Recent News

Fifteen researchers at the University of Michigan — including two from the Life Sciences Institute — have been named fellows of the American Association for the Advancement of Science, an honor bestowed upon AAAS members by their peers.

LSI staffer Majd Abdulghani was named first Rhodes Scholar for Saudi Arabia. 

U-M researchers have shed new light on the mechanisms by which stem cells permanently shed their identity to become new types of cells.

LSI researchers are part of a new, federally funded effort to understand and prevent toxic algal blooms that plague portions of the Great Lakes and impact freshwater sources around the world.

Three ground-breaking LSI projects are among the University of Michigan projects to be funded in the first round of investments from the Biosciences Initiative.

When Kärt Tomberg joined the Ginsburg lab at the LSI, she planned to identify the genetic factors that play a role in a fatal blood clotting disease. Now, the culmination of that project is featured in the September 2018 issue of PLOS Genetics, not just as a research study, but as art.

Cancer cells and healthy cells both employ the same set of molecular “scissors” to travel through tissues within the body — but they do so using very different processes, according to new findings from the University of Michigan.

Recently, scientific leaders in the single-cell field gathered at the University of Michigan for the 2018 Saltiel Life Sciences Symposium, to discuss how their labs are developing and harnessing new technologies to answer questions about cellular identity and to highlight the immense power of single cell analyses.

Not every molecular biologist would think to look in cone snail venom for potential therapeutics. But a long-held interest in his surrounding biological environment — and a habit of making unconventional choices — led Baldomero “Toto” Olivera to do just that.

Puck Ohi, Ph.D., describes his lab’s work to understand how motor proteins organize microtubules within the cell, and how those proteins processes could be used to stop cell division in cancer.

The U-M Life Sciences Institute has launched the Aspirnaut Summer Research Internship Program, a six-week, immersive program providing students with hands-on research experience in state-of-the-art labs.

A team of U-M researchers has found that two paralog genes — which can lead to two very different diseases — are functionally nearly identical. The findings indicate that one gene could be harnessed to help treat the disease associated with the other.

Scientists revealed that a receptor protein in the brain acts as the body’s “energy rheostat,” ensuring that the balance of energy and fat does not drift too far above or below its homeostatic set point. The findings open new doors for developing anti-obesity drugs.

With funding from the U-M College of Engineering's Blue Sky Initiative, a team of researchers is setting out to streamline the process for developing the next generation of antimicrobials.

Scientists uncover a potential new role for long noncoding RNA in obesity and non-alcoholic fatty liver disease.

Meet the new MLSF fellows, who are investigating important biological questions related to multiple sclerosis, triple-negative breast cancer, and how complex living architectures form.

When scientists discover a new phenomenon, they often get to name it. For researchers who study the model system Drosophila melanogaster, or fruit flies, that means participating in a long tradition that is a hallmark of the field’s culture.

Researchers shed new light on a fundamental cellular process — the formation of asters, star-shaped microtubule structures within cells that help cells to divide properly.

New research reveals the mechanism that one model organism uses to signal to neighboring cells when it’s time to move.

Thirty-five academic and industry scientists from across the country got hands-on experience with the latest cryo-electron microscopy image processing tools at a recent workshop led by the LSI.

the LSI’s annual Saltiel Life Sciences Symposium will bring pioneers in the field of single cell biology to the University of Michigan to discuss the scientific advances driving the field forward.

David Walt, Ph.D., sat down with LSI Director Roger Cone to discuss emerging trends in the life sciences, the importance of broadening access to scientific research opportunities and his advice for aspiring scientists

The LSI's newest faculty member will use her protein engineering prowess to develop tools that can advance research across the fields of neuroscience and cell biology.

Research collaboration reveals how a mutation in the MUTYH protein prevents it from doing its job repairing damaged DNA — and our DNA can function like an electrical wire, conveying important signals.

Scientists have determined how microscopic marine bacteria build a chemical compound that has important biological activity — using a chemical transformation rarely seen outside of the lab.