An aquarium fish that senses the Earth’s magnetic field as it swims could help unlock how the human brain works and how diseases such as Parkinson’s and other neurological disorders function. Michigan State University scientists are the first to discover a navigational gene in glass catfish called the electromagnetic-perceptive gene, or EPG, that responds to…
Early Source of Irritable Bowel Syndrome Discovered
Michigan State University scientists have identified an early cause of intestinal inflammation, one of the first stages of inflammatory bowel disease and irritable bowel syndrome, which afflict around 11 percent of the world’s population. The discovery, featured in the current issue of Cellular and Molecular Gastroenterology and Hepatology, points to communication between sensory neurons in the…
Climate Change Should Help Midwest Corn Production Through 2050
New Blood Pressure App and Hardware Rivals Arm Cuff Accuracy
Cuff devices for blood pressure measurement are inconvenient, and mobile device apps for blood pressure measurement that are now being introduced may lack accuracy. To solve this problem, a team of Michigan State University scientists has created a new app and hardware for smartphones to measure blood pressure with accuracy that may rival arm-cuff devices.…
Quantum Leap: Computational Approach Launches New Paradigm in Electronic Structure Theory
A group of Michigan State University researchers specializing in quantum calculations has proposed a radically new computational approach to solving the complex many-particle Schrödinger equation, which holds the key to explaining the motion of electrons in atoms and molecules. By understanding the details of this motion, one can determine the amount of energy needed to…
Hearing Aid Technology to Eliminate Background Noise
For hearing aid users, holding a conversation in a busy crowd is impossible: the unfiltered environment can be a confusion of unwanted voices and annoying disturbances. Mi Zhang, a Michigan State University assistant professor of electrical and computer engineering, is developing cutting-edge technology to solve this problem. “Background noises make following a conversation difficult,” Zhang said.…
Longtime Antidepressant Could Slow Parkinson’s
How Scientists Turned a Flag Into a Loudspeaker
A paper-thin, flexible device created at Michigan State University not only can generate energy from human motion, it can act as a loudspeaker and microphone as well, nanotechnology researchers report today in Nature Communications. The audio breakthrough could eventually lead to such consumer products as a foldable loudspeaker, a voice-activated security patch for computers and even…
New Chemical Coating Yields Durable Waterproofing Technique
Star Discovered in Closest Known Orbit Around Black Hole
Astronomers have found evidence for a star that whips around a black hole about twice an hour. This may be the tightest orbital dance ever witnessed for a black hole and a companion star. Michigan State University scientists were part of the team that made this discovery, which used NASA’s Chandra X-ray Observatory as well…
‘Ghost Particles’ Could Improve Understanding The Universe
Trillions of neutrinos, or ghost particles, are passing through us every second. While scientists know this fact, they don’t know what role neutrinos play in the universe because they are devilishly hard to measure. New measurements of neutrino oscillations, observed at the IceCube Neutrino Observatory at the South Pole, have shed light on outstanding questions…
Sequencing Poisonous Mushrooms to Potentially Create Medicine
A team of Michigan State University scientists has genetically sequenced two species of poisonous mushrooms, discovering that they can theoretically produce billions of compounds through one molecular assembly line. This may open the door to efficiently tackling some lethal diseases. The study, published in the journal BMC Genomics, reveals the DNA of two Amanitamushrooms, which are responsible…
Flexible Device Harnesses Human Motion for Energy
The day of charging cellphones with finger swipes and powering Bluetooth headsets simply by walking is now much closer. Michigan State University engineering researchers have created a new way to harvest energy from human motion, using a film-like device that actually can be folded to create more power. With the low-cost device, known as a…
Simple Food Additive Slow E.Coli Poisoning
Supercomputers Capture The Crush in Biological Cells
Maintaining Security with 3D-printed Hands
Creating a 3D replica of someone’s hand complete with all five fingerprints and breaking into a secure vault sounds like a plot from a James Bond movie. But Michigan State University Distinguished Professor Anil Jain recently discovered this may not be as far-fetched as once thought and wants security companies and the public to be…
Omega-3 Fatty Acid Stops Known Trigger of Lupus
Melatonin Boost a Key to Fighting Breast Cancer
Melatonin, a hormone produced in the human brain, appears to suppress the growth of breast cancer tumors. Researchers at Michigan State University published this finding in the current issue of Genes and Cancer. While treatments based on this key discovery are still years away, the results give scientists a key foundation on which to build future…