MSU investigation links deaths to paint-stripping chemical</h1> <article> <h1>MSU investigation links deaths to paint-stripping chemical</h1> <p>depolo — Thu, 23 Feb 2012 19:12:31 +0000</p> <div class="field field-type-filefield field-field-image"> <div class="field-items"> <div class="field-item odd"> <a href="/stories/msu-investigation-links-deaths-paint-stripping-chemical" class="imagefield imagefield-nodelink imagefield-field_image"></a> </div> </div> </div> <p>The deaths of at least 13 workers who were refinishing bathtubs have been linked to a chemical used in products to strip surfaces of paint and other finishes.</p> </article> <article> <h1>Local cops on front lines against product counterfeiting</h1> <p>depolo — Wed, 22 Feb 2012 21:27:45 +0000</p> <div class="field field-type-filefield field-field-image"> <div class="field-items"> <div class="field-item odd"> <a href="/stories/local-cops-front-lines-against-product-counterfeiting" class="imagefield imagefield-nodelink imagefield-field_image"></a> </div> </div> </div> <p>Contrary to common perception, state and local police are often on the front lines against product counterfeiting, yet it’s unclear how prepared they are to deal with the growing crime, according to a new report from two Michigan State University criminologists.</p><p><strong>Justin Heinonen</strong> and <strong>Jeremy Wilson</strong> found that local and/or state police were involved in nearly half of the identified product counterfeiting cases related to Michigan, which range from jewelry to car windshields to cholesterol drugs.</p> </article> <article> <h1>Making the bones speak</h1> <p>depolo — Wed, 22 Feb 2012 21:10:56 +0000</p> <div class="field field-type-filefield field-field-image"> <div class="field-items"> <div class="field-item odd"> <a href="/stories/making-bones-speak" class="imagefield imagefield-nodelink imagefield-field_image"></a> </div> </div> </div> <p>In a narrow, modest laboratory in Michigan State University’s Giltner Hall, graduate and undergraduate students in MSU’s Forensic Anthropology and Bioarchaeology Program pore over African skeletons from the Middle Ages in an effort to learn everything they can from them.</p> <p>“This is generally an unknown group of people, so what we get to do with the skeletal collection is really make the bones speak,” said <strong>Carolyn Hurst</strong>, a doctoral student in physical anthropology who is leading the lab this academic year. </p> </article> <article> <h1>Recipe for success: Recycled glass and cement</h1> <p>depolo — Wed, 22 Feb 2012 21:00:34 +0000</p> <div class="field field-type-filefield field-field-image"> <div class="field-items"> <div class="field-item odd"> <a href="/stories/recipe-success-recycled-glass-and-cement" class="imagefield imagefield-nodelink imagefield-field_image"></a> </div> </div> </div> <p>Michigan State University researchers have found that by mixing ground waste glass into the cement that is used to make concrete, the concrete is stronger, more durable and more resistant to water.</p><p>In addition, the use of glass helps reduce the amount of glass that ends up in landfills and helps to reduce carbon dioxide emissions which are common due to the high temperatures needed to create cement.</p> </article> <article> <h1>Studying the evolution of life’s building blocks</h1> <p>depolo — Wed, 22 Feb 2012 20:51:17 +0000</p> <div class="field field-type-filefield field-field-image"> <div class="field-items"> <div class="field-item odd"> <a href="/stories/studying-evolution-life%E2%80%99s-building-blocks" class="imagefield imagefield-nodelink imagefield-field_image"></a> </div> </div> </div> <p>Studying the origin of life at its building blocks offers a unique perspective on evolution, says a researcher at Michigan State University.</p><p><strong>Robert Root-Bernstein</strong>, MSU physiology professor, answered the question of why a physiologist studies the origin of life at the annual meeting of the American Association for the Advancement of Science Feb. 16-20 in Vancouver, British Columbia.</p> </article> <article> <h1>MSU research looks to improve logistics of biofuels</h1> <p>depolo — Mon, 20 Feb 2012 19:07:00 +0000</p> <div class="field field-type-filefield field-field-image"> <div class="field-items"> <div class="field-item odd"> <a href="/stories/msu-research-looks-improve-logistics-biofuels" class="imagefield imagefield-nodelink imagefield-field_image"></a> </div> </div> </div> <p>If the increased use of biomass to produce alternative fuels is to become a reality, more attention needs to be paid to logistics – how, for example, biomass raw materials are shipped from farm to refinery, as well as the development of better ways of preparing the products for shipping.</p> </article> <article> <h1>Military death sentence more likely for minorities</h1> <p>depolo — Mon, 20 Feb 2012 18:49:13 +0000</p> <div class="field field-type-filefield field-field-image"> <div class="field-items"> <div class="field-item odd"> <a href="/stories/military-death-sentence-more-likely-minorities" class="imagefield imagefield-nodelink imagefield-field_image"></a> </div> </div> </div> <p>Skin color plays a role in deciding whether to execute military criminals, according to a new study by a Michigan State University law professor who found minorities in the military are twice as likely as whites to be sentenced to death.</p><p><strong>Catherine Grosso</strong>, associate professor at the MSU College of Law, and the late David Baldus, the Joseph B. Tye Professor at the University of Iowa College of Law, studied military prosecutions in all potentially death-eligible murders from 1984 to 2005.</p> </article> <article> <h1>No kids in public school? You still benefit</h1> <p>depolo — Mon, 20 Feb 2012 18:40:39 +0000</p> <div class="field field-type-filefield field-field-image"> <div class="field-items"> <div class="field-item odd"> <a href="/stories/no-kids-public-school-you-still-benefit" class="imagefield imagefield-nodelink imagefield-field_image"></a> </div> </div> </div> <p>Quality public schools benefit everyone – including those without school-aged children – and therefore everyone should play a role in maintaining them, according to a study by two Michigan State University scholars.</p><p>Senior citizens and others who don’t have children in school often argue they should be exempt from paying school taxes because they don’t benefit from the schools. But that’s not true, argues <strong>Zachary Neal</strong>, sociologist and lead researcher on the study, which appears in the Journal of Urban Affairs.</p> </article> <article> <h1>West Mich. i6 Green consortium offers scale-up, business support services</h1> <p>walshka — Mon, 20 Feb 2012 15:00:09 +0000</p> <div class="field field-type-filefield field-field-image"> <div class="field-items"> <div class="field-item odd"> <a href="/stories/west-mich-i6-green-consortium-offers-scale-business-support-services" class="imagefield imagefield-nodelink imagefield-field_image"></a> </div> </div> </div> <p>Entrepreneurs and small businesses can now apply for a range of subsidized business support and chemical production scale-up services from the MSU Bioeconomy Institute in Holland, Mich. The support and services are funded through an Economic Development Administration i6 Green “Proof of Concept Center” grant.</p> </article> <article> <h1>GLBRC: Integrated research on biofuels creates broader impact</h1> <p>walshka — Mon, 20 Feb 2012 13:27:56 +0000</p> <div class="field field-type-filefield field-field-image"> <div class="field-items"> <div class="field-item odd"> <a href="/stories/glbrc-integrated-research-biofuels-creates-broader-impact" class="imagefield imagefield-nodelink imagefield-field_image"></a> </div> </div> </div> <p>The <a href="http://www.glbrc.org/">Great Lakes Bioenergy Research Center</a> (GLBRC) was established by the Department of Energy in 2007 in order to focus the most advanced biotechnology-based resources on the biological challenges of biofuel production. The center is led by the University of Wisconsin-Madison, with <strong>Michigan State University</strong> as the major partner. Additional scientific partners are DOE National Laboratories, other universities and a biotechnology company.</p> </article> </main></body></html>