A team of Wayne State University researchers recently received $363,660 from the National Cancer Institute of the National Institutes of Health for a project that aims to learn more about the spread of prostate cancer into the bones. According to R. Daniel Bonfil, associate professor of urology and pathology in WSU's School of Medicine and principal investigator of the project, the mechanisms by which prostate cancer cells take root and start growing once they become lodged in the bones are not well understood. In addition, Bonfil stated that cells respond to specific signals, or ligands, coming from the tissue where they are located through receptors usually expressed on their surface. When these receptors are activated by their specific ligands, changes in cell behavior occur.

Energy healers say they can detect and channel a "universal energy" and even manipulate this energy in another person. Science has not determined that this energy exists, let alone that anybody can detect it or manipulate it, or that it has anything to do with disease. Yet the National Center for Complementary and Alternative Medicine has funded studies of energy healing including one grant worth $104,000 to study "energy chelation" as a treatment for fatigue in breast cancer survivors. Dr. David Gorski, a breast cancer surgeon with Wayne State University, called the study "brain-meltingly bad." Energy chelation is "magic, faith healing," he said. "The whole thing, from a scientific standpoint, is laughable."

Battle Creek Enquirer, 1/21 Schools can apply for healthy schools program Blue Cross Blue Shield of Michigan, the Wayne State University Center for School Health in the College of Education and the Michigan Fitness Foundation said in a joint news release that local schools can apply to host the groups' Building Healthy Communities program. The release said the program, started in 2009, provides "grants to schools across the state to get kids moving, eating healthier and adopting healthy lifestyles."

Professor Lyke Thompson, director of Wayne State University's Center for Urban Studies, joined Craig Fahle for a discussion on Gov. Rick Snyder's State of the State address. Among topics discussed, Thompson addressed the financial challenges surrounding Detroit and other municipalities around the state.

Predicting problems in one of the body's most complex organs soon may become easier because of work being done by Wayne State University researchers. Howard Matthew and Yinlun Huang, professors of chemical engineering and materials science, recently received a $550,000 grant from the National Science Foundation to develop a mathematical model of liver metabolism that can be used to analyze and more effectively predict responses to possible treatments for hepatic steatosis, more commonly known as fatty liver. The condition affects between 15 and 20 percent of the U.S. population and often is a precursor to more serious problems. Accumulation of fat droplets, or lipids, inside liver cells is a key characteristic in many of the organ's failure modes. Increased lipid accumulation is usually the first symptom to appear before a measurable dysfunction occurs.

In an effort to ramp up its research commercialization efforts, Wayne State University hired a new head of its technology transfer office. Harl Tolbert's priorities include not only building on the university's licensing efforts but also integrating WSU resources in better ways and supporting the development of sustainable technologies. Tolbert, who began work Wednesday, was hired as associate vice president of technology commercialization in the division of research. WSU nearly doubled its intellectual property disclosures to 72, from 37 the year before. It also spun off four startups.

Wayne State Warriors football player Joe Long is interviewed during the East-West Shrine Game. Long, who played on the East squad during Saturday's game, attributed his success, in part, to the "amazing coaching staff" at Wayne State.

In his letter to the editor, David Ripple, vice president for development and alumni affairs and president of the WSU foundation, applauds WSU alum Barbara Fornasiero and her Jan. 2 letter to the editor titled "Alumni should invest in WSU." Ripple wrote: "The balance between opportunity and excellence is possible at Wayne State because of the support of our alumni and friends. We are grateful to the nearly 27,000 donors who contributed to our students, faculty and programs last year. Higher education is the key to growth and strength in Michigan. And, as Fornasiero so rightly said, now is a great time to invest in Wayne State and the next generation of leaders in our region." (subscriber only access)

Sky Foundation Inc., a nonprofit dedicated to raising awareness and funding research for the early detection of pancreatic cancer, Wednesday announced it raised about $111,000 in 2011, bringing the total raised since its inception in 2008 to nearly $340,000. Sky Foundation funds a scientific and physician partnership between the Barbara Ann Karmanos Cancer Institute, Henry Ford Health System and Wayne State University. The foundation's goal is to fund research to develop an advanced blood screening test identifying antibodies indicating a malignancy in the pancreas. The antibodies will be used as diagnostic markers that aid in the early detection of pancreatic cancer. Michael Tainsky, Barbara Ann Karmanos Cancer Institute and Wayne State University, is noted as a member of the Sky Foundation research team.

A feature story profiles the community service efforts of Wayne State University's student athletes. Rob Fournier, WSU's athletic director is a strong proponent for athletes giving back to the local community and has introduced a community service program. His leadership has created a "win-win" for Wayne State and a wide variety of worthwhile organizations that provide help for Detroit's needy. According to the university, 350 of its athletes volunteer a total of 8,250 hours a year. U-M says 700 of its athletes volunteer a total of 3,000 hours and Ohio State says 700 of it athletes volunteer a total of 7,100 hours annually.

TechTown is mentioned during a "Marketplace" segment exploring job creation in Detroit which is helping existing businesses to expand, and encouraging would-be entrepreneurs to start new ones. TechTown's Francine Wunder comments in the audio clip about Wayne State University's business incubator and its role in Detroit's revitalization.

Eastern Michigan University will no longer be the epicenter of the high school football season's opening weekend. The Detroit Sports Commission announced today that the annual Big Day Prep Showdown is moving from Rynearson Stadium to Wayne State University's Tom Adams Field and will be renamed the Detroit Sports Commission Prep Kickoff Classic. "We are delighted to host this event. It is a great way for people to come and see Wayne State and Midtown Detroit," said Wayne State University President Allan Gilmour. http://www.wxyz.com/dpp/sports/local_sports/high_school/brother-rice-cass-tech-will-square-off-to-open-high-school-football-season http://www.annarbor.com/sports/high-school/premier-high-school-football-event-moves-from-eastern-michigan/ http://bloomfield-mi.patch.com/articles/brother-rice-to-open-football-season-against-division-1-champion-cass-tech http://news.yahoo.com/premier-season-opening-prep-football-event-moves-downtown-170058436.html

Dr. Robert Frank, chief medical officer of the Wayne State University School of Medicine Physicians Group, is quoted in an article announcing the groundbreaking for the Detroit Medical Center's new $78 million, five-story heart hospital scheduled to open on the health system's midtown Detroit campus in two years. Frank said one in three deaths in the state is caused by heart disease. http://www.freep.com/article/20120118/BUSINESS06/201180350/DMC-breaks-ground-for-heart-hospital-in-Detroit http://mms.tveyes.com/Transcript.asp?StationID=2790&DateTime=1%2F17%2F2012+10%3A573A11+AM&LineNumber=&MediaStationID=2790&playclip=True&RefPage=

Wayne State University President Emeritus Irvin D. Reid was interviewed during a segment on PBS's "Nightly Business Report" about business investment in Detroit and the "Live Downtown" project. Reid is currently a member of a review team appointed by Gov. Rick Snyder to determine if a financial emergency exists in Detroit.

Dr. Robert Freedman, professor of psychiatry at Wayne State University, comments in a story about hot flash remedies for women. "It's not a very optimistic picture," says Freedman. He contributed to a treatment review published recently in the journal Climacteric by the International Menopause Society. The report is bluntly dismissive of non-prescription remedies saying that non-pharmaceutical sources has failed to show any benefit of over-the-counter therapies compared to placebo for (hot flashes), and the safety of these compounds is not confirmed."

Michigan leads the nation in announcements of research and development facility projects, according to this month's issue of Site Selection, a real estate trade publication. The Norcross, Ga.-based bimonthly also cites Detroit as the fastest-growing market in the U.S. for high-tech jobs. The state's high rate of engineering graduates -- Michigan ranks fifth in the country, according to the National Center of Education Statistics -- has helped boost growth in the tech sector. Important vehicles for growth include the University Research Corridor, a partnership involving Michigan State University, Wayne State University and the University of Michigan that encourages collaboration between businesses and intellectual talent. Also contributing is the MEDC's business incubators and startup support services. (Subscription Only)

On Monday, volunteers from the University of Michigan-Dearborn and Henry Ford Community College joined with City Year Detroit, United Way for Southeastern Michigan, Downriver CARES AmeriCorps, Wayne State University, Madonna University, Davenport University, Marygrove College and Oakland Community College for the 19th annual MLK Day of Service. Volunteers gathered at UM-Dearborn and WSU before being sent off to various project sites around metro Detroit, where they beautified, organized, cleaned and created.

Exposure to light appears to have therapeutic effects on Alzheimer's disease patients, a Wayne State University researcher has found. In a study published recently in the Western Journal of Nursing Research, LuAnn Nowak Etcher, assistant professor of nursing, reported that patients treated with blue-green light were perceived by their caregivers as having improved global functioning. Caregivers said patients receiving the treatment seemed more awake and alert, were more verbally competent and showed improved recognition, recollection and motor coordination. They also said patients seemed to recapture their personalities and were more engaged with their environment. Patients' moods also were described as improved.

Current approaches to calculating failure probability in complex engineering structures can be inefficient and result in inconsistency, but a Wayne State University researcher is working to change that. Christopher Eamon, associate professor of civil and environmental engineering, recently received a three-year, $250,000 grant from the National Science Foundation to develop an accurate and efficient method for calculating failure probability (reliability analysis) for computationally and probabilistically complex structural engineering problems, with the goal of achieving greater levels of consistency within a structure. He believes his work will advance structural safety analysis for a variety of complex, high-fidelity problems such as crash, impact and blast analysis; metal forming; and complex structural system evaluation in various engineering disciplines.

Architect magazine highlights the first of a new series of essays on Detroit by Jerry Herron, professor and dean of the Irvin D. Reid Honors College at Wayne State University. Herron chronicles the history of the city's architectural marvels and examines how the structures became abandoned throughout the 20th Century. The essay includes photos of numerous historic places in Detroit and references national articles on the subject.