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News

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Young Athletes Should Take a Cross-Training Vacation for Better Performance, Health

Some professional football players practice ballet. An NCAA champion runner also swims. An Olympic gold medal speed skater does six-hour biking sessions. According to researchers from Michigan State University, these athletes are ahead of the game because cross-training can help prevent injury in youth athletes.
Lamprey upclose

Research Reveals Sea Lamprey Travel Patterns in Great Lakes Waterways

Kandace Griffin, a fisheries and wildlife doctoral student, and Michael Wagner, professor in the MSU Department of Fisheries and Wildlife, found that sea lampreys — a parasitic fish considered an invasive species in the Great Lakes region of the U.S. — follow a clear pattern of staying in the deepest parts of a river.
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Researchers Studying Transgender and Nonbinary Healthcare at MSU and Greater Lansing

Between finding providers, dealing with insurance and being far from home, healthcare for incoming college students is tough to navigate for most first-year students. For trans and nonbinary students, the process becomes even more intimidating to find the right place to receive gender-affirming care.
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Survey Finds High Rates of Homelessness and Housing Insecurity Among MSU Students

A recent survey conducted at Michigan State University (MSU) reveals troubling levels of housing instability among its student population. The survey, carried out in April 2025 by MSU assistant professors Stephen Przybylinski and John Kuk found that 8.5% of students had experienced homelessness within the past year, while more than 37% faced at least one form of housing insecurity.
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Have Tattoos? New Study Shows People Consistently Misjudge Your Personality

A new study led by Michigan State University provides insights into the personality perceptions surrounding tattooed individuals. As tattoos become more mainstream, this research sheds light on how specific tattoos are judged — and shows how wrong those judgements can be.
Duncan Boren posing for a headshot

Directionally Challenged Proteins Lead to Eye and Neurological Disease

New research shows that important proteins in the human body need to be positioned correctly at their workstation to do their job. Graduate student Duncan Boren was awarded the 2025 Keegstra and Thomashow Travel Award for this research.
Paramecium Bursaria Cell

Recreating an Important Moment on the Evolutionary Timescale

A new project is underway that could help researchers have a better understanding of an important piece of Earth’s evolutionary history. Evidence has shown that the chloroplast evolved 2.1 billion years ago through endosymbiosis, wherein one organism lives inside another.
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Biofilms and the Search for Life Beyond Earth

In a study published in Applied and Environmental Microbiology, researchers from Michigan State University explored how some of the planet’s most ancient and resilient life forms, microbial biofilms, survive in extremely harsh environments. These structured communities may hold the key to understanding how life could survive and be detected on other planets.
Announcements
Ren and Shipley Named Guggenheim Fellows
Two MSU professors have been named 2026 Guggenheim Fellows: Xuefei Ren, a professor of sociology in the College of Social Science, and Lara Shipley, assistant professor of photography in the College of Arts and Letters’ Department of Art, Art History and Design.

Michigan State University Advances One Health Research at Summit
This faculty-based initiative brought together more than 600 researchers to shape interdisciplinary pathways and position MSU as a national leader in One Health.
Research Foundation Announces New Rosenberg Center Headquarters
The MSU Research Foundation is investing $20 million in the new Rosenberg Center, a campus hub that will bring together startups, researchers, investors and industry partners to accelerate innovation and entrepreneurship.
Frank Honored for Advances in Sociological Methods
MSU Research Foundation Distinguished Professor Kenneth Frank received the American Sociological Association’s Paul F. Lazarsfeld Award for pioneering contributions to sociological research methods.
Woodruff Earns Election to Two of the World’s Most Prestigious Scholarly Societies
Woodruff has been elected to the Royal Society and the American Philosophical Society, recognizing her groundbreaking work in reproductive biology and fertility preservation research.
Department of Energy Renews 60-Year Partnership
A renewed $13.6 million Department of Energy grant will support MSU’s Plant Research Laboratory through 2029 as researchers work to better understand photosynthesis and develop more resilient, productive plants for agriculture, bioenergy and biotechnology.