The Upper Michigan Brain Tumor Center (UMBTC) at Northern Michigan University is hosting laboratory tours, followed by presentations by master’s students on their thesis projects. The tours will run from 5-6:30 p.m. Thursday, Nov. 1, in West Science rooms 1610 and 1612. Refreshments will be served.

The thesis presentations will be held in the Mead Auditorium of West Science, room 2701.

The event comes behind international Brain Tumor Awareness week, which ends Oct. 27. For more information, contact Amber LaCrosse at 227-2377.

A conference paper published by Randall Jensen, professor of Health and Human Performance, is referenced in a Swimming World Magazine article on the backstroke to breaststroke transition turn in the individual medley. Jensen's study analyzed the turns of 14 NCAA Division II women swimmers and found no difference in force among three common styles—open, bucket and crossover—but the bucket turn held the edge for fastest. Read the full magazine story here.

James McPherson of the U.S. Patent & Trademark Office (USPTO) will visit Northern Michigan University on Wednesday, Oct. 24, to discuss how intellectual property applies to students and small businesses. The program will focus on how to protect ideas through the patent process and how to protect branding through trademarks. He will discuss USPTO and local resources for pro se applicants and how to navigate the USPTO without an attorney. The presentation and question-and-answer session is scheduled from 1:30 – 3:30 p.m. in room 1706 of the West Science Building.

Anxiety disorders are the most common mental illness, affecting about 40 million adults in the United States. The Department of Psychological Science at Northern Michigan University is researching a nontraditional approach—a mobile phone app—to treat negative emotional symptoms related to anxiety. NMU’s Cognitive x Affective Behavior & Integrative Neuroscience (CABIN) Lab is seeking participants for a six-week study involving cell phone use. A National Institute of Mental Health grant is supporting the project.