Rina Miller

A popular Detroit art installation was destroyed by fire this morning.

The Obstruction of Justice House was part of the Heidelberg Project on Detroit's east side. It was created by artist Tyree Guyton. He used discarded items and paint to transform two city blocks into an eclectic and sometimes controversial art exhibit.  

Guyton's wife, Jenenne Whitfield, describes,"You turn down the street, and there's this explosion of color: The trees, the sidewalks, the vacant lots. All had been turned into a giant landscape, a work of art that is literally known around the world."

If you're between 35 and 64-years-old, you're considered middle aged. You're probably working, have children, and possibly elderly parents that you help care for, as well. This is also the time when many chronic health conditions appear.

Toss in some tough economic times lately, and it adds up to a lot of stress.

That may be why Michigan has seen a bigger spike in middle-aged suicides than almost any other state.

A Michigan lawmaker says a person's end-of-life wishes should be accessible during an emergency.

You may have what's called a "living will" that determines what kind of care -- if any -- you want if you have, say, a heart attack. But if you don't have that document with you, emergency responders are going to try to bring you back to life.

A Michigan State University professor says most teachers aren't ready to implement new science standards planned by the state.

The Michigan Department of Education says a plan called "Next Generation Science Standards" will provide more depth to students.

MSU education professor Suzanne Wilson disagrees.

The state is encouraging Michigan health plans to provide genetic counseling and testing for some types of breast cancer. 

Breast and ovarian cancer can run in families. Sometimes it's caused by an underlying genetic change passed from parent to child.

Jenna McLosky, who's the cancer genomics education coordinator for the Michigan Department of Community Health, says women who have a family history of breast cancer should consider tests for a change in the BRCA 1 or BRCA 2 genes.

This week in review, Rina Miller and Jack Lessenberry discuss the possible plan to lower auto insurance rates in the state, a bill to require drug tests for welfare recipients, and the arrests made at the University of Michigan over immigration protests.

Record rainfall in the Chicago area has heightened concerns that invasive Asian carp will escape electronic and physical barriers along the Des Plaines River, and make their way into the Great Lakes.

If Asian carp were to get into the Great Lakes, it's feared they could seriously impact the fishing and recreation industries.

However, U.S. Army Corps of Engineers spokeswoman Felicia Kirksey says crews stationed along the 13-mile barrier have seen no evidence of the fish breaching the structure.

The ACLU of Michigan claims Detroit police have a practice of taking people who appear to be homeless and dumping them miles away from downtown.

A yearlong investigation by the ACLU asserts that officers approach people in the Greektown area and offer them a "ride."

ACLU attorney Sarah Mehta says the homeless people are forced into police vans, ordered to empty their pockets and then taken to remote areas of the city or even across city limits.

The University of Michigan is set to lead a national trial in the use of stem cell injections to study their effects on the symptoms of ALS, or Lou Gehrig's disease.

U-M will collaborate with Emory University in the Phase II clinical trial, pending approval by  the Institutional Review Board, which could take about a month. The FDA has approved the trial.

It's estimated between 30,000 to 50,000 people in the United States have ALS.

This week in review Rina Miller and Jack Lessenberry discuss the possibility of repealing a tax on pensions, how Michigan's home foreclosure rate is no longer the worst, and how the international trade crossing has a presidential permit to move forward.

Michigan workers are losing their health-care coverage at a greater rate than any other state.

In 2000, about 78 percent of Michigan workers got insurance through their employer.

By 2011, that fell to about 63 percent.

Lynn Blewett is a University of Minnesota professor who took part in the national study funded by the nonprofit Robert Wood Johnson Foundation.

Michigan schools could soon change how they teach science.

The idea is to provide more depth in the curriculum. That's according to Linda Forward, who directs the Office of Education Improvement and Innovation at the Michigan Department of Education.

She says 26 states worked to create the Next Generation Science Standards.

The plan blends certain subjects, such as chemistry and biology. It also ties engineering into science.

Babies spit up -- a lot. It often happens when they eat too quickly  or too much. It's normal, but it sure can scare parents.

A University of Michigan study says doctors should be careful about using labels to describe babies with upset stomachs.

Dr. Beth Tarini, an assistant professor of pediatrics at U-M, says when doctors use terms like gastroesophageal reflux disease -- or GERD -- the only thing most parents hear is "disease."

"It can transform the way the parent views the child's health. It can take a parent who has a healthy child, and have that parent start to believe that that child is actually sick," Tarini says."Parents come into the office, understandably distressed that their baby is spitting up."

Tarini says sometimes physicians, in trying to help the parents, will reach for anything they can do to help, which can lead to the overuse of antacids, like Zantac.

Michigan Radio's Rina Miller spoke with our Political Analyst about the big news stories this week.