news

New data show relatively low use of illicit substances, yet overdose death rates among adolescents have risen in recent years The percentage of teenagers reporting they used any illicit substances in 2023 held steady below the pre-pandemic levels reported in 2020, according to the latest results from the Monitoring the Future survey.

How do chatbots based on the transformer architecture decide what to pay attention to in a conversation? They've made their own machine learning algorithms to tell them Chatbot users often recommend treating a series of prompts like a conversation, but how does the chatbot know what you're referring back to? A new study reveals the mechanism used by transformer models-like those driving modern chatbots-to decide what to pay attention to.

Study: Racial and Ethnic Disparities in Tuberculosis Incidence, Arkansas, United States, 2010-2021 Progress toward the elimination of tuberculosis in the United States has been stalled by significant racial and ethnic disparities often masked by stateand national-level data, say University of Michigan researchers.

Genetic mutations that promote reproduction tend to shorten human lifespan, study shows A University of Michigan-led study based on a review of genetic and health information from more than 276,000 people finds strong support for a decades-old evolutionary theory that sought to explain aging and senescence.

Study: Childcare subsidy employment and copayment requirements and child maltreatment Young children in low-income households could be at risk for abuse and neglect if their parents are unable to receive adequate child care subsidies, a new University of Michigan study found. Employment requirements, which vary by state, above a certain threshold have negative consequences for children and families, said Kathryn Maguire-Jack , U-M associate professor of social work and study's lead author.

Study: Element abundance patterns in stars indicate fission of nuclei heavier than uranium In studying how the rich diversity of elements in the universe came to exist, University of Michigan research has put a number on how heavy an atom nature can produce-and it happens under extreme conditions in specific types of stars and supernovae.

U-M study examines measures used to inform how researchers, policymakers identify areas in need of health resources Study: Comparison of two area-level socioeconomic deprivation indices: Implications for public health research, practice and policy EXPERT Q&A Over the course of the pandemic, COVID-19 hit Black communities and communities of color particularly hard.

Study: Grandmaternal body mass index in early pregnancy and risk of grandoffspring stillbirth: A nationwide, three-generation cohort study Research has shown that pregnant women with a body max index of 30 or higher face a greater chance of experiencing a stillbirth compared to pregnant women with a normal BMI.

Computing with a combination of light and chargeless excitons could beat heat losses and more, but excitons need new modes of transport Study: Enhanced Exciton-Drift Transport through Suppressed Diffusion in One-Dimensional Guides (DOI: 10.1021/acsnano.3c04870) A new kind of "wire- for moving excitons, developed at the University of Michigan, could help enable a new class of devices, perhaps including room temperature quantum computers.

EXPERTS Q&A Thousands have been killed in the Israel-Hamas war since Oct. And watching, and experiencing, all of this violence unfold are Palestinian and Israeli children. Researchers Rowell Huesmann and Eric Dubow of the University of Michigan Institute for Social Research have studied the effects of exposure to political conflict and war violence in Israeli and Palestinian children since 2007.

Delayed massive-star mechanical feedback at low metallicity Nebular C IV 1550 imaging of the metal-poor starburst Mrk 71: Direct evidence of catastrophic cooling If you look at massive galaxies teeming with stars, you might be forgiven in thinking they are star factories, churning out brilliant balls of gas.

Study: Concussion exposure and suicidal ideation planning and attempts among US high school students High school students, particularly males, who reported a history of concussion in the last year were more likely to engage in suicidal thoughts, planning or attempts than their nonconcussed peers, according to a study by a research team that includes a researcher at the University of Michigan Male teens who reported two or more concussions in the past year were twice as likely to report a suicide attempt than males who reported one concussion.

Using generic terms in politics may be exacerbating political division, a new study suggests. Statements such as "Democrats want to have tougher gun laws” and "Republicans want to ban abortion,” can heighten perceived differences between the two political parties, the study says. Researchers at the University of Michigan, Columbia University and Stony Brook University studied political polarization due to individuals making broad generalizations about certain groups based on inconsistent evidence.

Diverse forests hold huge carbon-storage potential, as long as we cut emissions, study shows New research suggests that a realistic estimate of additional global forest carbon-storage potential is approximately 226 gigatonnes of carbon-enough to make a meaningful contribution to slowing climate change.

Study: The Case for Domestic Violence Protective Order Firearm Prohibitions under Bruen Domestic violence protective orders are associated with reductions in intimate partner homicides, and therefore serve as a critical tool for protecting victims and survivors, according to a federal policy review led by researchers at the University of Michigan.

Study: Decarbonization potential of electrifying 50% of U.S. light-duty vehicle sales by 2030 One of the goals outlined by the Biden administration's National Climate Task Force in 2021 was to reduce U.S. greenhouse gas emissions to 50%-52% below 2005 levels by 2030. Now, a University of Michigan study investigates one of the strategies to achieve this goal, which is to increase new vehicle sales to 50% electric by 2030.

Study: Association between the COVID-19 outbreak and opioid prescribing by U.S. dentists Americans who have a tooth pulled or another painful dental procedure in the United States today are far less likely to get opioid painkillers than they were just a few years ago, a University of Michigan study shows.

Nanoengineers have created a quasicrystal-a scientifically intriguing and technologically promising material structure-from nanoparticles using DNA, the molecule that encodes life. The team, led by researchers at Northwestern University, the University of Michigan and the Center for Cooperative Research in Biomaterials in San Sebastian, Spain, reports the results in Nature Materials.

Study: The Michigan Farmworker Project: A Community-Based Participatory Approach to Research on Precarious Employment and Labor Exploitation of Farmworkers Denied drinking water. Timed bathroom breaks. Threatened or fired for bruising apples while picking them. Unsafe exposure to chemicals and pesticides.

NOTE: Firearm injury prevention research will be the focus of a national conference next week in Chicago. It is organized by the Research Society for the Prevention of Firearm-Related Harms, of which the University of Michigan is a founding member. University of Michigan experts are available to discuss various aspects of the mass shooting in Maine, from firearm injury prevention to public policy and the psychology of traumatic events with children.