Busting 3 common myths about homelessness

As a young psychologist in the 1980s who had researched treatment of the mentally ill, I was concerned by many reports suggesting that the growing number of homeless people may be due to deinstitutionalization.

July 5, 2018

Study shows there's an OB-GYN shortage across the country

A new study shows that many cities will see a shortage of obstetricians and gynecologists by 2020, and Detroit is ranked the sixth highest on that list. By 2050, the study is predicting a shortfall of doctors in that field. “Not surprised,” said Doug Skrzyniarz, associate vice president of Government Health Affairs at Wayne State University.

July 5, 2018

Digging for mid-1800s trash uncovers lives of Corktown residents

Thomas Killion, associate professor of anthropology at Wayne State, said he and his students worked for three years on the archaeological dig at the row house, one of Detroit's oldest surviving structures. The house was built in 1849 on 6th Street, he said. Workers moved into the building in 1850.

July 1, 2018

Why is suicide on the rise in the US – but falling in most of Europe?

Suicide now ranks in the top 10 leading causes of death in the U.S. In 2015, 44,193 Americans died by their own hand. That was more than the number killed in motor vehicle accidents (37,757) and over twice the number who died through homicide (17,793).

June 28, 2018

Supreme Court hands victory to pro-life crisis pregnancy centers

On June 26, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled in favor of pro-life crisis pregnancy centers by holding that a 2015 California law regulating them, the Reproductive FACT Act, violates the First Amendment. I am a constitutional law professor who has written extensively on the First Amendment.

June 27, 2018

Janus decision extends First Amendment ‘right of silence’

Forty years ago, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled that a state could require nonmembers of a public employee union to pay an “agency fee,” otherwise known as costs of collective bargaining, for their representation by the union.

June 27, 2018

Trump could pardon himself from crimes committed while in office

Unless you’ve fallen into the sinkhole on the White House lawn, you’re well aware of President Trump’s Twitter declaration that he can pardon himself just like he would anyone else.

June 27, 2018

Supreme Court ruling adds privacy protection for the digital age

The Supreme Court has handed down a landmark privacy decision in a case about cellphone location data, suggesting there should be stronger protections against government searches for the increasing amount of private information that’s stored online.

June 26, 2018

Treating pain in children teaches us about treating pain in adults

The U.S. government declared a national public health emergency in October 2017 to address the opioid addiction crisis. More than six months later, the country is still in the throes of the crisis, with no sight in end.

June 26, 2018

Panel discusses issues affecting Detroit, region

Wayne County Executive Warren Evans, Henry Ford Health System President and CEO Wright Lassiter III and Wayne State University President M. Roy Wilson Thursday talked about what they love about the city, future projects and immigration. The trio served as panelists in a discussion hosted by the Michigan Chronicle as part of its Pancakes & Politics series. 

June 21, 2018

Juneteenth: Freedom’s promise still denied to thousands of blacks

June 19 marks Juneteenth, a celebration of the de facto end of slavery in the United States. For hundreds of thousands of African-Americans stuck in pretrial detention – accused but not convicted of a crime, and unable to leave because of bail – that promise remains unfulfilled. And coming immediately after Father’s Day, it’s also a reminder of the loss associated with the forced separation of families.

June 19, 2018

How our health tied to the health of the Great Lakes?

Carol Miller, professor of civil and environmental engineering and the Director of Healthy Urban Waters at Wayne State University, talked about the ways our health is tied to the condition of the Great Lakes. According to Miller, the overall health of the Great Lakes is “threatened,” but the lakes are currently in good condition. 

June 15, 2018

New European rules may give U.S. internet users true privacy choices

Europe’s new data privacy rules, the General Data Protection Regulation, have taken effect, but what they actually mean remains to be discovered. And whether the GDPR, as it’s known, really helps protect your private data may depend on complaints that Max Schrems, an Austrian privacy activist, filed against Google, Facebook, Instagram and WhatsApp on the day the regulation went into effect.

June 14, 2018

How contaminated is the fish we eat?

Dr. Donna Kashian, professor of biological science at Wayne State University, said people need to concern themselves with the contamination of fish. "If you are pregnant, if you are under 11 years old, you are going to be more sensitive to some of these compounds," Kashian said.

June 12, 2018

Michigan may be on verge of drinking water crisis

Nick Schroeck with the Environmental Law Clinic at Wayne State University, says it used to be common for manufacturers to dispose of chemicals with little thought of long-term ramifications. “Back, pre-environmental law, think pre-1970s, you may have had chemicals that were just dumped out back behind the factory,” says Schroeck. ”Now we know these PFAS chemicals are very persistent in the environment, meaning they don’t break down. They’re in the environment for a very, very long time… They would accumulate over time in the groundwater plume under the soil.”

June 12, 2018

For flickers, looks can be deceiving

"The hybrid zone between the yellow- and red-shafted flickers is particularly striking, but despite very apparent morphological and ecological differences, genetic studies beginning in the late 1980s found few differences between these two 'subspecies,'" adds flicker expert William S. Moore, a Wayne State University professor who was not involved with this research. 

June 7, 2018

Why long-term separation from parents harms kids

As a society, we often wax eloquent about how important it is to nurture, support and protect our children. The sad reality, however, is that all too often major, life-changing decisions are made without any consideration of their potential lifelong and devastating impact on kids.

June 6, 2018

The forgotten psychological wounds of the stress of migration

Our research team, Stress, Trauma, and Anxiety Research Clinic STARC at Wayne State University, has been exploring the psychological impact of traumatic experiences in Syrian adult and children refugees. 

June 5, 2018

Can religious business owners discriminate after Supreme Court baker ruling?

A Supreme Court ruling in favor of a Colorado baker who refused to make a custom cake for a same-sex wedding could mark the first step toward allowing businesses to withhold certain services based on religious grounds, but it doesn't open the floodgates for widespread discrimination.

June 4, 2018

Professor receives NSF CAREER Award for vaccine adjuvant research

June 4, 2018