Wayne County launches long-term national children's health study

The Michigan Alliance of the National Children\'s Study is launching the National Children\'s Study in Wayne County, which is the first of five Michigan counties to participate. The study will document the effects of the social and physical environment on children\'s health from pregnancy to age 21. One hundred thousand families nationwide will participate in the study. The Michigan Alliance for the National Children\'s Study, which is conducting the study in Michigan, is a collaborative partnership of scientists and health care providers representing Wayne State University, Henry Ford Health System, Michigan Department of Community Health, Michigan State University, University of Michigan and Children\'s Hospital of Michigan.

February 17, 2011

Study pinpoints why college students drop out

Researchers at Michigan State University identified key risk factors that lead college students to drop out including depression, loss of financial aid, increased tuition, unexpected bad grades and roommate conflicts. Not so influential: a death in the family, failure to get their intended major, a significant injury and addiction. Colleges across the country are grappling with how to address the needs of students who drop out. Nationwide, just 60 percent of students earn an undergraduate degree within six years. In Michigan, there are wide ranges in graduation rates among the state's 15 public universities. Graduation rates range from lows of 26 percent at Lake Superior State University and 32 percent at Wayne State University to highs of 77 percent at Michigan State University and 89 percent at the University of Michigan.

February 17, 2011

Detroit pension probe grows; more than 150 investments eyed

The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has widened its investigation of Detroit\'s two public pension plans, requesting as many as 1 million pages of records on more than 150 investments. Wayne State University law professor Peter Henning said the SEC has made pay-to-play a priority and \"clearly, the SEC is going to put resources into this case. You don\'t ask for 150 deals unless you\'re ready to go. They\'re not going to treat this lightly, with these kinds of dollar losses.\"

February 17, 2011

Things to do…

A brief mentions Andrew Reeves, Wayne State University Professor Emeritus, who will speak on his experiences as a Jew in Nazi-occupied Hungary on Tuesday, Feb. 22, at Denison University. Reeves was interned at the Mauthausen concentration camp in Austria and was 21 years old when liberated from the camp by American troops.

February 17, 2011

Upcoming ensemble production of FLOW

Amy Miller spoke with the team behind the upcoming ensemble production of FLOW, including director Aku Kadogo, Wayne State University professor and director of the Black Theatre Program. The production premieres at WSU's Bonstelle Theatre, Feb. 18-27. (cue 01:23:10)

February 17, 2011

Biodiesel firm licenses Wayne State technology

NextCat Inc., announced that it has secured a license agreement for advanced biofuel catalyst technology developed at the National Biofuels Energy Lab at Wayne State University. The license agreement will allow NextCAT to commercialize a class of catalysts that enable biodiesel producers to use cost-effective raw materials such as waste vegetable oil, animal fats and residual corn oil, and convert them into biodiesel. The science team at NextCAT includes Steven Salley, associate professor of chemical engineering at Wayne State's College of Engineering, Shuli Yan, research director at NextCAT, and Simon Ng, CTO at NextCAT, and interim associate dean for research in Wayne State's College of Engineering and the technology's co-inventor. Comments are included by Ng and Hillary Ratner, vice president for research at Wayne State.

February 16, 2011

HANS: "Overnight success story" is a 25-year evolution in driver protection

An article examining the racing industry and safety devices for drivers like the HANS system mentions John Melvin, biomedical engineering professor at Wayne State University. Melvin is noted for taking a look at the HANS - an acronym for the \"head and neck support\" system - in his WSU laboratory and giving it the thumbs up after thorough testing.

February 16, 2011

Editor signs books old and new

Wayne State University professor Melba Boyd promoted her edition of the writings of Dudley Randall and some books by fellow authors at the Writing Black History Celebration held on Feb. 15 on the Wayne State University campus. Roses and Revolutions: The Selected Writings of Dudley Randall, recently published by Wayne State University Press, has already garnered popular and critical acclaim.

February 16, 2011

Genzyme's `theoretical cure' for MS draws scrutiny, spurs Sanofi purchase

An article examining the use of the drug Lemtrada as an experimental treatment for multiple sclerosis, mentions Omar Khan, one of the drug's researchers and professor of neurology at Wayne State University's School of Medicine. He said "These early data may set a new bar for clinical outcomes in multiple sclerosis."

February 16, 2011

Civil rights activist James Boggs

Craig Fahle spoke with Stephen M. Ward, editor of Wayne State University Press's Pages from a Black Radical's Notebook: A James Boggs Reader. Ward spoke about the life and career of civil rights activist James Boggs. (cue 38:00)

February 16, 2011

Members of DPS search committee

On Monday, the Detroit Public Schools board of education released the names of 25 people named to a search committee tasked with finding the next schools superintendent. Steve Ilmer, interim dean, Wayne State University's College of Education, was among the appointed members.

February 15, 2011

Bing tours post-Katrina New Orleans for recovery ideas

Mayor Dave Bing is in New Orleans hoping to learn how that city has battled blight more than five years after Hurricane Katrina. Bing left Sunday night with three city staffers and is expected to tour neighborhoods and talk with city officials and experts. New Orleans launched a new strategy on blight in September that includes demolishing 100 structures a month and concentrating code enforcement within a five-block radius of schools. The mayor is also traveling with a representative from Wayne State University.

February 15, 2011

Metro Detroit Black History Month events

Detroit News, 2/15 It is noted in a calendar of Black History Month events that "Writing Black History" will be held at Wayne State University, 5:30-8 p.m. tonight. The free event is scheduled at the McGregor Memorial Conference Center.

February 15, 2011

No kidding

Wayne State University researchers found that patients report less confusion and better medical care when they speak the same language as their health practitioners. Their paper, which appeared in the November-December 2010 issue of the Journal of the American Board of Family Medicine, bases its findings on data from the Pew Hispanic Center/Robert Wood Johnson Foundation\'s Latino Health Survey. \"When the patient and provider speak different languages, clinical interviews are compromised and the quality of health care is negatively affected,\" the researchers write.

February 14, 2011

New breast cancer screening system at WSU/TechTown

Channel 4 business reporter Rod Meloni featured a story on campus about a new breast cancer screening system using thermal imaging and ultrasound that could save thousands of lives each year. The procedure, expected to become available during the third quarter of 2012, is painless, radiation-free, and replaces mammograms at a third of the cost. Professor Greg Auner, director of the Wayne State University College of Engineering\'s SSIM program, is interviewed during the piece. Meloni notes that the classes are being conducted at TechTown, which is highlighted in the February edition of Delta's Sky Magazine.

February 14, 2011

Rock is reborn again

An article highlighting Kid Rock's upcoming concert at the North Charleston Coliseum, mentions the musical scholarship named after him at Wayne State University.

February 14, 2011

Michigan drivers adjust to roundabout invasion

Assistant Professor Peter Savolainen of Wayne State University's Transportation Research Group, spoke with Craig Fahle about roundabouts. Savolainen along with colleagues at the College of Engineering have been studying roundabouts in the field and taking a hard look at the crash data. Savolainen says there seems to be a learning curve when it comes to roundabouts. "There are major issues with entering traffic. People, at least when they're first introduced, don't have a good recognition of who is supposed to yield and when."

February 14, 2011

Tony Brown hosts the longest running public affairs show

Tony Brown, host of the longest running public affairs show titled "Tony Brown's Journal," is profiled in a piece celebrating Black History Month. Brown, a graduate of Wayne State University, helped Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. coordinate a march that drew an estimated half million people. He is the dean of journalism at Hampton University and owns his own production company in New York.

February 14, 2011

Spring training at WSU

As major league baseball opens spring training in at various southern venues, college teams are opening their sessions at indoor facilities, including Wayne State University's athletes. WSU senior catcher Michael Wiseman said that the real challenge of spring training are the odd hours and limited space while sharing the facilities at Matthaei. It is noted that a new indoor practice facility is being built next to the sports complex which will allow more room and daytime practices for the team once it opens this summer.

February 14, 2011

Enhance romance by going out with other couples

Recent research by Wayne State University's Richard B. Slatcher, suggesting that spending quality time with other couples might be an important way to improved long-term dating relationships, is a featured report during Channel 7's evening newscast.

February 14, 2011