26 U_ THE NATIONAL COLLEGE NEWSPAPER Student Body APRIL 1988 26 U. THE NATIONAL COLLEGE NEWSPAPER Student Body *APRIL igat ~V h - ( Eo/Gc7rAeo0rTiTHAr, I'/ ON THE P/L/_ - s New research may make m t en te Crystal gazers await dawn of a new Age of Aquariusl By Valica Boudry The Minnesota Daily U. of Minnesota, Twin Cities The New Age Movement. The words bring to mind mystic im- ages of crystals, channeling, harmonic convergence and Shirley MacLaine. But just what is it exactly? Is it a cult or the occult? A religion or a philosophy? Where did it all start and who belongs to it? It's people like David Valentiner, a University astronomy student. Or Dee Millard, an employee at a large com- munications firm, who, after discover- ing she had multiple sclerosis a few years ago, decided to look for natural ways to heal her body. New Agers aren't spiritual gurus who sit in meditative trances for hours, rous- ing only to cleanse their crystals and eat yogurt. They're parents, small-business owners and college students. They're as typical and varied as the people who live next door or who work alongside you. They are explorers of the spiritual fron- tier. The term "New Age" comes from ancient astrology. "We enter into a new age every 2,000 years," Valentiner said. "We'll be entering into the Age o Aquarius next," he said, "which is ider tified with spirituality and spiritual er lightenment. Technically, the begir ning date of the New Age is anywher between the years 2100 and 2800, s we're now in the dawn of the New Ago It was this dawning of the New Ag that was sung about in the popula Fifth Dimension song "The Age ' Aquarius" during the'60s. Phrases suc] as "mystic crystal revelations and th mind's true liberation" reflected th philosophy that many people in the hi: pie movement had during the '60s a they experimented with drugs. Th drugs are gone, but the ideas ha stayed. Millard feels that the individuality o New Age methods is what separate New Age from other religions or cults Each New Ager seems to find a per sonal niche that helps increase hiso her spirituality. Shamanism, tare cards and holistic nutrition are amon the literally hundreds of ways peopl mesh their physical and spiritua worlds together. Religions ranging fro4 Buddhism to ancient Indian practice are recognized in the New Age move ment. By Francine Strickwerda Daily Evergreen Washington State U. The discovery of a male contracep- tive pill may be close at hand, and it may happen in a Washington State U. (WSU) laboratory, researcher Mike Griswold said. Griswold heads a WSU research team that is working on projects con- cerning the male reproductive system. Present contraceptive methods (including the female pill) rely on the regulation of the hormone system. "In the long term, this is not satisfac- tory. When you alter one aspect of the system, you alter other aspects of the system," Griswold said. Another method being studied, the contraceptive vaccine, uses anti- bodies to destroy sperm. The vaccine could be used by either the male or female. The research team is taking a different approach, studying the basics of the male reproductive sys- tem using recent techniques of gene- tic engineering. "Our approach is to back up a little bit. We need to get some basic in- formation before we interfere with the system. This is something that hasn't been emphasized before," Griswold said. One way to interfere with the sys- tem is to find out what nutrients are necessary for sperm production and then withhold them, Griswold said. In 1980, the WSU research team made an important breakthrough when they identified the protein transferrin, which is responsible for delivering iron to the sperm. The protein is produced in the ser- toli (nurse cells). Until this time it was known that the sertoli were im- portant to the production of sperm, but their actual function was un- clear. Since this time, the team has iden- tified several other proteins that are produced in the sertoli cells and are necessary for sperm production. A full identification of four proteins has been published and the team is currently working on several others. It is possible that if a method of inhibiting these proteins is found, a male contraceptive could be made, Griswold said. "We are fairly confi- dent that this would happen with transferrin and reasonably confident with the others (proteins)," he said. Liposuction: a new weapon in the battle of the bulge 4 By Jim Mock The Daily Tar Heel U. of North Carolina, Chapel Hill The next time you meet a plastic surgeon, call him a "fatsucker", and then watch his face. At first he'll look cross, then he'll have to laugh because sucking out patients' unsightly bumps and bulges has been part of a plastic surgeon's job description since around 1980 when liposuction was introduced to the United States. The technique involves the removal of fat from the hips, abdomen, thighs, knees, arms or face by insertion of blunt-ended metal suction tubes through small skin incisions into the subcutaneous fat layer of the skin. With repeated back and forth motions, "hon- ey-combed" defects are made in this fat layer, which are subsequently closed in the weeks following surgery with the use of bandages and girdles. "Liposuction is a form of body con touring or localized fat removal, no weight control," said Dr. Thomas Lawr ence, assistant professor of plasti surgery at the U. of North Carolin School of Medicine. "We rarely remov more than one liter (about two pounds of tissue at a time." Typical liposuction patients are a tive, professional women in their 30 who want to shape their hips, thighs buttocks or chin, Lawrence said. Met often elect to have liposuction to hell them control the infamous abdomina bulge. Liposuction is not without complica tions, although serious problems occu in less than two percent of the cases These can range from skin asymmetA to numbness, infection, and even skii death. Diabetic's life transformed after pancreas-kidney transplant By Erica Gellin Daily Bruin U. of California, Los Angeles "I hate to be melodramatic, but it's a miracle," said Robert Katzman. "I am a completely different person." A diabetic since childhood, Katz- man, 33, is the first Californian to have received a combined pancreas/ kidney transplant. He received the transplant at UCLA Medical Center and was discharged in good condition several weeks later. "They took a diabetic and made him a non-diabetic, which is a phe- nomenon in itself," said Katzman in an interview at the Medical Center. Of the 12 million Americans who suffer from diabetes, Katzman is one of the 10 percent with Type 1, or juve- nile onset, diabetes. Ever since he de- veloped diabetes 19 years ago, Katz- man has required two or three insulin injections a day. The body requires insulin to proper- ly regulate glucose levels. In Type 1 diabetics, the pancreas has lost its ability to make its own insulin. The diabetic patient faces a 30 per- cent reduced lifespan compared to non-diabetics, said Dr. Patrick Soon- Shiong, director of the Medical Cen- ter's Pancreas Transplant Program, and Katzman's physician. The periodic insulin injections which di- abetics take are unable to regulate blood sugar levels on a minute-to- minute basis. "Insulin is not a cure for diabetes. It just keeps people alive until we find one," said the American Diabetes Association. In addition to the disease itself, di- abetics suffer from many other com- plications. Soon-Shiong said Katzman "had all the complications" of a Type 1 diabetic, including kidney failure. Since April 1987, Katzman has re- quired dialysis four times a week. Ei- leen DeMayo, pancreas transplant nurse coordinator, said that "about 25 percent of patients on dialysis are di-4 abetic." Katzman also suffered from poor eyesight. He had trouble walking and he was unable to drive. "They told me I was getting worse," Katzman said, and that without the surgery he probably would have been hospitalized. Since the operation, Katzman has required neither insulin injections nor kidney dialysis. He has no trouble walking, and he is able to drive.