Health

A University of Michigan researcher says the medical community may be stressing the wrong benefits to get people to exercise more. 

We’ve all heard it:  "Exercise is good for your health." "You’ll live longer." 

But are those the right messages?  Michelle Segar says no.  She’s a research investigator for the U-M Institute for Research on Women and Gender.

Segar conducted a study of full-time working middle-age women and their exercise habits. It shows those who exercised the most did so because exercise helped them enjoy life now. 

There’s a new push underway to get more Michiganders to sign up as future organ donors.  

Michigan ranks 44th in the percentage of adults who are registered organ donors.   

Richard Pietroski says that’s not good enough.  He’s the chief executive officer of Gift of Life Michigan.   Pietroski says the 3 thousand critically ill Michiganders waiting for an organ or tissue transplant have to wait longer than they should.  

One Michigan library wants to help clear up the confusion many people have about the legal issues concerning medical marijuana.

The autumnal equinox happened today at 5:05 a.m. ET. It marks the beginning of autumn in the northern hemisphere and spring in the southern hemisphere.

It’s the time of year when temperatures start to drop and the days start to get shorter.

Every year there are two equinoxes, one in March that marks the beginning of spring and one in September that marks the beginning of fall.

National Geographic explains:

The autumnal equinox and vernal equinox are also the only days of the year when a person standing on the Equator can see the sun passing directly overhead. On the Northern Hemisphere's autumnal equinox, a person at the North Pole would see the sun skimming across the horizon, signaling the start of six months of darkness. On the same day, a person at the South Pole would also see the sun skim the horizon, beginning six months of uninterrupted daylight.

Equinoxes explained:

Michigan State University wants the public’s opinion about whether blood samples taken from newborns should be used in other research.

Every newborn baby in Michigan has spot of blood taken from its heel. The blood is screened for genetic or metabolic diseases.

The state has samples stored in its bio-bank dating back to 1984.

Ann Mongoven is an assistant professor in MSU’s Center for Ethics and the Humanities in the Life Sciences.

She says the proposal raises ethical questions.

The University of Michigan Comprehensive Cancer Center has received a $3.5 million grant from Susan G. Komen for the Cure to study breast cancer and racial disparity. The money will help develop more effective treatments for an aggressive form of cancer called triple-negative breast cancer, which disproportionately affects African American women.

Max Wicha is director of the University of Michigan Comprehensive Cancer Center. 

The reason it’s important is that we know that African American women who have breast cancer do worse than Caucasian women. Some of these differences are due to access to care and socioeconomic factors, with African American women having less access to the latest treatments.

Wicha says the three-year grant is a statewide collaboration.  Researchers are working with a hospital in Ghana, Africa to look at African women who are also affected by this breast cancer. 

-Traci Currie - Michigan Radio Newsroom

A pilot with the Monroe County sheriff's office spotted many marijuana plants Saturday while flying over two corn fields in Milan Township, 60 miles west of Detroit.

Deputies counted 55 mature plants worth at least $25,000. The discovery is under investigation.

Federal drug agents from Toledo, Ohio, are also part of the case.