ANN ARBOR, Mich.— Women who excel in male-dominated science, technology, engineering and mathematic fields are often unjustly stereotyped as unfeminine.
However, if women are perceived as having feminine qualities, their success may actually decrease interest in these fields (usually referred to as “STEM”), particularly among young girls, according to a new University of Michigan study. (more…)
Deep in the Ugandan jungle, David Watts, Yale anthropologist and consultant for new Disney movie “Chimpanzee,” has studied the behavior of humanity’s closest relative. The Ngogo forest boasts one of the largest chimpanzee populations in the world, which not only makes it a great location to film movies, but an unparalleled place to explore chimp […]
ANN ARBOR, Mich.— In parts of the world without reliable electricity, a pedal-powered nebulizer could provide life-saving asthma treatments. Small wax-filled sleeping bags could keep premature infants warm. A salad spinner centrifuge for blood samples could help clinicians diagnose anemia.
University of Michigan researchers have cataloged more than 100 such technologies in a new wiki of medical devices designed for resource-limited settings. The Global Health Medical Device Compendium, an open-source inventory, is hosted by the popular appropriate technology wiki Appropedia. It is expected to serve as an important communication vehicle for end users, non-governmental organizations, researchers and others to help advance such technologies. (more…)
ANN ARBOR, Mich.— Nature teems with examples of evolutionary arms races between predators and prey, with the predator species gradually evolving a new mode of attack for each defensive adaptation that arises in the prey species.
These adaptations are often portrayed as reciprocal, with prey and predator acting as two sides in an endless evolutionary tug of war known as co-evolution. (more…)
ANN ARBOR, Mich.— More young adults today would rather hit the information highway than the open highway, say University of Michigan researchers.
In a new study in the journal Traffic Injury Prevention, Michael Sivak and Brandon Schoettle of the U-M Transportation Research Institute found that having a higher proportion of Internet users was associated with lower licensure rates among young persons.
And this is just not in the United States; it’s happening in other countries, too. (more…)
ANN ARBOR, Mich.—YouTube campaign videos are more positive than ads aired on television, a new University of Michigan study shows.
YouTube videos are more positive because they are narrowly targeted to the highly informed, high motivated, usually supportive people who view a candidate’s online video, said Rob Salmond, the study’s author and assistant professor of political science. (more…)
ANN ARBOR, Mich.— When faced with job loss, people who consider themselves poor may limit employment prospects by believing they have a smaller social network than they actually do, says a University of Michigan business professor.
“Social networks help explain people’s outcomes in the labor market by determining how people seek help,” said Ned Smith, assistant professor of strategy at the Michigan Ross School of Business. “Network contacts offer two primary resources for job search—information, which provides job seekers with knowledge about where to find employment, and influence, whereby network contacts affect people’s success in actually securing employment by swaying the hiring process.” (more…)
ANN ARBOR, Mich.— Imagine two tango dancers sweeping across the dance floor and suddenly encountering a slick spot. To avoid a slip or even a nasty tumble, the pair must work together to support one another and glide safely through the stressful moment.
In a similar way, a certain type of helper protein called a stress-specific molecular chaperone prevents its client proteins from collapsing during stressful situations by uncoiling a long, supportive arm that wraps around them, a University of Michigan-led research team has shown. (more…)
