essing
own

Workers raise money
for cerebral palsy.

E

mployees at the Southfield
law firm Sommers
Schwartz Silver and
Schwartz are going casual
for a good cause.
Attorneys and secretaries are
ditching their power suits, ties,
dresses and high heels for shorts,
tennis shoes and T-shirts. Could
this be the beginning of a new
comfortable trend in business
wear?
Not quite.
On Friday, June 17, Sommers
Schwartz Silver and Schwartz
— along with many other area
business offices in Detroit — will
be participating in a United
Cerebral Palsy fund-raising
event called Casual Day.
Cerebral palsy is a condition
caused by brain damage during
pregnancy, labor or shortly fol-
lowing birth. It is not a disease,
and is not progres-
sive or contagious.
Last year,
Sommers
Schwartz
Silver and
Schwartz
raised $1,412
from its casual
crowd. This
year, employees
say they hope to
raise even more.
"Mr. Schwartz
specializes in
medical malpractice birth trau-
ma lawsuits and many of the
children we represent suffer from
cerebral palsy," said Tricia Rel-
ing, a medical/legal secretary
with the firm. "It's the easiest
fund-raiser to do and it's for a re-
ally good cause."
In exchange for a $5 donation,
employees in participating com-
panies get to trade in their busi-
ness attire and go casual for the
day. Besides raising money that
stays in the Greater Detroit area
to help people with cerebral pal-
sy and other disabilities, em-
ployees get a chance to show
their 'true colors' and win a va-

cation for two in the Grand Cay-
man Islands, sponsored by Unit-
ed Cerebral Palsy.
Other incentives include a
$250 gift certificate toward the
purchase of casualwear and five
Casual Day Levi's denim jack-
ets. A limited edition Casual Day
T-shirt is also available for a $25
donation.
In 1993, more than 140 com-
panies raised in excess of $57,000
on Casual Day. The agency
hopes to raise even more this
year. Casual Day updates can be
heard on WJR Radio 760 with
Jimmy Launce.
For an employee to
participate in Casu-
al Day 1994, his or
her company's hu-
man resources
manager must

register with the local United
Cerebral Palsy office by calling
(810) 557-5070. There is no cost
to the company.
All funds and proceeds are
raised through voluntary em-
ployee donations. Participating
companies receive all the mate-
rials needed to organize and
promote Casual Day among
their employees from United
Cerebral Palsy.
United Cerebral Palsy Inc.,
founded in 1948, is the 11th
largest nonprofit organization in
the country, with more than 155
local affiliates nationwide, pro-
viding programs and services to
children and adults with cere-
bral palsy and other severe dis-
abilities.1=1

Gene Expression
Topic Of Forum

Genes that can spur or suppress the development of cancer
were among the topics discussed at an international meeting
held at the Weizmann Institute.
The gathering commemorated the late Tnstitute Professor
Yossi Aloni, who was one of the world's foremost experts in
molecular aspects of gene expression — a complex, highly reg-
ulated process enabling cells to manufacture vital proteins.
The three-day gathering, titled "Transcription Regulation
of Viral and Cellular Genes," brought together scientists from
the United States, Israel, France and Germaw.Xarticipants
included numerous former colleagues, students Wand friends
of Professor Aloni, who, at the time of death last year, was
head of the Institute's department of molecular genetics and
virology.
The transcription of genes is the process by which infor-
mation encoded in genetic material is translated into mes-
sages that are released into cells. The messages provide
instructions for the production of proteins. Unraveling the
mechanisms regulating this process is essential for under-
standing the development of organisms and gaining insight
into various diseases.
One of the meeting's sessions was dedicated to the genet-
ics of cancer, a disorder in which the tight control of genes
responsible for cell proliferation is disrupted. Several discus-
sions at the gathering focused on recent findings related to
oncogenes, which induce cancer, and tumor suppressor genes,
which block its development
These findings show that both classes of genes are involved
in programmed cell death. Cell death is displayed by normal
cells but appears to be absent from cancer cells, which keep
on living and proliferating.
Other topics discussed at the meeting included the genet-
ic aspects of viral infection. Speakers focused on the ways virus-
es harness the transcription machinery of cells, as well as how
their own transcription is controlled. Fundamental aspects of
gene transcription and expression also were discussed.
Elucidating the mechanisms governing gene expression
was the main scientific interest of the late Professor Aloni.
One of his major contributions to the field was the identifi-
cation of the mechanism responsible for stalling transcription,
a crucial element in the regulation of this process. C-J

a

39

