4 Page 8 - The Michigan Daily - Friday, December 2, 1988 Nitric oxide may help body fight ills x -. s 4 Jfkfflf& jwt y liTacc4Ait5 e 6ce1,1 at wcwa/ ,r'rt, iiz /rrttJ BY NOELLE SHADWICK Nitric oxide, a chemical commonly associated with air pollution, may serve as one of the carriers for signals that activate the immune system, University Pharmacy Prof. Michael Marleeta and his co-workers have reported. Nitric oxide, which is released by automobiles and industrial plants, is known to play a part in the relaxation of muscles, but until this study no other functions for the chemical had been suggested. "We think nitric oxide takes [the immune system] from a resting state to an activated state," Marleeta, principal investigator of the study, said. The immune system is usually in a resting stage, Marleeta said. But when an invading organism such as a virus or a bacteria enters the body, the system is acti- vated. Very little is known about the biochemical process that takes place during the transformation, Marleeta said. If the researchers can prove their hypothesis, it could lead to the development of drugs that could regulate the activation of the immune system. "The immune 'system is not perfect," Marleeta said. "Many times we want to activate [or suppress] the im- mune system," he added. For instance, suppressing the immune system while transplanting tissues could reduce the rejection and inflammation of the tissues, he said. The study also found that small amounts of cancer- causing nitrosamines were byproducts of the'immune system. ; .4 The relationship between cancer and inflammation could be related to the production of these nitrosamines. But Marleeta warned that while the production of ni- trosamines is a concern, the benefits of a working im- mune system outweighed the risks. "If the process is part of activating the immune sys- tem, we simply can't do without it," he said. He added that though the production of nitrosamines had been seen in the experiment when macrophages had been isolated on culture plates, the existence of the chemicals in the human body had not yet been proven.: "While we have shown that nitrosamines form in a culture plate we haven't shown that they form in a hu- man. We can't say that these nitrosamines cause cancer," Marleeta warned. , = , '' ,'e , I \ i ,,, .. .. . : .: ..: :. . :: : : 'I Zenith's battery powered SuperSport. The portable that takes you where you're going. [ data stems :7 [8088 Portable PC ':-- ,, ., , . << .'~ \ -0 r:- hi .* 1. t ,.1 1 i6.i t , , ,' 1' 08/4.771 processor. MHz dual speed 'U' to open Judaice Su di e s center BY MICAH SCHMIT In the next few years, students interested in Judaic Studies will have more courses to choose from, more aspects of the field available, and more resources to call upon. The current Program for Judaic Studies will become the Jean. and Samuel Frankel Center for Judaic Studies, under a proposal approved by the University's Board of Regents at its November meeting. The center will serve students much like the Center for Russian and East European Studies or the Center for Japanese Studies.guide those interested in studying East European culture or Japanese history. In effect, expansion from a 'program' to a 'center,' will fill in areas of study that we don't have right now, said history Prof. Todd Endelman. "Currently we are strong in modern and ancient aspects [of Judaic studies] and we're trying to fill in those gaps." Endelman, who is currently the director of the program for .Judaic Studies, will be appointed as the first director of the new Frankel center, according to LSA Dean Peter Steiner. The Center is an interdisciplinary and interdepartmental unit that will bring together a broader range of experts in Judaic Studies, including Hebrew language professors, modern Jewish history professors, and Yiddish professors, said Endelman. "The endowment allows for hir- ing new faculty, student aid (such as research grants), and expanding li- brary resources," Endelman said. Over the next few years, Endel- man expects to hire three or four. new faculty members for the center. University alumni and Jewish or- ganizations donated $2 million to establish the center, named after alumni Jean and Samuel Frankel of Detroit. \ 640K memory expandable to 1.64Mb with EMS \ \ Dual 3.5" 720K floppy or 20Mb hard drive S1 serial, parallel, RGB & numeric keypad port S5.25" floppy interface " 10.5" diagonal backlit LCD Supertwist screen - Expansion chassis connector _"Rechargeable-detachable battery N MS-DOS® included - Dual floppy 20 Mb hard drive s!,i ~:ti ____ Prices start at Prices start at l - _ - $1528.00 $2242.00 - --- - :~. - - - ____________/ - - . ALEXANDRA BREZ/Dailyf 4 4 4 Beautification Architecture student Jerry Bourdage hangs multi-colored flags as part of a class project to beautify the School of Art. -ti 1ean politician calls for reforms. 4 BY KRISTIN HOFFMAN Carlos Dupre, a leader in the Christian Democratic party of Chile, opened his speech last night by apol- ogizing for his difficulty with En- glish. "In Chile it's not necessary," he said. "Pinochet does not speak En- glish, or Spanish - he speaks with force and arms." Dupre spoke on the "David and Goliath" electoral victory of the Chilean people over the authoritarian government of General Augu'sto Pinochet. The next challenge, he said, is to reform Chile's constitution, which is set up to maintain the "authoritarian democracy" that Pinochet envisions. .: .¢ ; ,, .. . data systems THE QUALITY GOES IN BEFORE THE NAME GOES ON For more information about j's full range of computers from the 8088 desktops, 286 desktops, 386 desktops, contact- Computing Resource Center 3113 School of Education 764-5356 Monday-Friday damr- m PARIS PARIS A strong national security council can veto congressional legislation, Dupre said. Dupre entertained questions from the audience, on possible human. rights prosecutions of the military as: well as Christian Democratic in- volvement with pre-1973 CIA activi- ties in Chile. Dupre said his party wants justice: without letting another coup develop. The CIA question is debated in Chil, he answered, as Chile must be unified( now, not divided. He also said that hisA party did not receive money from the* CIA, according to investigations car- ried out by the U.S. Congress. K 2 4 kV w 4. .4 f=- -~ - A PARIS PARIS Midnight Madness TODAY ONLY 1/2 OFF SALE " Earrings $3 " Belts $6-$10