The forecast predicts that it will be a cold day with the high being 57 and the low being 35.
A hunch, a mouse and a moment that could change male contraception
In a New York lab, a colleague hesitated with the syringe. The mouse needed an injection for an experiment testing compounds to lower eye pressure, but she was too nervous to do it. Melanie Balbach, then a postdoctoral researcher, offered to take over—on one condition: she wanted to see how the compound also affected sperm. The drug blocked an enzyme called soluble adenylyl cyclase—the same enzyme that acts as sperm’s internal “on-switch,” producing the chemical signal that powers their movement. Within 15 minutes of the injection, Balbach found the sperm had stopped swimming altogether. Now at Michigan State University, Balbach, an assistant professor in the Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, leads a lab focused on understanding how sperm generate and regulate energy — a question that has remained surprisingly murky despite decades of reproductive research. Her team studies how these tiny cells “decide” which fuels to burn and which metabolic pathways to activate as they prepare to fertilize an egg.
MSU apologizes for misspelling name on memorial plaque
Michigan State University apologized for misspelling a name on its annual student memorial plaque. The “MSU Student Memorial Tribute” plaque was dedicated in July 2024 and lists the names of students who died during the 2023-2024 academic year. Among them is Tariq Thabet, a former MSU Humphrey Fellow who was killed in an Israeli bombing outside of his apartment in Central Gaza City in 2023. His name on the memorial was misspelled: “Thaber.” It went unaddressed by MSU until it was mentioned by public commenters at Friday’s Board of Trustees meeting.
College of Nursing deserves a future as bold as its past
This year, Michigan State University’s College of Nursing celebrates its 75th anniversary, a milestone deserving both celebration and serious reflection. With over 9,500 graduates since 1950 and more than 7,300 living alumni, nearly three-quarters still in Michigan, the college has shaped healthcare and leadership across the state and beyond. But in the midst of this historic moment, the independent future of the college is again in question. The university’s proposal to fold the College of Nursing into a new College of Health Sciences is not a routine administrative update. It carries real risks for the identity, influence, and effectiveness that have defined nursing at MSU for decades.
