Hardware pirates are about to get another force to contend with: The new EPIC chip locking system developed by computer engineers at the University of Michigan and Rice University. While not infallible, the new locking technique should make things very difficult and costly for hardware pirates to copy chips that come armed with it. More in the full article.

Ever thought of a sure fire way to pass that Geometry test with out losing one wink of sleeping studying all night? Call a friend! If you guys talk long enough, you just might ace that test with out reading one single chapter. Oscar Ybarra, psychologist at the University of Michigan Institute for Social Research, states that talking to someone for a minimum of 10 minutes a day can actually boost memory and intellectual performance.

Researchers from the University of Michigan have developed a new type of composite plastic. This new material constructed from clay nano-sheets and a water soluble polymer has been found to be as strong as steel but is lighter and transparent. While no official name has been given to this invention, it has been unofficially dubbed "plastic steel" by Nicholas Kotov, one of the scientists on the project.

The material was developed in the team's efforts to solve a problem that has befuddled both engineers and scientists. Former studies on nanotubes, nanosheets, and nanorods found that each one is stable in smaller configurations. However, when used to build larger devices, the final product came out to be structurally weaker than the base material. Kotov explained the problem in detail:

When you tried to build something you can hold in your arms, scientists had difficulties transferring the strength of individual nanosheets or nanotubes to the entire material. We've demonstrated that one can achieve almost ideal transfer of stress between nanosheets and a polymer matrix.

The current process to create the composite looks to be very tedious since it involves layering both the glue-like polymer called polyvinyl alcohol and nanosheets. Each layer must dry off before the next one can be added. Creation of larger objects would be a very difficult task indeed considering it would take 300 layers of both substances to make a piece of Plastic Steel as thin as a piece of plastic wrap.

The scientists behind this project are convinced that research on this plastic could lead to further advancements in both military and police armor, microelectromechanical devices, various vehicles like unmanned aircraft, microfludics, and even biomedical sensors. If the composite is as strong as they say it is, then their assessment would be correct.

Physicists at the University of Michigan brought one of Einstein's experiments in quantum physics to new lengths. The scientists managed to change the state of one atom by manipulating another atom that's a considerable distance away. The findings could eventually lead to the construction of a quantum computer, or even a quantum internet.

The process where one atom affects another that's far away is called "entanglement" and is one of the many strange qualities of quantum physics. There's no known way of how these two particles interact with each other; scientists liken the process to flipping two coins, where the result of one affects the other.

The experiment had two atoms of ytterbium trapped in enclosures a meter apart. By entangling the two atoms, the state of one dictated the state of the other. This will still be the case even if one were taken "to Jupiter." A very mysterious quirk, and as Einstein once described it, very "spooky."

While current tech transmits data through the air or through cables, quantum tech (if developed the right way) could transmit data directly from one atom to another in no time at all, which could lead to a whole new era of quantum computers and a quantum internet.

Hope Cummings and Dr. Elizabeth Vandewater for the medical journal Archives of Pediatrics & Adolescent Medicine from the University of Michigan have made a new study on gamers and their habits. Using survey data collected for a year (in fact, a school year), from 1,491 gamers and non-gamers alike, the study has come to some interesting conclusions, and some other tidbits that could confirm what gamers have known since the birth of gaming.

The study has determined that gamers (aged 10-19) don't prioritize games over their family. Gamers and non-gamers actually spend about the same time with their family. See? Gamers aren't slaves to their consoles.

The study also concludes though that while their social interactions don't suffer, schoolwork does. But then again, the mind does tend to wander even without the help of video games. It'd be great if they conducted a research on "studying through video games" or maybe that's just us.

The study also found that more boys play video games than girls. Really. It's true. The results also suggest that playing video games have different social implications for both genders. But then, so does sex.

From the same people who found out that schoolyard taunts are the least of obese children's worries, University of Michigan researchers have found out that people with high-testosterone levels may feel rewarded by other people's anger. Most people may feel uncomfortable when somebody gives them an angry look, but to some, an angered face may just be their fixer-upper. These findings could explain why some people like to tease others a lot.

According to University of Michigan's Associate Professor, Oliver Schultheiss, "perhaps teasers are reinforced by that fleeting 'annoyed look' on someone else's face and therefore will continue to heckle that person to get that look again and again... As long as it does not stay there for long, it's not perceived as a threat, but as a reward".

Here's how the researchers conducted this study - the researchers took saliva sample from the participants to measure testosterone, which is the hormone usually associated with dominance motivation. Then, the participants worked on a certain "learning task" - one complex sequence of keypresses was followed by an angry face on the screen. Another sequence was followed by a neutral, expressionless face. Finally, a third sequence was followed with no face.

Participants with high testosterone relative to other members of their sex, learned the complex sequence with an angry face better than the other two sequences. On the other hand, those with low testosterone did not show this kind of behavior. They are all not aware of the patterns in the sequences as they learned them. Lead author of the study, Michelle Wirth explained this by saying:

Better learning of a task associated with anger faces indicates that the anger faces were rewarding, as in a rat that learns to press a lever in order to receive a tasty treat. In that sense, anger faces seemed to be rewarding for high-testosterone people, but aversive for low-testosterone people.

Fat toddlers may look cute and healthy to some, but in the long run, cuteness may ultimately have its high price.

Researchers at the University of Michigan did a follow-up study on an earlier research conducted at the University of Bristol correlating childhood obesity with premature puberty in young girls.

In a study of 354 girls, it was revealed that manifestations of adolescence were already visible on more than half of the respondents by age nine. This included monthly periods and the budding of breasts.

Early puberty can be distressing for young girls who cannot fully understand what they are going through says Helen Crocker, research dietitian at University College London. UK studies show, however, that distress may only be one of the bad effects of an early puberty. According to the Bristol report, these kids are also more likely to develop breast cancer. On the social side, they are also more likely to start drinking alcohol and sexual activity ahead of their peers.

"Previous studies had found that girls who have earlier puberty tend to have higher body mass index, but it was unclear whether puberty led to the weight gain or weight gain led to the earlier onset of puberty," says Dr. Joyce Lee of the University of Michigan.

The generally accepted age when puberty normally starts is at 10 years. Parents of fat toddlers are encouraged to have the body mass index of their child calculated by a pediatrician to determine if their child is overweight so that appropriate measures may be taken to avoid premature adolescence.