MSU College of Natural Science

09/03/2026

The MSU Herbarium is an archive of plants found in Michigan and around the world, some dating back to the early 1800s. But unless you’re a botanist, you might not even know it’s there.

Dave Tank, who started in August as the new director of the Herbarium, wants to change that.

“We are thrilled to have Dave back in the Plant Biology department,” Plant Biology Chair Andrea Case said. “In addition to re-establishing his research program here, Dave brings a wealth of experience leading herbaria and connecting broad communities with plant diversity through natural history collections. His is exactly the kind of leadership and energy the MSU Herbarium needs as we continue to demonstrate the importance and value of herbaria to plant science research.”

Welcome back to MSU, Dave! 💚🤍
Read the full story: https://natsci.msu.edu/news/2026/2026-08-spartan-returns-to-lead-msus-herbarium.aspx

08/31/2026

Wishing you a semester full of good ideas, good people and moments that remind you that you got this. 💚🤍

08/26/2026

Michigan State University has been awarded a $30 million grant from the National Science Foundation (NSF) to establish TEMPEST (Transformative Explorations in Multi-Physics and Engineering of Scientific Turbulence), a landmark Science and Technology Center set to focus on one of science’s most difficult problems: understanding and controlling turbulence.

Led by Director Michael Murillo, TEMPEST bridges the College of Engineering and Natural Science at MSU alongside 7 partner universities, 4 national laboratories, and industry leaders.

“Some of the most important scientific discoveries begin with a very basic question: Why does turbulence behave the way it does?” said Eric Hegg, dean of the College of Natural Science. “Predicting its behavior remains extraordinarily difficult, but TEMPEST creates an exciting environment where scientists can work alongside engineers to uncover the fundamental principles behind turbulence and translate that knowledge into new possibilities.”

The TEMPEST STC will be housed in the Engineering Building until MSU’s new Leinweber Center for Engineering and Digital Innovation opens in 2028.

Read more about this collaboration: https://msutoday.msu.edu/news/2026/08/nsf-grant-turbulence-research-center

08/26/2026

One of the most impactful aspects of the class, MGI 991: “Metals in Biology", is that students are encouraged to bring in samples from their own labs whenever possible.

Many have never worked with elemental analysis or analytical chemistry before, so tying the techniques directly to their research makes the material more relevant and engaging, especially when the data can inform thesis projects or ongoing experiments.

The course is led by two professors from the Department of Microbiology, Genetics, & Immunology, Keith MacRenaris and Tom O’Halloran, and emphasizes working directly with sophisticated analytical tools rather than sitting through extended lectures.

That hands‑on structure was intentional. “As important as lectures can be, we get anxious doing your typical lecture-based format,” MacRenaris said. “We would rather use experiential learning and let students loose on instrumentation, as we feel it’s the best way to learn complex analyses.”

Read more: https://natsci.msu.edu/news/2026/2026-08-hands-on-graduate-course-ohalloran-macrenaris.aspx

08/24/2026

MSU College of Natural Science alum Mary Wykstra, founder of Action for Cheetahs in Kenya, spoke at Potter Park Zoo about the organization’s 25 years of conservation efforts, including research and strategies aimed at protecting the species.

Potter Park Zoo welcomed a globally recognized conservationist Monday morning to share her work protecting cheetahs in the wild.

08/20/2026

Researchers at Michigan State University have helped pull one of the world's rarest butterflies back from the brink of extinction.

🟢At one point during the recovery effort, more Poweshiek skipperlings lived in captivity than existed in the wild.

🟢Michigan has become one of the world's last refuges for several endangered butterflies.

🟢This research connects conservation, habitat restoration, climate change, pesticide use and ecosystem collapse.

Working alongside many partners including John Ball Zoo, Minnesota Zoo, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service and the Michigan Department of Natural Resources, the team transformed one of North America's most vulnerable butterflies into a growing conservation success.

“We were actually able to save that species from extinction,” says David Pavlik, research assistant at MSU's Kellogg Biological Station and John Ball Zoo, who has spent years helping lead the recovery effort. “We released 102 butterflies in 2022 and more than 1,300 butterflies in 2025.”

Read the full story: https://msunatsci.info/skipperling

08/17/2026

Congratulations to researcher Katie Maloney, on being honored for her accomplishments as the Geological Society of America Doris M. Curtis Outstanding Woman in Science.

Each year, the award recognizes a woman whose Ph.D. research has made a major impact on the geosciences.

When Katie Maloney says she’s a paleontologist, most people picture Laura Dern in the movie “Jurassic Park.” They assume she spends hours under the hot sun digging up the prehistoric bones of raptors, pteranodons and brachiosauruses.

But Maloney is on a mission to find the earliest ancestors of plants, animals and fungi.

In her first year at Michigan State University Earth & Environmental Sciences, she’s already helped publish a paper revealing that photosynthesis emerged on Earth 1 billion years earlier than scientists previously thought.

The same clues that indicate early life on Earth are also put to work in the search for life on other planets. As the Mars rover combs the red planet’s dunes and canyons, it’s looking for proof that life once teemed among the dust.

“We imagine that, in the event we don’t find current life, there are many ways you can find evidence of past life,” Maloney said. “That’s what we’re looking for.”

Read the full story: Beyond dinosaur bones: https://natsci.msu.edu/news/2026/2026-08-beyond-dinosaur-bones.aspx

08/13/2026

How can some of the world’s most poisonous plants actually help us make better medicine?

Scientists at Michigan State University have figured out how two toxic flowers—larkspur and wolfsbane—build their potent internal chemistry.

What they found:
🟢Ancient chemistry: Even though tiny doses can cause paralysis, people have used these plants in traditional medicine for thousands of years to ease pain.
🟢Complex puzzle solved: These flowers make molecules called diterpenoid alkaloids. They're complicated so chemists haven't been able to make them from scratch in a lab for nearly 200 years.
🟢Finding the assembly line: The team tracked down specific enzymes that act like workers on a tiny biological assembly line, folding and building the foundational compound.
🟢Plant bio-factories: To test their discovery, researchers put these genetic blueprints into to***co plants, which successfully started making the target chemical on their own.

Because these deadly plants only make tiny amounts of their special molecules, harvesting them from nature isn't practical. Now that researchers know the genetic instructions, they can use fast-growing, harmless hosts like yeast to grow these compounds sustainably.

This approach could lead to brand-new pain relievers, safer cancer therapies, malaria treatments, and eco-friendly pest control.

08/12/2026

What to expect from the Aug. 12 solar eclipse and the best way to view the Perseid meteor shower, which is one of the best meteor showers of the year, with Shannon Schmoll, director of the Abrams planetarium at Michigan State University.

Read the details: https://msutoday.msu.edu/news/2026/08/perseid-meteor-shower

08/10/2026

Sometimes, research leads to one more thing: striking, unexpected art. From naturally occurring patterns made by honeybees to microscopic images of gut neurons, here is a glimpse into the beauty revealed by Michigan State University research.

Sometimes, MSU research leads to striking, unexpected art. From naturally occurring patterns made by honeybees to microscopic images of gut neurons, here is a glimpse into the beauty revealed by MSU research.