchers at the University of Michigan have identified new targets for drugs that could potentially treat anthrax, the deadly infection caused by Bacillus anthracis.

The team, led by David Sherman, the Hans W. Vahlteich Professor of Medicinal Chemistry in UM’s College of Pharmacy and a faculty member at the U-M Life Sciences Institute, found a new way to block the bacteria’s ability to capture iron, which is vital to its survival and its disease-causing properties.

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Here’s a round-up of stories involving new science research at the University of Michigan:

Energy-recycling computer technology from University of Michigan goes global through semiconductor firm AMD

An energy-recycling computer circuit born at the University of Michigan will enable a new generation of power efficient laptop PCs and servers.

Global semiconductor vendor Advanced Micro Devices (AMD) announced today at the 2012 International Solid-State Circuits Conference in San Francisco that the company’s forthcoming 64-bit processor core, dubbed “Piledriver,” incorporates a technology invented by a Michigan Engineering computer science professor and his graduate students….click here to read more

Pregnant primates miscarry when a new male enters the group

Pregnant female geladas show an unusually high rate of miscarriage the day after the dominant male in their group is replaced by a new male, a new University of Michigan study indicates.

The “Bruce effect” – in which pregnant females spontaneously miscarry after being exposed to an unfamiliar male – has been found repeatedly in laboratory rodents. However, no conclusive evidence for this effect had ever been demonstrated in a wild population prior to this study. Geladas are Old World monkeys that are close relatives of baboons….click here to read more

 

* and click here to listen to the audio from our meet-up that discussed this topic

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Here’s a round-up of stories involving new science research at the University of Michigan:

Gene linked to pancreatic cancer growth, U-M study finds

Inactivating Kras caused tumors to disappear, suggesting possible treatment target…click here to read more

Genes linked to cancer could be easier to detect with liquid lasers

Using a liquid laser, University of Michigan researchers have developed a better way to detect the slight genetic mutations that might predispose a person to a particular type of cancer or other diseases…click here to read more

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The Fordham Institute published a report that grades all of the 50 states’ science standards.  Michigan was scored a ‘C’.

Now what is the Fordham Institute? Zen Faulkes over at Neurodojo wrote about this organization’s study and stated that it is a conservative think tank. This is likely to raise some eyebrows amongst skeptics, however Greg Laden commented to me in his blog post, also about the report, that this think tank seems to be on the up and up, and thus, has published a valid scientific assessment.

You can read the full 217 page write-up here and the 4-page report on Michigan here.

Other states’ scores:

• Arkansas: B
• California: A
• Indiana: A-
• Ohio: B
• Oregon: F
• Texas: C

You can find out how all the states were graded here.

I have to admit that it’s pretty disconcerting to see Indiana and Ohio get better grades than Michigan.  Even Illinois’s D and Wisconsin’s F didn’t make me feel any better.