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House committee opens hearings on bill to ban medical research on dogs

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By: Rick Pluta
24 October 2025 at 18:02

A state House committee opened hearings Thursday on a possible ban on medical research using dogs in Michigan.

 The bill would outlaw medical research and testing that could cause “pain or distress” in dogs. It’s aimed largely at hypertension and cardiovascular research at Wayne State University.

Ryan Merkley, director of research advocacy at the Washington D.C.-based Physicians Committee for Responsible Medicine told the House Regulatory Reform Committee that experimenting on dogs is becoming a rarity at research labs across the country.

   “You can see the trend and you can also clearly see that human health research can be done without causing dogs to suffer,” he said.

Former research veterinarian Sally Christopher said using live dogs for medical experiments is outdated and cruel.

“The pain and suffering by dogs at Wayne State is plain to see in the university’s own records,” she said. “What’s equally concerning is the fruitless nature of these experiments, which have not yielded benefits for human patients.”

A Wayne State University veterinary researcher told the committee that experimenting on dogs is, indeed, rare and is handled humanely.

Dr. Michael Bradley said his laboratory uses dogs in experiments on congestive heart failure and hypertension. He told the House Committee on Regulatory Reform that the National Institutes of Health funds the research because it helps save lives.

“Over the 30-plus-year history of this research at Wayne State, there have been numerous scientific advancements that have been added to the body of knowledge of cardiovascular physiology,” he said. “Contrary to recent claims, our research has produced meaningful, peer-reviewed results.”

The regulatory reform committee is chaired by Representative Joe Aragona (R-Clinton Township), who sponsored the bill.  It already has wide bipartisan support, but the committee did not vote on the bill Thursday.

The post House committee opens hearings on bill to ban medical research on dogs appeared first on WDET 101.9 FM.

The Metro: Detroit public schools write the next page of literacy recovery

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By: Robyn Vincent
4 September 2025 at 19:07

Detroit’s schools are still recovering from the deep wounds of systemic neglect. Redlining, segregation, and a crash in city revenue starved schools of resources. Meanwhile, state funding for Detroit continues to lag behind wealthier districts. 

Over the years, control of Detroit schools has taken many turns that have added to the trauma.

First, it was mayoral control, and later, state‑appointed emergency managers. These interventions were supposed to help, but they often made things worse.

Through it all, poverty has entrenched itself in the households of many Detroit students. Housing instability, unreliable transportation, and inaccessible healthcare have added trauma on top of trauma. And then came the pandemic,  erasing precious early learning time.

But like the city itself, Detroit schools have been slowly, steadily rising. The latest glimmer is the new M‑STEP results, which show Detroit public school students largely making steady incremental improvements in math and English.

A Chalkbeat Detroit analysis of Michigan’s 2024-25 standardized tests puts the results into deeper context, showing Detroit’s third‑graders reading at their best level in over a decade. 

Still, only about 13% of DPSCD third graders reached reading proficiency, that’s compared to nearly 39% statewide.

So what do these modest gains really mean, and how long can they last?

Dr. Nikolai Vitti, superintendent of Detroit Public Schools Community District, joined Robyn Vincent to answer these questions.

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The post The Metro: Detroit public schools write the next page of literacy recovery appeared first on WDET 101.9 FM.

The Metro: Education scholar Eve Ewing reimagines what intelligence looks like

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By: Cary Junior II
13 August 2025 at 19:44


In her latest book “Original Sin: The (Mis)education of Black and native Children and Construction of American Racism,” author, poet, and University of Chicago sociology professor Eve Ewing uncovers historic wounds that she believes explains how education today falls short, particularly for children of color.

“Original Sin” situates the construction of Americans schools alongside American slavery and the attempted genocide of Native Americans. She argues they are used as a tool to condition Black and native communities.

While schools here in Michigan are struggling to develop student’s reading and math skills, producer Cary Junior II explored why Ewing believes the way we measure and define intelligence is inadequate.

Listen to The Metro weekdays from 10 a.m. to noon ET on 101.9 FM and streaming on demand.

Subscribe to The Metro on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, NPR.org or wherever you get your podcasts.

Support local journalism.

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More stories from The Metro

The post The Metro: Education scholar Eve Ewing reimagines what intelligence looks like appeared first on WDET 101.9 FM.

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