Recent News

Scientists have identified how a protein in the brain uses information about the body’s energy balance to regulate growth rate and the onset of puberty in children.

University of Michigan faculty member Alison Narayan has received the American Chemical Society’s Arthur C. Cope Scholar Award for excellence in organic chemistry.

A common model species can sense sound waves without ears, providing a new tool for studying auditory sensation.

Two new research projects are moving forward at the U-M Life Sciences Institute, with support from philanthropic funds established specifically to high-risk, high-reward research.

A quarterly column on the LSI’s work to cultivate a diverse, equitable and inclusive climate

Researchers have demonstrated that a natural compound produced by lichens can block the activity of a protein that is central to the gene-activation process. The research, conducted in human-derived breast cancer cells, points to this protein as potential therapeutic target.

Scientists have identified a protein called the melanocortin 3 receptor as a potential drug target for treating obesity and eating disorders such as anorexia nervosa.

A new study from the University of Michigan offers insights into how neural circuitry in the brain operates and responds to feeding and hunger in real-time.

The building that houses the LSI will be named Mary Sue Coleman Hall. This naming recognizes her enduring commitment to the sciences and her role in spearheading the Life Sciences Institute, as well as her highly successful tenure as president of U-M.

As we marked our first “Panniversary,” LSI professor and research associate dean Bing Ye reflected on how the institute has navigated a year of reduced research efforts, and the potential long-term impacts — both good and bad — on the scientific enterprise.

Researchers in the lab of Wenjing Wang, Ph.D., have designed a new chemical tool that can detect the presence of opioids at a cellular level.

A team of researchers has discovered an antibody that blocks the dengue virus’s ability to cause disease in mice. The findings open the potential for developing effective treatments and designing a vaccine for dengue and similar diseases.

Researchers are advancing a novel approach to developing antivirals against SARS-CoV-2, with support from the LSI’s Klatskin-Sutker Discovery Fund

New research is challenging a long-held understanding of how two types of cellular proteins cooperate to activate genes. The findings improve the possibility of targeting these interactions with small-molecule drugs.

U-M program connects future scientists to the lab, the university and their goals

Shyamal Mosalaganti’s new research program at U-M will take advantage of the LSI’s cutting-edge cryo-ET resources to investigate how multi-protein cellular complexes perform their functions within the context of the cell environment — and how these functions contribute to health and disease.

Researchers have uncovered a neural network that enables Drosophila melanogaster to convert external stimuli of varying intensities into a “yes or no” decision about when to act.

Researchers have uncovered a new twist in the complex process cells use to transport their molecular cargo.

This year’s LSI Saltiel Life Sciences Symposium will examine innovative and creative research taking place to address scientific challenges across the biosciences. The two-day virtual event will offer a combination of full lectures and shorter talks from both external speakers and U-M investigators.

Deep in the Peruvian Amazon Rain Forest, microorganisms are thriving within a river so hot, it boils. U-M graduate student Rosa Vásquez iexploring the Boiling River’s ecosystem, searching for genetic clues that explain how these organisms have evolved to survive in their scalding surroundings.

While many U-M labs were closed, new and current fellows in the Michigan Life Sciences Fellows program created opportunities to strengthen their network and develop professional skills.

New research reveals that one group of neurons controls various types of sighing, but they receive their instructions from different areas of the brain depending on the reason for the sigh.

Researchers have discovered a new signaling pathway that prompts one type of fat cells to convert fat into heat.

An international team of researchers has decoded the complex process that fungi use to build an important class of bioactive compounds.

Researchers have discovered how a protein that is overproduced by fat cells in an obese state may be contributing to the demise of two immune cell types — and driving further metabolic disorders in the process