Documentaries: \"Professional Revolutionary: The Life of Saul Wellman\" and \"First Amendment on Trial: The Case of the Detroit Six.\" Produced by Wayne State University professor Ron Aronson and Judith Montell, April 28-30, at the Insight Screening Room in Southfield. Show times are provided. Down Syndrome: Dr. Victor Tybuleqicz, head of research team on Down syndrome at the National Institute for medical Research in London, will present his findings at a lecture, 6 p.m. May 2 at Wayne State\'s Community Arts Auditorium.

Wayne State University representatives commented about the "Family to Family Strategy," which is designed to reduce the number of abused or neglected children removed from their communities. They noted that children are better off leaving parts of Detroit for surrounding suburbs, and not removing them possibly denies them the opportunity to experience a more positive outcome.

Admissions deans say the competition to recruit students has become more intense because many of the most competitive students are applying to more universities than ever before - and thus are admitted to more of them. Even under ordinary circumstances, many elite universities must admit two to three times the number of students they expect to enroll as freshman in the fall, because so many decline offers of admission. Colgate, for example, sent acceptance letters to 2,200 students (out of 7,800 applicants) to yield a freshman class of 740. Swarthmore accepted 897 students (of 4,850 applicants) and expects 372 to enroll. \"It puts greater pressure on us to try to attract the students, because they do have more options these days,\" said Eric J. Kaplan, dean of admissions and financial aid at Lehigh University.

Dr. Lawrence Resnick, professor and director of hypertension at Wayne State University, studied the blood pressure of patients who were both diabetic and non-diabetic. He found that all patients with hypertension, whether diabetic or non-diabetic, had lower magnesium levels than people with normal blood pressure. Magnesium is crucial in fighting several common chronic diseases. Resnick says he has treated patients who were hypertensive in spite of taking one or two medications to treat this disease. And that by adding magnesium their pressure returned to normal.

Ty Partridge, a developmental psychologist at Wayne State University, recently argued that living in safer areas with better schools gives children hope for a future. The Family to Family strategy - which will be used in 85 percent of Michigan counties by year\'s end - aims to reduce the number of children placed outside their birth families and communities. \"You\'re removing from them the opportunity to experience a more positive outcome,\" Partridge said. Partridge said the state\'s aims under the Family to Family strategy are laudable, but many foster care children are raised in detrimental environments. "Keeping them in those environments - when they already are at greater risk because of neglect - does not help," he added.

A front-page story on the controversial new movie "United 93" includes a comment by Jerry Herron, professor of American studies. He said the movie is close enough in time to the actual event "to retain its historical power but not far enough away that people will have forgotten the details." He also pointed out that movies have always helped to shape American's views of the world and enabled them to come to grips with significant events. "Maybe more than any other people, we've used movies to try and define our historical consciousness of what's going on and what it means," Herron pointed out.

These media outlets were among those that reported on a Wednesday morning power outage that affected parts of the Medical School Campus. Wayne State 's Scott Hall and Shiffman Medical Library were without power. At least two hospitals in The Detroit Medical Center also were affected.

Plans for a new building at the Wayne State University Law School have received a major boost from shopping mall developer A. Alfred Taubman, who is donating $3 million for the project. The gift is the largest single amount ever given to the Law School . In addition to classrooms, offices and other facilities, the building - to be named in honor of federal Judge Damon J. Keith - will house a center for civil rights named in Keith's name.

Wayne State alumna Helen Thomas was inducted into the university's David Mackenzie Honor Society Tuesday in recognition for her scholarship, service and loyalty to WSU. She graduated in 1942 and was White House Bureau chief for United Press International for many years. A photo of Thomas accompanies the item.

A Wayne State University delegation to China that returned last week achieved several goals for the College of Engineering . Among them is an agreement with Tongji University in Shanghai that calls for shared academic and corporate research and enables students from the Chinese university to earn a master's degree in engineering from WSU. The agreement involves Tongji University 's School of Economics and Management, its College of Civil Engineering and the Wayne State College of Engineering. The write-up gives additional details. " Wayne State touts its ties to China ," writes IT Report Editor Matt Roush. He points out that these include 123 Chinese students who received doctoral degrees from WSU from January 2000 through June 2005.

Mayors of 15 major cities attended a gun summit yesterday, all pledging to create regional intelligence databases to track illegal guns. The article mentions a study -- released Monday and conducted by researchers from Wayne State , Kent State , and the University of Toledo -- that shows police chiefs across the country support tougher gun-control measures.

A story about the transportation enterprises of businessman Manuel Moroun and the role of the Detroit/Wayne County Port Authority in granting contracts includes comments by John Mogk, professor of urban planning and property law here. He comments on the nuances of a state Supreme Court ruling regarding seizure of condemned property for public development.

John Hanningan, professor of obstetrics/gynecology, at the WSU School of Medicine will speak Sunday at St. Ann 's Church on "Debunking the Da Vinci Code." A movie based on the best-selling book will be released nationwide on May 19. In his presentation, Hannigan will examine and challenge claims made by the book's author regarding various aspects of Christian tradition and scripture. A contact number for more information is given at the end of the article.

Techtown, Detroit 's research and technology park, has named four new members to its board of directors. They are: Michael Klass, Doug Rothwell, Kwame Kenyatta and Mitchell Wonboy.

Regene Biopharmaceuticals reported today that researchers at the WSU School of Medicine and the Kresge Eye Institute found that thymosin beta 4 could significantly reduce the death of human ophthalmic cells treated with a common preservative found in many ocular solutions. Used to prevent bacterial growth, the preservative is a known eye irritant.

The Wayne State University Law School will receive a $3 million donation from businessman Alfred Taubman, to help pay for construction of a new building. The building will replace the law school\'s current classroom building and will contain classrooms, offices, meeting rooms and an auditorium. Total cost will be $7.5 million; the rest of the money will come through fund-raising. The building also will house the Damon J. Keith Center for Civil Rights and part of the Keith Law Collection of African-American Legal History, which WSU established in 1993. Law school officials called the melding of the Taubman donation with the Keith center a way of merging Taubman\'s support of Detroit, Keith\'s civil rights record and WSU\'s position in the legal community. \"It brings together Alfred Taubman\'s belief that the city of Detroit is really coming back,\" Frank Wu, dean of WSU\'s law school, said Monday. \"It blends that with Judge Keith\'s passion for civil rights. And it couples that with commitment to the city and to civil rights and couples that within an urban research university. We\'re a major player in the renaissance of this city, and what we\'re able to do is serve as one of those places where great minds come together.\"

Philanthropist A. Alfred Taubman's donation of $3 million to Wayne State's Law School is noted in "Wayne Briefs." The gift will help to fund the construction of a new building replacing the existing classroom building and connecting to a new addition opened in 2000.

Longtime White House reporter Helen Thomas is to be inducted today into the David Mackenzie Honor Society at Wayne State University. Members are chosen for their contributions to the university and the community. Thomas, who was raised in Detroit and graduated from Wayne State, will return today to receive her award. The society is named for David Mackenzie, the first dean of what is now the College of Liberal Arts and Sciences.

Former Enron Corp. executives Kenneth Lay and Jeffrey Skilling are the ones being tried on criminal fraud charges in federal court in Houston, but the collapsed energy company\'s longtime outside legal counsel is also in the hot seat. Defending their management of Enron in the years before it spiraled into bankruptcy proceedings, Skilling and Lay both have pointed to advice they received from lawyers at Vinson & Elkins LLP, which worked for Enron for years. Their testimony plays into the hands of class-action lawyers suing the firm on behalf of shareholders whose stock in the company tanked in 2001. \"I would not want to be Vinson & Elkins, if Skilling and Lay are convicted,\" says Peter Henning, a securities-law professor at Wayne State University's Law School.

A recently released survey by the Wayne State University School of Social Work and Center for Urban Studies is referenced in an editorial supporting a bill to reform Michigan\'s juvenile lifer law. The survey found that, when given alternatives, only 5% of state residents support current practices of forcing judges to give some kids as young as 14 life without possibility of parole -- the maximum adult penalty for convictions in first-degree murder cases. In Michigan, more than 300 juveniles have been sentenced to life without parole -- one of the highest numbers in the nation. The bill, supported by Amnesty International and Human Rights Watch, would give them a chance at parole after they serve at least 15 years.