MSU Innovation Center

Binder Park Zoo’s veterinarian, Kim Thompson, reached out to the Michigan State University Veterinary Medical Center’s Soft Tissue Surgery service to provide advanced care for Sassy, the zoo’s seven-year-old African painted dog. As always, the team, led by Maureen Spinner, was eager to help. Sassy’s story Despite breeding efforts over the past couple of years, … The post MSU veterinarians provide…

A scientific team led by Facility for Rare Isotope Beams, or FRIB, researchers identified the origin of a mysterious excess of low-energy gamma rays emitted by the nucleus zinc-70. They found that the excess is caused by magnetic transitions within the nucleus. The study, “Magnetic Character of the Low-Energy Enhancement in 70Zn,” published in Nature, sheds light on … The post Magnetic clues help…

For museums and galleries, space is everything. Space helps shape the visitor experience and enhance how visitors view, experience, and interact with exhibits. How to design and shape that space is a focal point for many exhibit curators.  While often overlooked as just part of the building, walls are one of the most important tools available to curators for shaping visitor … The post From Exhibi…

Why can zebrafish regenerate damaged gut nerves while humans largely cannot? Michigan State University researchers have developed a powerful new research tool that allows them to remove gut neurons in zebrafish and watch them regenerate in real time, helping scientists investigate one of regenerative biology’s biggest questions. The research focuses on the enteric nervous system, … The post New t…

The Facility for Rare Isotope Beams, or FRIB, at Michigan State University, in collaboration with Argonne National Laboratory, was chosen to receive a Genesis Mission Phase I award from the U.S. Department of Energy. The project will develop artificial intelligence, or AI, tools — specifically, physics-informed “digital twins” — that could transform how heavy-ion accelerators and isotope separato…

A new study has found that neonatal mortality—the death of an infant within the first 28 days of life—fell by nearly 50% in Flint following the launch of Rx Kids, the nation’s first community-wide maternal and infant cash prescription program. The decline represents a dramatic narrowing of a long-standing disparity between Flint and the rest of Michigan. Neonatal … The post Neonatal Deaths Cut in…

EAST LANSING, Mich. — Michigan State University (MSU) AgBioResearch leaders have selected three projects to fund through the newly created Growing Healthy Together Initiative. The projects align with the initiative’s goal of bringing together MSU scientists and partners from across campus and beyond to solve complex health challenges through transdisciplinary research. Listed below are the titles…

The Kim Research Group has received a new $550,000 grant from the National Science Foundation to develop a home-built metal-organic chemical vapor deposition system (MOCVD) for growing quantum spin semiconductors. The latest award will support the lab’s ongoing work on layered hybrid perovskites, a class of semiconductors that combine organic and inorganic components into a thin, stacked … The po…

Skin-interfaced wearable health technology has a hidden flaw: Many systems work best on smoother skin, which tends to be on younger bodies — not the older adults who often need them most. This is because aging-related changes in skin, including wrinkles, thinning and dryness, can significantly impact the contact and data quality of wearable devices. … The post Sensor for seniors: Fixing a hidden …

Michigan State University researchers have identified how ovarian cancer cells become resistant to chemotherapy and discovered a protein, that, when blocked, can restore the drug’s effectiveness. The findings, published in Cell Reports, center on cisplatin, a widely used chemotherapy drug first discovered at MSU in 1965 and still considered among the gold standard for treating … The post MSU scie…

The liver is one of the few organs capable of regenerating after surgery — a remarkable ability that makes life-saving procedures possible for thousands of patients each year. But not every liver regenerates as expected. Some patients develop post-hepatectomy liver failure, a serious complication that remains a leading cause of death after liver surgery. Now, … The post New discovery reshapes und…

For decades, algae have been seen as a promising source of sustainable food, animal feed, biofuels and carbon-neutral materials. Compared with traditional crops and livestock, algae grow faster, require less land and freshwater and can directly convert sunlight and carbon dioxide into useful products. However, a major challenge has limited the widespread adoption of algae … The post Research Spot…

For the one in three Americans with allergies, being proactive is the name of the game. Extra caution when trying a new dish, avoiding certain furry friends, and popping Zyrtec or Allegra each spring when the world is cloaked in pollen. Ask biochemist Maksymilian Chruszcz about allergies, though, and he’ll tell you this — we can do … The post Solving the protein puzzle behind our allergy miseries…

What if you could unlock the full power of the sun? That’s part of the question that a $13.6 million grant from the Department of Energy is poised to help researchers from Michigan State University solve. The grant, awarded by the U.S. Department of Energy’s Basic Energy Sciences program, provides continuing support for the MSU-DOE Plant … The post Department of Energy renews 60-year MSU partners…

Electric vehicles are central to the clean-energy transition, but the way their batteries are sourced and manufactured still carries a sizable environmental footprint. Research from Annick Anctil, associate professor in the Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering at Michigan State, shows that decisions about reshoring and friendshoring the battery supply chain can meaningfully shift tha…

Promising university research does not become a product, process, or tool overnight. Between early discovery and real-world use lies a critical stretch of work that often determines whether an innovation moves forward or stalls. Translational funding supports that stage by helping researchers build prototypes, generate validation data, reduce technical risk, and show that a discovery … The post F…

People across Michigan are purchasing cannabis at high levels, but researchers are unable to study many of the products their neighbors are consuming. As cannabis use continues to grow, experts are calling for better research policies and changes to federal laws so they can better support public health information, decisions and research. Michigan State University … The post Ask the Expert: How f…

Roughly 6 million patients go to the emergency department each year with skin and soft tissue infections, yet their medical evaluation is based on centuries-old guidelines: the “four cardinal signs” of inflammation — redness, heat, swelling and pain. There is no diagnostic tool to help medical professionals determine which conditions require hospitalization for intravenous antibiotics … The post …