Some of the nation's top high-tech leaders are visiting Detroit today for Techonomy, a day-long examination of how technology and innovation can help improve economic growth and urban revival. Headlining the conference is Jack Dorsey, co-founder of Twitter and CEO of Square, a digital payment service, who spoke at last year's event in Detroit. Also speaking are Gov. Rick Snyder and Dan Gilbert, the founder and chairman of Detroit-based Quicken Loans. This year's Techonomy conference, the second annual in Detroit, is being held at Wayne State University.

Ron Simpkins, former NFL linebacker and director of the Volunteers Administrators and Coaches training program at Wayne State University, commented in an article featured in the Summer/Fall issue of the USA Today's Guide to Kids' Health. Simpkins offered tips for navigating parent-coach relationships. "Either good or bad, after a game, everybody gets 24 hours to cool off and think about what needs to be said," Simpkins suggested.

A study in multiple sclerosis focusing on "remyelination in the brain" has been initiated by Dr. Omar Khan, professor and chair of neurology at Wayne State University's School of Medicine. "This is a novel approach in the treatment of multiple sclerosis, which is characterized by diffuse demyelination and axonal loss in the central nervous system," said Khan. In this study, we are targeting remyelination in the central nervous system." Wayne State is home to the only MS center in Michigan and among the 10 sites in the world undertaking this translational initiative. The center is among the top five MS centers in the U.S., with more than 4,000 patients. (pg. 2)

Carl Roscoe had touchdown passes of 70 and 48 yards Saturday night and Wayne State beat Ashland 34-22 in a Great Lakes Intercollegiate Athletic Conference matchup, winning the first home night game it has played since 1966. Dominique Maybanks caught the 48-yarder from Roscoe to give Wayne State (1-1) the lead for good with 14:25 left in the game. Doug Griffin scored on a 3-yard run with 2:05 left to clinch it for Wayne State. He scored on another 3-yard run in the second quarter. Ed Viverette scored on a 42-yard fumble return as Wayne State took a 21-6 halftime lead. Michael Johnson scored on the 70-yard TD pass and Toney Davis ran for 130 yards on 25 carries.

More companies in the United States are starting to offer on-the-job sleep options for employees, ranging from special napping rooms to expensive sleep pods. Yet can naps really help your concentration and focus? Midday naps can be a key part of today's workforce as many of us get less-than-optimal sleep at night, said Christopher L. Drake, chair of the National Sleep Foundation and associate professor of psychiatry and behavioral neurosciences at the Wayne State University School of Medicine. A large number of adults are trying to scrape by on six hours a night instead of the more ideal eight hours. "You can survive on six hours an night, but you'll get sleepy," said Drake. That's why he also supports the idea of midday naps instead of further skimping on sleep or trying to catch up with sleep on the weekends. "We live in a 24/7 society. One option to help people is to take a nap at work," he said.

Wayne State University's Center for Latino and Latin American Studies will hold its 42nd Anniversary Celebración this weekend. This year's keynote will be P. David López, general counsel of the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC). López is the first EEOC field trial attorney to be appointed as General Counsel when nominated to serve a four-year term by President Barack Obama in 2010.

Bankole Thompson, Michigan Chronicle senior editor, talks about the future of Wayne State University under the leadership of President M. Roy Wilson. He writes: "The appointment of Dr. M. Roy Wilson as the 12th president of this important urban university by the Board of Governors, chaired by Debbie Dingell, could not have come at a better time when educational institutions - big and small - are being challenged to do more than just exist in name, billboards and framed certificates." Bankole continues, "Let it be said that President Wilson is the insightful and pragmatic game changer the university has been awaiting, ready to make the university respond more appropriately to the diverse needs of metro Detroit - from the less than optimal state of the Detroit health care climate to its high unemployment state and challenged public educational system."

Marick Masters, Wayne State University business professor, is referenced in a story about the AFL-CIO's involvement in workplace campaigns and political campaigns. AFL-CIO President Richard Trumka said the union is looking at campaigns on a number of different levels. Masters told The Nation Monday that, based on his review of data from the AFL-CIO's federal filings, the labor federation spent 23.54 percent of its total disbursements (not counting PAC funds) on politics in 2012, up from 15.46 percent in 2008. He noted that such filings are self-reported and inherently inexact, and that the categories provided by the government were not conducive to assessing the resources devoted to workplace organizing fights.

Donna MacDonald, Wayne State University's Institute of Gerontology, was interviewed by Fox 2 health reporter Deena Centofanti about the Brain Neurobics program and how older adults can keep their memories sharp. The month of September is "Healthy Aging Month."

The AmeriCorps Urban Safety program at Wayne State's Center for Urban Studies is highlighted in a national safety blog. Andre Masnari, who coordinates the Bike Watch program, was interviewed about how patrolling the campus community and working with Wayne State University Police in reviewing COMPSTAT data has made a difference in safety around the university.

Saeed Khan, an expert on Near East history, politics, and culture at Wayne State University, participated in a discussion on the Syria crisis and a possible military response.

President M. Roy Wilson was a guest on WXYZ-TV's "Spotlight on the News" program hosted by Chuck Stokes. In his introductory blog, Stokes wrote: "Detroit, get ready for Dr. M. Roy Wilson, the new president of Wayne State University. He's a deep thinker and he appears to be ready to lead Michigan's third largest university in several positive directions. From increasing research to improving graduation rates, he lays out a busy agenda on this week's Spotlight on the News" program. (cue to 14 mins.)

The Techonomy Detroit conference will be held for the second straight year on Sept. 17 at Wayne State University. Detroit is the only place aside from the Dove Mountain resort near Tucson, site of Techonomy's 3-day annual global gathering, to host more than one of its events. Speakers will include Jack Dorsey, founder of Twitter and Square; Etsy CEO Chad Dickerson; Quicken Loans Chairman Dan Gilbert; Venture for America CEO Andrew Yang and Gov. Rick Snyder. The focus is on jobs and growth in urban economies where technology creates both disruption and opportunity, with a special focus on education. Jocelyn Benson, interim dean of Wayne State's Law School, will serve on a panel titled "Everybody's Starting Something." Benson, at the Mackinac Policy Conference in May, introduced a new Wayne State Law School program of Entrepreneurship and Business Law to help new companies get more early-stage legal assistance.

In Joique Bell's recent Wayne State commercial, he explains how he's bounced around the NFL since going undrafted in 2010. He's been with the Bills, Colts, Eagles, Saints and now the Lions, but deep down -- "I'm talking deep down, to the core" -- Bell said he'll always be a Wayne State Warrior. Bell will start the 2013 season as the Lions' No. 2 running back behind Reggie Bush but ahead of 2011 second-round pick Mikel Leshoure. "If there is any guy on this team this year that has earned it, he's earned it," Lions fullback Montell Owens said of Bell. "The great ones have a desire to be great, and that's one thing that he possesses that not a lot of football players possess," Owens said. "A lot of guys are driven based on just their natural ability, but the desire to be great in a lot of guys isn't there. With him it's a two-fold deal."

The Ford Motor Co. Fund has handed out $225,000 in grants to nine colleges - four of them in Michigan - in support of the growing trend of service learning on college campuses. The Ford College Community Challenge is a national challenge grant competition that recognizes colleges and universities that utilize a school's resources to address an urgent community need related to the grant's theme, "Building Sustainable Communities." A $25,000 Ford C3 grant to Wayne State University will support SEED Wayne projects that expand urban farming, nutrition education and fresh produce sales to underserved populations. SEED Wayne is dedicated to building sustainable food systems on the Wayne State campus and in Detroit neighborhoods through teaching, research, community engagement and campus operations. Developing student leadership is a core objective of the program. Students initiate and implement projects in collaboration with campus and community partners.

The Southeast Michigan Purchasing Managers Index climbed 7.1 points in August to 60.2, continuing a climb from an unexpected drop in June, during which the index fell to 49.2. A level above 50 indicates a growing economy. The August jump was driven primarily by two components of the index: production and new orders, both of which were up by more than 10 points. Production was up from 54.8 to 68.5, and new orders were up from 53.2 to 64.8. "These values correspond closely to positive news from domestic automakers regarding sales, and to generally positive consumer confidence reports," Timothy Butler, associate professor of global supply chain management at Wayne State University's School of Business Administration, said in a news release.

On Tuesday, Sept. 10, Wayne State University will host the 2013 Ahmed H. Zewail Lecture, a program designed to bring distinguished scientists to Wayne State University to convey the excitement of science to students and the public. This year's presenter will be James A. Spudich, the Douglass M. and Nola Leishman Professor of Cardiovascular Disease in the Department of Biochemistry at Stanford University's School of Medicine. Spudich is best known for his trailblazing investigations of the molecular motors that drive skeletal muscle contractions and heartbeats, and enable cells to divide. Current clinical trials of several drugs based on Spudich's understanding of exactly how muscles contract offer hope for people prone to heart failure, amyotrophic lateral sclerosis and perhaps even the frailties of old age. The event will take place in the Marvin I. Danto Engineering Development Center Auditorium.

Three analysts of Middle East politics will share their insights on Friday, Sept. 6, when Wayne State University Law School offers a panel discussion on "The Future of Reform Movements in the Arab World." The free, public event will take place from 6 to 7:30 p.m. in the Law School's Spencer M. Partrich Auditorium. Professor of Law Gregory Fox, director of the Program for International Legal Studies, said he's delighted to host experts Professor Haider Hamoudi of the University of Pittsburgh Law School, Professor Tarek Masoud of the John F. Kennedy School of Government at Harvard University and Professor Mark Tessler of the Department of Political Science at the University of Michigan to serve on the panel. The analysts will discuss the precarious state of Arab political reform movements, often referred to as the "Arab Spring."

Running back Joique Bell officially begins his third NFL season with the Detroit Lions on Sunday when they play the Minnesota Vikings at Ford Field. However, the opportunity to play in the NFL is not his greatest gift from Wayne State head coach Paul Winters. It is a degree. "He came into our living room and he told my mom, 'I don't care if he plays in the NFL,' " Bell said. "He was going to make sure I got a degree. He is an inspirational coach and a man of character." "I think it makes you proud because he gets it," Winters said. "You preach that to everybody that comes through the doors. And the guy who gets it makes it to the NFL so there is no excuse for the guy that does not have a chance at the NFL not getting it. We are only going to have one Joique Bell every 10 years if we are lucky. But we can have 20 graduates every year." Winters also talks about his alma mater Akron's quest to sign him as their head coach, and his decision to stay with the program at Wayne State. "I've got everything I need here," he said.

Fewer people in the U.S. are succumbing to preventable death from cardiovascular disease, but most of the improvement in rates is among the elderly, rather than among younger adults who are also at risk, according to federal data released Tuesday. The rate of so-called avoidable deaths from heart disease, stroke and hypertension declined 29 percent between 2001 and 2010 in people under age 75, thanks in part to healthier lifestyles and better cardiac care, according to an analysis of U.S. mortality data by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. But the rates of decline were substantially slower among adults under age 65, the agency said. Experts at the European Society of Cardiology meeting in Amsterdam said the large number of cases of avoidable heart-disease deaths underscores the importance of continuing efforts to educate and intervene early with patients. "What we really need in this country, rather than event-driven health care, is prevent-driven health care," said Kim Allan Williams, vice president of the American College of Cardiology and a cardiologist at Wayne State University School of Medicine.