Environment

Recycled waste heat may light up your life

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By CELESTE BOTT
Capital News Service
LANSING – It may soon be possible to use wasted heat from your vehicle’s tailpipe to power electronics in your car, thanks to a new thermoelectric material developed by researchers in Michigan. That’s just one of many potential uses of the new material, which is based on tetrahedrites, natural minerals found in abundance. Thermoelectric materials are chemical compounds capable of converting waste heat into usable electricity. According to Donald Morelli, a professor of chemical engineering at Michigan State University and the lead researcher on the project, the material provides a cheaper way to turn heat energy that would have been wasted into something useful, like electricity. “What we’ve managed to do is synthesize some compounds that have the same composition as natural minerals,” said Morelli, who also directs MSU’s Center for Revolutionary Materials for Solid State Energy Conversion.

Health

New study questions need for many double mastectomies

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By CELESTE BOTT
Capital News Service
LANSING – A new study from the University of Michigan’s Comprehensive Cancer Center shows that 70 percent of breast cancer patients who undergo double-mastectomy surgery have no clinical reason for doing so. The study attributes that finding primarily to psychological factors, such as fear of cancer recurrence. Sarah Hawley, a U-M professor and co-author of the study, said removing both breasts is a radical step that’s unnecessary for most patients. “Women appear to be using worry over cancer recurrence to choose a double mastectomy,” Hawley said. “This doesn’t make sense because having a non-affected breast removed will not reduce the risk of recurrence in the affected breast.”
The study reported on 1,446 women who had been treated for breast cancer and who hadn’t had a recurrence.

Business & Economy

Michigan has a growing gap between haves and have-nots

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By CELESTE BOTT
Capital News Service
LANSING – Michigan has a widening income gap, according to a national study by the Center on Budget and Policy Priorities and the Economic Policy Institute. The institute, a nonprofit research organization based in Washington, D.C., compared the incomes of the richest households to low- and middle-income households, showing inequality at the state level. Elizabeth McNichol, co-author of the report and a specialist on fiscal issues, said that while income inequality is a national problem, state governments can make changes that can help close the gap and promote more economic growth. “As state policymakers plan their budgets for next year, they should pursue policies that push back against the trend of rising inequality,” McNichol said. “States that narrow – rather than widen – income gaps will reap economic benefits in the long run.”
Actions state governments can take include raising the minimum wage, making tax systems less regressive, strengthening support for low-income workers, and improving the unemployment insurance system, according to the institute.

Business & Economy

Computer tools coming soon for businesses to use

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By CELESTE BOTT
Capital News Service
LANSING – Manufacturers throughout the state will soon have access to digital modeling and simulation tools through General Electric’s Advanced Manufacturing and Software Technology Center. The new tools should save money and create jobs, the National Center for Manufacturing Sciences says. The developing innovation center that will provide such tools is the result of a partnership between General Electric and NCMS based in Ann Arbor, and a $1 million grant from the  Michigan Economic Development Corp. (MEDC).. GE’s technology Center in Van Buren Township will house the innovation center.

Government

New system uses data to fight crime, boost traffic safety

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By CELESTE BOTT
Capital News Service
LANSING – The State Police has begun implementing the Data-Driven Approach to Crime and Traffic Safety, a new system that uses crime data to determine the deployment of police officers. According to Col. Kriste Kibbey Etue, director of the State Police, the use of data analysis will improve the effectiveness of law enforcement response statewide. “Our intelligence center looks at crime reports and analyzes the data in a map,” Etue said. “When you look at it like that, you can actually see the criminal hot spots.

Education

Support grows for more preschool education

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By CELESTE BOTT
Capital News Service
LANSING – A $130 million initiative for pre-kindergarten education is in the early stages of development, according to the Department of Education. The initiative calls for more funding for the Great Start Readiness Program, which provides state aid to public school districts and charter schools for pre-K programs.
Through Great Start Readiness, intermediate school districts receive grants to provide preschool education for 4-year-old children from low-income families. Making early childhood education more of a priority is absolutely crucial, according to Michael Flanagan, the state superintendent of public instruction. “This is the most important thing we’re working on right now, planning this budget extension for 4-year-olds,” Flanagan said. “We need to get kids on the right track as early as possible.

Health

Health centers receive cancer screening grants

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By CELESTE BOTT
Capital News Service
LANSING – Twenty-two community health centers are receiving federal grants to improve quality of care, especially for reproductive cancer screenings for women. The Michigan centers are among 810 nationwide to receive grants funded by the Affordable Care Act. Facilities receiving $55,000 grants include Cherry Street Services in Grand Rapids; the Ingham County Health Department in Lansing; Center for Family Health in Jackson; Upper Peninsula Association of Rural Health Services Inc. in Marquette; and Detroit Community Health Connection. Each recipient is part of the Federally Qualified Health Center Program and is eligible to receive such funding to supplement health care outreach initiatives. “Community health centers in Michigan are committed to providing high quality health care services to our residents,” said James Haveman, the director of the Department of Community Health.

Health

Push to integrate physical, mental health services

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By CELESTE BOTT
Capital News Service
LANSING – The look of health care in the future will combine behavioral health and physical care for more uniform treatment, according to James Haveman, director of the Department of Community Health. “There’s a great deal of effort being made to integrate mental health, substance abuse and physical health care,” Haveman said. “If we build connections between these different forms of care, we can make sure people have cost-effective access to the treatment they need.”
According to Haveman, those connections range from changes in health policy to bringing rehabilitation centers into hospitals, rather than expecting patients to seek a separate facility. For example, Michigan Health Information Network, a state entity, promotes health care through electronic exchange of information. The network now uses the PatientSecure system, an electronic directory, for health care providers across the state.

Agriculture

A dozen Michigan organizations receive specialty crop grants

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By CELESTE BOTT
Capital News Service
LANSING – Managing bees and saving cucumbers from disease are just two of the topics being studied in recent specialty crop grants. This October in Michigan the federal government awarded grants to a dozen food and agriculture organizations for projects that include improving fruit production, promoting cleaner soil and studying crop pollination. The $1.3 million is divided among 12 recipients, including the Michigan Vegetable Council in Erie, Michigan Farm Bureau in Lansing, Lakeshore Environmental Inc. in Grand Haven and Michigan State University in East Lansing. These organizations and their projects were selected by the state Department of Agriculture and Rural Development to receive the federal grants. The department is in the process of developing an additional regional state grant program to further support such organizations and their food and agricultural research, said Jamie Clover Adams, the department director.

Business & Economy

Federal grant to boost manufacturing collaboration

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By CELESTE BOTT
Capital News Service
LANSING – Manufacturing organizations are partnering after receiving a $2.19 million federal grant through the Advanced Manufacturing Jobs and Innovation Accelerator Challenge. According to the Southeast Michigan Community Alliance (SEMCA), the grant will fund the Southeast Michigan Advanced Manufacturing Innovation Realization Cluster project—known as “the Cluster”—and connect manufacturers across the state to form a fast-growing community of firms.
Participants include the Southeast Michigan Community Alliance in Taylor, the Society of Manufacturing Engineers in Dearborn, the Workforce Intelligence Network in Detroit, the Detroit Regional Chamber and the Michigan Manufacturing Technology Center in Plymouth. SEMCA will act as the fiscal agent for key elements of the grant, and each participating organization will have responsibility over a portion of the funds, with the common goal of “connecting manufacturing firms and helping them support lower-volume, rapid-production, highly custom projects,” according to SEMCA. Data from the National Association of Manufacturers and the U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis shows that manufacturers account for nearly 16 percent of the state’s total gross state product and employ about 12.3 percent of the workforce. According to the participating organizations, forming the Cluster will allow smaller, traditional manufacturers to pool resources.