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News

Ice
March 18, 2024
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Spartan scientists are working to better understand and protect this resource that connects us all.
An illustration of an eclipse shows a yellow ring of sun shining brightly behind a moon shrouded in shadow.
March 14, 2024
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An MSU astronomer shares what you need to know for this and other out-of-this-world events on the horizon. 
Two men work, both wearing white rubber gloves, on a rocky slope with sparse vegetation. One is standing and holding a trowel full of dirt. The other is sitting and putting dirt into a metal bowl on his lap. A spray bottle lies on the ground nearby.
March 11, 2024
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A new study from MSU shows how soil microbes near the Centralia mine fire could provide clues to help alleviate effects of climate change.
The metal-capped brick exterior of the FRIB building sits behind a bright green lawn and under a blue sky, dusted with white clouds starting to take on orange and purple hues of dusk.
March 6, 2024
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The award is DOE's highest form of employee recognition for achievement.
A 3D rendering of the enzyme bile salt hydrolase. Four looping, ribbon-like clusters of proteins are displayed against a black backdrop. The intertwining structures are purple, teal, orange and a muted yellow.
February 26, 2024
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Thanks to a bit of serendipity and a cooperative spirit, MSU researchers helped uncover a previously unknown way that the microbes living in our gut help our overall health.
Michigan State University researchers Jiming Jiang (left) and David Douches (right) stand in a greenhouse between many potato plants.
February 21, 2024
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MSU research "has the potential to affect every single bag of potato chips around the world.”
Green phytoplankton coils in blue water, magnified by a microscope.
February 16, 2024
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A new model bridges the rules of life at the individual scale and the ecosystem level, which could open new avenues of exploration in ecology, global change biology, and ultimately ecosystem management
A rendering of a table of nuclides shows that the new isotopes are the heaviest versions of thulium, ytterbium and lutetium that have been made.
February 15, 2024
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Spartans lead an international team in making new nuclei and paving the way to new discoveries
David MacMillan speaks at commencement
February 9, 2024
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Nobel Prize-winner Professor David MacMillan took part in MSU’s fall commencement festivities as well as several community and received an honorary Doctor of Science.
Kathryn Westby
February 9, 2024
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Kathryn Westby, a fourth-year doctoral student in the Program in Mathematics Education, received an Excellence in Diversity, Equity and Inclusion Award from Michigan State University.
A looping GIF. On the left, a top-down view of green moss growing in a round habitat, eventually filling the entirety of the space
February 8, 2024
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Michigan State University researchers have shed new light on the ancient relationship between moss and fungi in a recent paper published in The Plant Journal.
Rod-shaped cyanobacteria glow green under a microscope
February 7, 2024
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A recent publication in Metabolic Engineering authored by MSU researchers looks at how cyanobacteria balance cellular energy between “source and sink,” which may have downstream applications in bioproduction. 
head and shoulders photo of Richard Lenski
January 30, 2024
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With a team of researchers from Spain, France, and Harvard, researcher Richard Lenski and colleagues used high-throughput genomic methods to analyze the fitness effects of hundreds of thousands of mutations in the E. coli bacteria, and how those effects changed over time as the experiment proceeded.
The facade of the Natural Science building at MSU against a bright blue sky.
January 29, 2024
The MSU Distinguished Student Awards Office has nominated four students for the Barry M. Goldwater Scholarship. 
The Facility for Rare Isotope Beams is accelerating scientific breakthroughs
January 26, 2024
Empowered by a National Science Foundation (NSF) grant, the Facility for Rare Isotope Beams (FRIB) at Michigan State University (MSU) is spearheading a multi-institutional project to construct a next-generation fast-neutron detector unlike any other in the world.
Hawaiian bobtail squid
January 24, 2024
Elizabeth Heath-Heckman, an assistant professor in the College of Natural Science, has received a five-year National Institutes of Health grant from the National Institute for General Medical Sciences totaling $1.9 million to support her research studying the bacteria animals like squid and newts use to protect themselves. This research could provide insights into how humans maintain beneficial bacteria in their gut.
rows of corn in field with blue sky and puffy clouds
January 11, 2024
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A newly released climate report spearheaded by the Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory in Livermore, California and sponsored by the U.S. Department of Energy, or DOE, spotlights research conducted by several distinguished Michigan State University scientists.
Wide shot of boxy, gray mass spec instruments lining the wall of the newly renovated facility space. Thin tubing and reagent bottles rest on top of the instruments, while green nitrogen piping descends from the ceiling. A computer monitor, desk, and chair sit to the right of the instruments. In the foreground, out-of-focus plastic tubing frames the space.
January 10, 2024
The facility fully overhauled 3,400 square feet of laboratory to improve day-to-day operations and better enable world-changing life science research at MSU.
Microbial communities appear as little yellow and red dots, speckling the interior of a Petri dish.
January 9, 2024
The department previously known as Microbiology & Molecular Genetics has updated its name to better reflect the research and education carried out by its students, staff and faculty.
A top-down view of potted sorghum plants.
December 19, 2023
A research team led by MSU scientists has made a biological discovery that could help sorghum become an even more promising biofuel feedstock.
The IceCube Lab — a stout, boxy building — stands on Antarctic snow and ice, illuminated by red light against a night sky filled with a green aurora along with blue and white star trails, arching streaks created by starlight and a long exposure setting on the photographer’s camera.
December 15, 2023
Michigan State University researchers are helping set priorities and develop projects that will define the next decade of exploration into the fundamental workings of the universe.
Two gold medals stand in display cases with a third medal resting on a table between them. The cases are labeled “Guowei Wei” and “Piotr Piecuch.”
December 15, 2023
Michigan State University researchers Piotr Piecuch and Guowei Wei were formally recognized as outstanding faculty at an investiture event held by the College of Natural Science.
front entrance of the MSU natural sciences building
December 13, 2023
Michigan State University senior Dorothy Zhao is the institution’s 20th Marshall Scholar. The Marshall Scholarship provides support for outstanding undergraduates in the United States to study any academic subject at universities of their choice in the United Kingdom for up to three years. 
Three spotted hyenas gather around a lioness.
December 7, 2023
Michigan State University researchers have shown that relationships and social interactions between hyenas influence when they “mob” lions.
College of Natural Science Dean Phil Duxbury
December 4, 2023
Thirty outstanding MSU College of Natural Science faculty, staff and students were recognized for their achievements at the NatSci Annual Meeting and Awards Ceremony.
A miner’s hand holds a pebble-sized bit of mercury-covered gold ore over a bowl of water. The picture was taken at a small-scale gold mine in Senegal
November 30, 2023
By working with artisanal and small-scale gold miners and local experts, researchers at Michigan State University are helping reduce mercury emissions and reduce their health impacts.
Glial cells are visible in looping green traces against a black background. Purple loops coincide with some of the loops, showing where a nerve-sensitizing compound is being released.
November 27, 2023
Researchers led by Brian Gulbransen at Michigan State University have uncovered a reason that may explain why visceral pain is so common in conditions like irritable bowel syndrome. This understanding could inspire new and better ways to alleviate that pain.
The word
November 22, 2023
Gregg Howe and James Tiedje were included in this year’s annual list of Highly Cited Researchers, showing they are among the world’s most influential scientists.
MSU Beaumont Tower
November 16, 2023
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KBS
As Dave Dvorak steps down from the W.K. Kellogg Biological Station Director’s Advisory Board, his legacy of dedication, generosity, and passion for conservation illustrates the power and impact of individual commitment.
A close-up of a gloved hand injecting a green leaf on a plant with a small syringe.
November 16, 2023
Researchers from Michigan State University have shed light on the biological puzzle of how plants launch immune responses. Reporting in Nature Communications, the team revealed one protein that plays a key role in mobilizing a plant’s antimicrobial defenses.
MSU cancer researcher Olorunseun “Seun” Ogunwobi
November 9, 2023
MSU researcher Olorunseun “Seun” Ogunwobi has been selected as a Jefferson Science Fellow of that National Academy of Sciences, Engineering and Medicines as well as a Fellow of the Academy of Medicine Specialties of Nigeria. These appointments recognize and elevate Ogunwobi’s groundbreaking work on the molecular mechanisms of progression of solid organ tumors and the understudied impact of cancer health disparities. The image depicts cells in a culture illuminated by a microscope.
A tray Arabidopsis thaliana plants.
November 9, 2023
Rhomboid-like protein 10, or RBL10, is thought to be an enzyme that degrades other proteins in the chloroplast membrane, but its function is largely unknown. Researchers in the Benning lab in the MSU-DOE Plant Research Laboratory are studying how RBL10 affects photosynthetic membrane lipid metabolism, an essential process in photosynthesis.
Michigan State University researchers helped show how fungus like Aspergillus sydowii, shown here, can restructure their cell walls to survive in extremely salty conditions.
November 8, 2023
Researchers led by Tuo Wang, the inaugural Carl H. Brubaker Jr. Endowed Associate Professor at Michigan State University, have revealed how microorganisms known as halophilic fungi restructure their cell walls to survive in extremely salty conditions. The research, published in the journal Nature Communications, helps deepen our understanding of how life has adapted to our planet’s harshest environments.
Hero image
November 7, 2023
Michigan State University is proud to announce its national  finalists for the prestigious Marshall Scholarship and Rhodes Scholarship. Organizers will announce the results of these competitions in the coming weeks. Dorothy Zhao is a finalist for both the Marshall Scholarship and the U.S. Rhodes Scholarship. Ashley Harlock is a finalist for the Marshall Scholarship.
plant seedlings
November 6, 2023
In April 2021, four Michigan State University plant scientists met at an undisclosed area on campus to dig up a bottle containing seeds buried more than 144 years ago by MSU botanist William J. Beal. Fast forward to 2023, to a discovery that would have surprised and amazed Beal.
New research from Michigan State University could help breed plants that are more productive as days grow shorter.
November 2, 2023
New research from Michigan State University could help breed plants that are more productive as days grow shorter.

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