University of Michigan News
@umichnews.bsky.social
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Michigan News posts about innovative research from the University of Michigan.
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umichnews.bsky.social
Researchers with @nilswalterlab.bsky.social have developed an AI model that discovers unique molecule behaviors in fluorescence microscopy. The model could soon be scaled to follow particles, wild animals or even the trajectory of asteroids through our solar system. myumi.ch/pVPZq #Science
Scalable AI tracks motion from single molecules to wildebeests
University of Michigan researchers have developed a tool powered by artificial intelligence that can help them examine the behavior of a single molecule out of a sea of information in the blink of an ...
myumi.ch
umichnews.bsky.social
Marriage linked to better health & happiness: A #UMich and SMU study of 5,000 adults in the U.S. & Japan shows singles report worse physical health and lower life satisfaction. Family support matters—especially in the U.S.
myumi.ch/pVP8Z
Infographic titled “Marriage linked to better health & happiness.” On the left, a single figure is shown with bar graphs labeled “Worse physical health.” On the right, two figures (a couple) are shown with bar graphs labeled “Family support.” A note states: U.S. & Japan, 5,000 adults studied. At the bottom: U.S. findings—family support boosted happiness; family stress hurt well-being. Japan findings—family stress didn’t lower happiness; support effects weaker. The study is cited in Personal Relationships. University of Michigan block M logo in lower corner.
umichnews.bsky.social
Beyond sneezing & itchy eyes, high pollen seasons are now linked to significant rise in suicide risk. #UMich researchers found 7.4% increase in deaths, suggesting the physical discomfort of allergies may trigger deeper more dangerous despair, an overlooked factor in suicide prevention.myumi.ch/e3peA
High pollen count: The last straw effect on suicide risk
Beyond the sneezing and itchy eyes, high pollen seasons are now linked to a significant increase in suicide risk.
news.umich.edu
umichnews.bsky.social
Michigan’s local officials are growing more pessimistic about their ability to maintain—let alone expand—services under the current local government funding system, according to @umfordschool.bsky.social study. myumi.ch/mR36N
Bar chart from the Michigan Public Policy Survey titled “Can Michigan communities keep up?” showing the percentage of local officials who say they can maintain current levels of services. In 2012, 43% said yes; in 2016, 40%; and in 2025, only 29%. A highlighted note reads: “Only 16% believe they will be able to improve or expand services in the future.”
umichnews.bsky.social
The off-again, on-again Kimmel saga has more plot twists to come, but one thing is certain as it unfolds: The host's removal & restoration "is a testament to the power of cultural consumption as a combatant to the sway of the political bully pulpit," accd to #UMich prof Marcus Collins myumi.ch/y1ZmQ
umichnews.bsky.social
Missed some Michigan news? We’ve got you covered. Catch up on this week’s top research and stories, and subscribe for more: myumi.ch/Qwzxq
News this week: 'Wicked' and football, Alzheimer's research, evolution bites
umichnews.bsky.social
Women earned 85% of men’s hourly pay in 2024 — up from 65% in the mid-1980s, but progress has stalled.

A new study finds part of the narrowing gap came from women having fewer children. Parenthood still affects wages unequally according to #UMich sociology prof Learn more myumi.ch/8qkX6
Compared to remaining childless, motherhood leads to wage losses for women. And those losses are larger when women have more kids.

By contrast, after men become fathers their wages usually rise.

Alexandra Killewald
Professor of Sociology
umichnews.bsky.social
When tiny freshwater crustaceans called daphnia are infected w/a parasite, the mothers are able to shake off the disease. But many of their offspring died young. U-M researchers say if we only focus on how an infection affects a single organism, we may be missing its biggest impact. myumi.ch/kPJEz
The generational impact of illness
When University of Michigan researchers were looking at the effects of a parasite on a tiny freshwater crustacean, they found something unexpected.
myumi.ch
umichnews.bsky.social
New findings from a #UMich survey of Detroiters showing the top challenges households face in their daily lives and how they would like city leadership to respond have implications for Detroit’s mayoral election in November.
myumi.ch/g3n5Q
Bar chart titled "Figure 1. Major Challenges Facing Detroit Households." It shows the percentage of Detroiters who identified each issue as one of the top three major challenges their household faces. The bars are listed from highest to lowest percentage:

Crime or Safety: 17.7% (light gray bar)

Neighborhood Conditions: 16.4% (dark gray bar)

Employment: 15.0% (light blue bar)

Housing: 14.9% (medium blue bar)

Transportation: 14.2% (dark blue bar)

School: 12.5% (navy blue bar)

Getting the Food Needed: 12.0% (black bar)

X-axis shows percentages from 0% to 20%. The graphic uses color to group issues but does not include a key. A yellow and black bar runs along the bottom of the image.
umichnews.bsky.social
The number of Michigan children whose parents died from overdose, suicide, homicide or substance-related causes has surged since 2000, accounting for 2 in 5 parental deaths, a new @umich.edu study found. https://news.umich.edu/more-michigan-children-are-losing-parents-to-overdose-suicide-homicide/
More Michigan children are losing parents to overdose, suicide, homicide

In 2023, 42% of children who lost a parent in Michigan lost that parent due to suicide, homicide, overdose or other substance-related death.
umichnews.bsky.social
News this week: Galactic implications, a vibrant arts scene and jaw-dropping evolution

Check out some of this week's top stories from around the @umich.edu research scene: myumi.ch/n1GbR
News this week: Galactic implications, a vibrant arts scene and jaw-dropping evolution
Reposted by University of Michigan News
umisrcps.bsky.social
Does authoritarian legacy play into the calculus of when and why people abandon democratic values? Find #ISRNextGeneration @umisrcps.bsky.social scholar Hanna Lee at #APSA2025.
At APSA 2025: Revisiting the Power of Distributive Policy under Dictatorship
In event: Authoritarianism and Redistribution
Thu, September 11, 8:00 to 9:30am PDT (11:00am to 12:30pm EDT)
Hanna Lee, University of Michigan
ISR Next Generation Scholar
umichnews.bsky.social
“Gray rocking” — a communication tool that involves responding to goading comments w/a blank expression & calm, neutral tone—can be effective in situations where you don’t feel unsafe but do have to interact w/a difficult person, says Sandra Graham-Bermann https://wapo.st/4m2DFie
‘Gray rocking’ is a way to deal with difficult people. Here’s how it works.
Offering calm, disengaged responses might quell conflict in some situations, but it’s not a long-term strategy, experts say.
wapo.st
umichnews.bsky.social
Under Trump’s 2nd term, the signs of authoritarian rule are everywhere. This is competitive authoritarianism, not democracy, according to @donmoyn.bsky.social, @umich.edu professor of public policy donmoynihan.substack.com/p/the-author...
The authoritarian checklist
It is time to admit that America is no longer a functioning democracy
donmoynihan.substack.com
umichnews.bsky.social
Editor's blog from @umich.edu's #MichiganToday: In 1890, much of the annual move-in frenzy was confined to the Michigan Central Railroad station at 401 Depot St. Today we know it as the Gandy Dancer restaurant.
https://michigantoday.umich.edu/2025/08/23/keep-it-moving/
Keep it moving
It's move-in day in the year 1890. Get thee to the railway station and collect that steamer trunk.
michigantoday.umich.edu
umichnews.bsky.social
Racing under reduced winter sunlight for the first time, the @umich.edu solar car was the leading North American car during the 2025 Bridgestone World Solar Challenge! Details: https://record.umich.edu/articles/u-m-finishes-as-top-north-american-solar-car-in-international-race/
Millennium speeds along a highway in the Australian Outback. (Photo by Daniel Aguilera Irala, U-M Solar Car Team)
Reposted by University of Michigan News
donmoyn.bsky.social
New, from me:
America is no longer a functioning democracy. It is a competitive authoritarian system, hurtling rapidly toward authoritarianism.
This was a hard piece to write but we can't move forward if we don’t acknowledge where we are.
donmoynihan.substack.com/p/the-author...
The authoritarian checklist
It is time to admit that America is no longer a functioning democracy
donmoynihan.substack.com
umichnews.bsky.social
Some regions of the brain in people w/Alzheimer's reorganize more often while at rest than in people without the disease. In healthy people this frequent reshuffling sometimes predicts who will develop the condition later, per @umich.edu & @columbiauniversity.bsky.social study. More: myumi.ch/g369W