ESCANABA, Mich. — A forester, psychologist and microbiologist meet with each other in the woods of Michigan’s Upper Peninsula. … No, this isn’t the start of a sappy joke. However, the story about to be told is sappy. Jesse Randall, director of the Michigan State University (MSU) Forestry Innovation Center (FIC), is working with a multi-disciplinary and multi-institutional team …
Often diagnosed in the teenage years, childhood-onset lupus is a serious, potentially fatal autoimmune disease that causes the body to attack itself. For as many as 10,000 U.S. youths, it can bring extreme fatigue, mood changes, pain and inflammation that affect many parts of the body. Now, these kids have an option for treatment that …
EAST LANSING, Mich. — PAWPrint Concepts, a first-of-its-kind early childhood literacy assessment developed by Michigan State University researchers, will make its national conference debut at the 2026 National Head Start Conference & Expo, May 4–7 in Minneapolis, Minnesota. Designed to identify print concepts and knowledge gaps in children ages 3–5 (a critical predictor of reading …
Nine Michigan State University researchers have been elected 2025 Fellows of the American Association for the Advancement of Science, or AAAS, one of the world’s largest and most respected scientific societies. Ann Austin, Gary Blanchard, Shi-you Ding, Dean Lee, Hui Li, Elena Litchman, James McCusker, Dohun Pyeon and Elise Zipkin are being recognized for their work in education, chemistry, cancer studies, biological and medical sciences, …
David Douches, a Michigan State University (MSU) Distinguished Professor in the Department of Plant, Soil, and Microbial Sciences, describes plant breeding as a career-long mission: “We are the scientists behind the scenes, creating potatoes that are better for the farmers, better for the industry, and ultimately better for the consumer.” For decades, he has focused …
The modern electrical grid faces unprecedented pressure. As the prevalence of electric vehicles, data centers, and electric heating grows, power demand surges. Yet the traditional solution remains costly, time-consuming “wire-and-pole” upgrades. This year’s MSU Innovation Center Startup of the Year, Switched Source, offers a faster, more efficient solution. Using advanced power electronics to rebalance electricity flows in real time, it helps …
AG3 Labs, a student-founded startup, develops low-cost, highly maneuverable drone systems for military and defense training. Designed to fly in coordinated swarms with repeatable flight patterns, these drones serve as realistic aerial targets, enabling teams to train against agile unmanned threats common in modern conflicts. Unlike multipurpose drone platforms containing advanced sensors and computing systems, AG3 Labs …
For decades, the medical community has faced a frustrating dilemma: cardiovascular disease remains the leading cause of death worldwide, yet the pipeline for new treatments is a high-risk gamble that usually ends in failure. More than 92% of heart-related drugs that pass preclinical animal tests fail to receive FDA approval during human trials, and for complex cardiovascular conditions, success rates …
In fruit orchards, timing is critical. When labor is scarce or costly, fruit may remain unharvested, causing lost income and risking the relocation of specialty crop production from Michigan to regions with larger orchards and more workers. “If we don’t automate critical tasks quickly, crops will remain on trees or rot. Industries will leave, and so will our domestic …
Clinicians treating cancer and blood clots must balance the risk of medical interventions with their life-saving benefits. Biopsies to collect tissue for testing, ablations to kill diseased cells, and surgery or catheters to remove blood clots are effective but they’re also invasive. New microrobots – smaller than the diameter of a human hair – could …
