MSU received $1 million from the Herbert H. and Grace A. Dow Foundation last week to help students at MSU’s College of Human Medicine get life-like experience as pediatric doctors. The grant will fund a pediatric simulation center containing high-tech mannequins used to simulate actual humans for pediatric students to practice on.
A new trait in soybean crops developed by MSU could help farmers be more efficient while reducing the amount of chemicals sprayed on the plants. Dechun Wang, an associate professor of crop and soil sciences, has developed two genes in soybean plants that render the plants resistant to soybean aphids, which are insects that feed off the plant.
With a variety of makes, models and pricing points, owning a new vehicle might be one of the first expensive and confusing purchases a college student can make. Jason Fisher, the regional director of the investment company StraightLine, said that as a college student, it is necessary to think about the most important aspects of buying a vehicle — especially cost.
There was a representation of 15 different African languages Wednesday evening at the Kellogg Hotel and Conference Center, marking the end of the 18th annual Summer Cooperative African Language Institute, or SCALI, at MSU. SCALI is an eight-week educational course in African languages, combining four hours of class time with additional extracurricular activities and homework for students.
MSU’s annual Garden Day will take place Friday. The day will feature a variety of 12 garden workshops, lunch, speakers and self-guided tours of the gardens.
Fifteen teachers are attending the Physics of Atomic Nuclei Program, or PAN, from Monday through Friday at the Cyclotron at MSU to learn about nuclear physics, research and classroom applications. PAN — the Cyclotron’s biggest outreach program — also offers nearly the same camp for high school students next week, Aug. 9-13.
Steve Lacy, the associate dean for graduate studies in the MSU College of Communication Arts and Sciences, is expected to receive one of the most prestigious awards in the field of journalism Friday. The 2010 Paul J. Deutschmann Award for Excellence in Research, which is awarded by the Association for Education in Journalism and Mass Communication, or AEJMC, is as an award that recognizes significant contributions to scholarly research throughout the course of an individual’s career.
MSU researchers in women’s health will use a five-year, $2.5 million grant from the National Institutes of Health, or NIH, to create a mentoring program that will connect junior faculty with experienced researchers. The Building Interdisciplinary Research Careers in Women’s Health, or BIRCWH, program will be housed in the College of Human Medicine, said Mary Nettleman, a grant recipient and chairperson of the MSU Department of Medicine. MSU also has contributed funds for the program.
Endangered giant pandas in China could see significant change in their habitats due to research partially supported and conducted by MSU’s Michigan Agricultural Experiment Station. There are large areas of natural habitat for giant pandas outside current captivities, which leaves much of the panda population vulnerable, according to research conducted by international and MSU scientists.
It is rare that a single paper changes the horizon of science. Instead, Wolfgang Bauer said scientists — including MSU researchers — publish countless papers and results that slowly push science toward a different direction. One such paper, examining protein folding, was published last week in the scientific journal Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, or PNAS, which showed proteins fold into their structures more slowly than previously thought.
School-based health centers prove effective in exposing students to healthier behaviors, according to a recent study conducted by an MSU researcher. After examining health centers in middle and high schools across the state, the study found school-based health centers are a convenient asset because students can seek health care without leaving the building, said Miles McNall, a researcher in MSU’s University Outreach and Engagement.
Philip Strong, who currently is the assistant dean for Lyman Briggs College, has been named the leader of the Neighborhood Concept pilot project in Hubbard Hall for next year. As leader of the Hubbard pilot program, Strong will coordinate programs involved with the Neighborhood Concept and work with faculty and students. He also will be in charge of assessing the effectiveness of the programs.
MSU’s graduate student government and the city of East Lansing plan to introduce a new parking program in the fall for graduate and professional students, following a deal reached Tuesday.The Council of Graduate Students, or COGS, has discussed the possibility of such a program with city officials since fall 2009. Under the program, which was approved by the East Lansing City Council on Tuesday, the city would sell a bulk number of parking permits at $150 — a 50 percent discount — per semester for Lot 10, or the Division Street ramp.
New and returning MSU students might find themselves climbing up a wall or pigging out on free food samples upon their return to the university before the start of the fall semester. Officials at MSU’s University Activities Board, or UAB, have spent much of the summer securing sponsorships and planning activities for its 30th annual U-Fest, which is scheduled to be held from 7-11 p.m. Aug. 30 at the Union.
Learning Arabic can be difficult for both native speakers and newcomers to the language. But MSU’s Detroit Center hopes to give educators useful strategies for this task during a two-week STARTALK workshop. The national program to improve the teaching of languages, including Chinese, Arabic and Hindi, began Monday and continues through Aug. 6.
The MSU Community Music School is turning students into triple threat performers with its new Musical Theatre Camp this week, teaching young performers the ropes of the stage in a little more than a week’s time. From Monday through Friday, more than 60 students from grades 2-12 will fill their days with singing, choreography, acting, costume design and other activities that will prepare them for the basics of a stage production.
MSU’s University Archives & Historical Collections is beginning to assemble a new system called Spartan Archive, which will aim to be one of the leaders in digital archives, or an archive in which the documents were originally in digital format. The Spartan Archive will be a database of MSU’s digital records, some dating back as far as the 1970s. Because older digital documents can be in a variety of formats and difficult to open, Spartan Archives will put all documents on a similar, easy to access format.
More than 175 children and parents attended the seventh annual Bug Day on Tuesday at Michigan 4-H Children’s Garden. Various stations were set up around the gardens with hands-on activities, such as making a bug hat out of a paper plate, creating an insect out of pipe cleaners and tasting honey with graham crackers.
Area alumni and participants dodged rain showers and fly balls Saturday morning in the hope their team walked away not only a winner, but a bit richer for charity. The MSU Alumni Association hosted the MSU Young Alumni Softball Tournament, a first of its kind for the organization, at East Lansing Softball Complex, 6400 Abbot Road.
Inspired by a documentary he watched as a college student and the patients he now treats as a physician, John Goudreau is researching a protein called Parkin that might help prevent Parkinson’s disease. There is no cure for the disease, which kills brain cells and can cause tremors, loss of movement and psychological impairment.