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News

Multiple lamprey underwater

Water Alliance Leads Project Hailed as ‘Holy Grail’ of Invasive Species Control

Michigan State University researchers are tackling a problem no one has ever solved: How do you stop an invasive fish from entering a river without entirely blocking all fish?
Plants in planters set closely to each other

Discovering How Plants Make Life-and-Death Decisions

Researchers at MSU have discovered two proteins that work together to control whether a plant can live or die under stress conditions as a part of a project that took over seven years to complete.
A microscopic image of staph

Research Reveals Conditions That Can Help Staph, MRSA and Other Bacteria Spread

Gemma Reguera, a professor in the Department of Microbiology, Genetics and Immunology, has found that certain microbes, such as Staphylococcus aureus and its antibiotic-resistant variant MRSA, move deeper into the airways or into other body sites, like the heart, and that they can cause serious, even fatal, infections.
A white VR headset

MSU Researchers Use VR to Understand Stuttering in Children

Researchers in Michigan State University’s Developmental Speech Lab have codeveloped virtual reality, or VR, simulations to understand how stuttering develops in young children with the goal of improving diagnostic and treatment approaches for children who stutter.
A doctor setting up an EEG test

Patients Value Extended Medical Interventions Like EEG Tests Beyond Their Clinical Use

Research from Michigan State University shows that while practitioners value EEGs for the information they provide, patients value EEGs in ways that far outweigh the test’s clinical utility to practitioners.
MSU Biochemistry Building

DIY Lab Tool Evaluates New Molecules in Minutes

Researchers at Michigan State and Stanford have developed new DIY laboratory tools to greatly speed up a crucial method in which nematodes help determine if plant-derived molecules are beneficial or harmful.
A grpahic of a shark swimming in the ocean, with leaves in the foreground

MSU Developed Molecules Derived from Shark Livers from Poplar Trees

Appearing in the Plant Biotechnology Journal, an MSU team’s latest paper explores how poplar trees can be engineered to produce a highly valuable chemical that’s commonly obtained from shark livers.
MSU Museum Building

Vast Collections Power Museums Beyond Exhibits to Discovery

Michigan State University’s vast collections of preserved mammals, birds, amphibians, reptiles, fishes, fossils, insects, and living and preserved plants are essential components of world-class scientific exploration and education.
Announcements
Jain to Help India Update National ID (Aadhaar) Innovation Roadmap
Anil Jain, University Distinguished Professor and the Douglas E. Zongker Endowed Professor of Engineering at Michigan State University, has joined a panel of experts for a strategic and technological upgrade of India’s digital identity platform.
Belin Joins MSU as the Audrey and John Leslie Endowed Chair in North American Indian and Indigenous Literary Studies
A citizen of the Navajo Nation and an acclaimed poet, artist, and educator, Esther Belin joined Michigan State University this fall as the new Audrey and John Leslie Endowed Chair in North American Indian and Indigenous Literary Studies in the Department of English. She is the second scholar to hold this position, following Gordon Henry, who retired in 2023 after serving as the inaugural Leslie Chair.
Basso Honored With Soil Science Research Award
Bruno Basso, a world-renowned expert in sustainable agriculture and precision agriculture systems, received the award Nov. 10 at the SSSA’s CANVAS conference in Salt Lake City, Utah.
Khalil Receives National ASME Medal for Lifetime Achievements
Hassan K. Khalil was presented the 2025 ASME Rufus Oldenburger Medal — the highest honor presented by ASME in the field of automatic control — during the ASME Modeling, Estimation and Control Conference in October in Pittsburgh, Penn.
Chavez Named Interim Director of Julian Samora Research Institute
Manuel Chavez, a professor in Michigan State University’s School of Journalism, has been named interim director of the Julian Samora Research Institute, or JSRI, effective early September 2025.