Focus: Hidden - Michigan

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The Barth Syndrome Foundation recently announced awardees from its 2017 grant cycle. Miriam Greenberg, Ph.D., professor of biological sciences in the College of Liberal Arts and Sciences at Wayne State University and a resident of Ann Arbor, Michigan, received a one-year, $50,000 grant for the project, “Cardiolipin activates pyruvate dehydrogenase (PDH) – a potential new target for treatment of Barth syndrome.”

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Researchers and public health officials have struggled to explain the resurgence of whooping cough in the United States since the late 1970s, and the suspected shortcomings of the current generation of vaccines are often blamed. But a new University of Michigan-led study concludes that the resurgence of the highly contagious respiratory disease is the result of factors—including a phenomenon known as the honeymoon period—that began in the middle of the last century, long before the latest vaccines were introduced in the late 1990s.

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While the international nonproliferation community inspects known nuclear power reactors, a major concern is that nations could build smaller, secret reactors to produce materials for weapons. Now, University of Michigan researchers are involved in an effort to build a prototype of a detector that may one day identify undeclared sites from a neighboring country. The initiative, known as the Advanced Instrumentation Testbed (AIT), seeks to detect nearly-massless particles produced when a nuclear reactor is running. In addition to revealing the presence of secret reactors, these particles can signal when nuclear reactors are running or shut down. The on/off cycle can indicate whether reactors are being used to produce energy or plutonium, a metal that provides explosive power in nuclear weapons.

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Michigan State University scientists are testing a promising drug that may stop a gene associated with obesity from triggering breast and lung cancer, as well as prevent these cancers from growing.

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Flint children’s blood lead levels were nearly three times higher almost a decade before the year of the Flint water crisis, new research shows.

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While there are many treatment options for men with prostate cancer, a recent national study published in JAMA compared the effectiveness of treatments for high-risk prostate cancer.

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#MeToo founder Tarana Burke will speak at Michigan State University at 7:30 p.m. April 19 in Wharton Center’s Cobb Great Hall as part of the Transformative Justice Speaker Series.

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On any given day, 20 percent of Americans account for nearly half of U.S. diet-related greenhouse gas emissions, and high levels of beef consumption are largely responsible, according to a new study from researchers at the University of Michigan and Tulane University.

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The American Autoimmune Related Diseases Association (AARDA) will host their National Summit on Autoimmune Disease Wednesday, March 21, 2018. The National Summit is open to the public and will take place at Sidley Austin law firm located at 1501 K Street, N.W. #600, Washington, DC 20005. The Summit is 10:00 a.m. – 4:30 p.m., with a special reception to follow 5:00 p.m. – 7:00 p.m.

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Clever, fundamental engineering could go a long way toward preventing waterborne illness and exposure to carcinogenic substances in water.

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As children hit the “tween” stage, parents may struggle balancing the need for independence with appropriate supervision – and social media has changed the ground rules.

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Van Andel Research Institute (VARI) Chief Scientific Officer Peter Jones, Ph.D., D.Sc., will be awarded an honorary doctorate from South Africa’s Stellenbosch University (SU) in recognition of a lifetime of scientific achievement and dedication to improving cancer treatment.

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Using multiple screen devices simultaneously while snacking may influence food choices, according to a new Michigan State University study. Specifically, when people engage in media multitasking that makes them feel good, they're more prone to eat healthy, said Anastasia Kononova, assistant professor in the Department of Advertising and Public Relations, who led the study.

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This week, thousands of graduating medical students around the country will find out where they’ll head next, to start their residency training. But a new study gives the first objective evidence of the heavy toll that the first year of residency can take on their sleep, physical activity and mood.

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When the University of Michigan Museum of Natural History reopens in its new home about a year from now, visitors to the evolution gallery will come face to face with a life-size, hyperrealistic sculptural reconstruction of an extinct human relative that roamed southern Africa 2 million years ago.

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Whether caused by an undetected birth defect or by a heart attack (myocardial infarction), when a heart sustains damage, it can be difficult to repair.

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Requests for the procedure rise in March — when many men schedule downtime to watch basketball. A Michigan Medicine expert explains key facts.

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Nearly half of newly diagnosed breast cancer patients who should be recommended for genetic testing did not get it. A quarter of these patients were not counseled about their potential risk, a new study finds.

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Mercury, polychlorinated biphenyl (PCB) compounds, polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) and persistent organic pollutants (POPs) make their way into Great Lakes fish. Chronic exposure is a problem for fish-reliant Indigenous communities; they asked, when can we eat the fish? A transdisciplinary team led by Michigan Tech set out to find answers.

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A new study from University of Michigan Kellogg Eye Center links familial relationships to the likelihood older adults will get needed cataract surgery — a procedure with broad implications for health.

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A new mouse study examines the fungus that causes cryptococcosis, which is a major source of illness in people with HIV and AIDS.

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The present study addresses the feasibility of reinforced concrete columns totally reinforced with glass fiber-reinforced polymer (GFRP) bars achieving the drift requirements specified in various codes.

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Halting the voyage of gut bacteria to the brain could help prevent harmful brain inflammation after a sepsis infection, a new study shows.

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Julie Work always ate healthy and exercised regularly. Then, she passed out behind the wheel, went to a cardiologist and learned she needed a pacemaker. After recovery, she signed up for exercise boot camp and pushed herself to the limit. She needed to two pacemaker adjustments to keep up with her intense exercise regime.

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The first-ever Autoimmune Walk in Oklahoma City to bring patients, family members, friends and advocates together for a shared cause.

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For the first time, researchers have linked radiation-damaged thyroid glands to poor surgical outcomes. The solution may be as simple as a common hormone supplement. Researchers at the University of Michigan have discovered a link between low thyroid hormone levels and wound healing complications. MORE FROM THE LAB: Subscribe to our weekly newsletter The retrospective study looked at 182 patients with laryngeal squamous cell carcinoma who were first treated with radiation, but ultimately required a total laryngectomy, or removal of the voice box.

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Michigan Medicine doctors develop a smartphone application -- basically an Uber approach -- to connect scarcely resourced regional health centers with drivers willing to transport patient samples to well-equipped labs for testing.

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In her latest book, Diane Shoos examines portrayals of abusive relationships on the Silver Screen that reinforce who and what we believe about domestic violence.

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With baseball’s spring training in full bloom, a study by Henry Ford Hospital highlights a set of injuries prominent among pitchers.

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High school students can make a major impact on their schoolmates’ understanding of depression, and their attitudes about seeking help for themselves or others, according to a new study using data from 10 high schools that implemented peer-led awareness campaigns.

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Michigan State University scientists are engineering a virus-like particle, known as Qβ, that will generate anti-cancer immune responses in the body and potentially be used as a new vaccine for the treatment of cancer.

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accesso, the premier technology solutions provider to leisure, entertainment, cultural and hospitality markets has chosen Henry Ford Health System as its first ever healthcare partner.

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Results from a recent study show that a prescriptive code-based approach can lead to critical underestimation of seismic demands.

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Social justice and environmental conservation are considered great values in our society. However, in some conservation efforts, conflicts arise. A team led by Michigan Technological University explore ethical frameworks to resolve these conflicts.

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Backed by a $3.6 million National Institutes of Health grant, a Michigan State University researcher is looking to reduce postpartum depression by expanding a preventative program that has already shown it can cut the postpartum depression rate in half among low-income women.

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Dutch adventurer Wim Hof is known as “The Iceman” for good reason. Hof established several world records for prolonged resistance to cold exposure, an ability he attributes to a self-developed set of techniques of breathing and meditation — known as the Wim Hof Method — that have been covered by the BBC, CNN, National Geographic and other global media outlets. Yet, how his brain responds during cold exposure and what brain mechanisms may endow him with this resistance have not been studied — until now. Wayne State University School of Medicine professors Otto Muzik, Ph.D., and Vaibhav Diwadkar, Ph.D., changed that.

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Researchers at Michigan Medicine are shining a light on the darkness of the unconscious brain. Three new studies add to the body of knowledge.

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Doctors and older patients may disagree more often than either of them suspects about whether a particular medical test or medicine is truly necessary, according to findings from a new poll of Americans over age 50. Improving communication about that mismatch of opinions, the poll suggests, might reduce the use of unneeded scans, screenings, medications and procedures – and health care costs as well.

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Our bodies are not just passively growing older

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New teaching standards like the Next Generation Science Standards call for weaving science, technology, engineering and math (STEM) into classrooms better. What makes this integration effective?

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The rural physician shortage is well-established, and there's the notion that doctors don't necessarily establish their practices where need for health care is greatest––in poor and unhealthy communities

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These days, many hospital patients get medicine or nutrition delivered straight into their bloodstream through a tiny device called a PICC. In just a decade, it’s become the go-to device for intravenous care. But a new study finds that one in every four times a PICC gets inserted, the patient didn’t need it long enough to justify the risks that it can also pose.

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Forests across the United States—and especially forest soils—store massive amounts of carbon, offsetting about 10 percent of the country's annual greenhouse gas emissions and helping to mitigate climate change.

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Does life really begin at 40? Is 50 the new 30? For people in these age groups, the answer appears to be yes. But for young adults in their teens and early 20s, turning 50 equates to hitting old age. A new study of more than a half-million Americans led by a Michigan State University scholar shows just how skewed views of aging can be - particularly among the young.

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Signing up for 5Ks and even a 10K is a feat many people with hypertrophic cardiomyopathy may not have dared to attempt a decade or two ago. Fear of tragedy leads many HCM patients to a sedentary lifestyle.

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Some heart patients haven’t yet been able to access the growing trend toward minimally invasive procedures. A new clinical trial at the University of Michigan, though, makes a form of mitral valve repair an option without an open-heart surgery.

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A health insurance concept born from University of Michigan research may soon reach millions of people covered by Medicare across the United States, and allow them to keep more dollars in their wallets while getting treated for chronic diseases such as diabetes, depression and heart failure.

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A new model developed by Michigan Medicine researchers could change treatment guidelines for nearly two-thirds of men with localized prostate cancer.

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Around the clock, cells deep in the brain produces a “grandfather” form of several hormones that help us regulate our appetite and eating. Now, a new discovery sheds new light on how that grandfather molecule gets produced – and more important, what can go wrong and raise the risk of overeating and obesity. The findings could pave the way for new approaches to treating forms of obesity, especially those with genetic roots.