LOCAL/STATE The Michigan Daily - Thursday, September 12, 1996 - 3A Total eclipse comes to state's kies this month Michigan sky-watchers will get a autiful view of a total eclipse of the harvest moon on Sept. 26, says "University astronomer Richard Teske. "Lunar eclipses occur when the sun, Earth and moon all line up with the fhion hidden in the shadow cast behind the Earth," Teske said. -The moon - traveling at a speed of a2,300 miles per hour - will enter the Earth's shadow at 9:12 p.m., will be completely covered by the shadow by 1:54 p.m. and will emerge fully illu- minated at 12:36 a.m. on Sept. 27. "As the moon darkens, faint stars and constellations around it become visi- ble,' Teske said. "Observers will see Saturn below the moon and a bit to its Aight." 'Observers should watch for color d'anges on the moon. The rim of the 4Earth's shadow usually has a reddish Ant because as sunlight grazes the arth's edge, passing through the atmosphere, the air filters out all colors except reds. This is the same effect that makes the rising or setting sun appear to be red, said Teske. "Although the eclipse will be enjoy- ' Lable for onlookers, lunar eclipses no A6ofger have important scientific value 'Ahdr are not intensively observed by astronomers, Teske said. %tudy examines 1 ursing process University researchers have deter- 'rined the mechanism that moves calci- Ifm and phosphate from a nursing -tiother's bones to her breast milk so :that her nursing infant has the minerals ,''build strong bones. * The mechanism is PTHrP (parathy- roid-hormone-related peptide), a pep- .4ide previously known to be associated oly with the buildup of excess calcium irtthe lymph systems of cancer patients. "Our study shows that the peptide, typically associated with hypercal- cemia in malignancy, has a normal - :'nid very important - physiological I fiinction," said epidemiology Prof. MaryFran Sowers, of the University ehool of Public Health, lead investiga- r of the study to be published in the Aug. 21 issue of the Journal of the ?American Medical Association. :hlThe study reports elevated PTHrP levels are associated with elevated lev- els of prolactin, the hormone stimulat- ing milk production, and lower levels of-estradiol - a hormone related to ntnstruation. The peptide was also strongly associated with declining lev- s of bone mass density, but earchers said bone mass density is ,:stored as PTHrP diminishes and nursing tapers off. .'The study included 115 nursing :mothers participating in a series of Wine mass density measurements and VTfHrP analyses from two to 18 months after the birth of the infant. X41%-On average, a nursing mother pro- ':duces about 600 milliliters of milk and '.168 milligrams of calcium per day three onths after the infant's birth, and a iter of milk and 280 milligrams of cal- cium per day six months after birth. U' web page loks at animals Howling wolves, croaking frogs and ' tlor images of more than 1,000 ani- "als from sponges to skunks can be und on the Animal Diversity Web - a multimedia database on the World Wide Web created and maintained by the University. Originally developed by University ,,}ojogy Prof. Philip Myers as a text for A first-year course, "An Introduction Jo Animal Diversity," the Animal D1iversity Web is now used by students all over the world. The URL is http://www.oit.itd &mich.edu/projects/ADW. Students can access complete, up-to- date information on just one animal, randomly browse through more than 1,000 species organized by class and phylum, or search the database for ani- mals with specific food habits or a geo- graphic range. - Compiled by Daily Staff'Reporter Brian Campbell. I Commuter bus links Cental, North campuses APHOTO Log jam Workers from Central Michigan Railway break up a Saginaw River log jammed under a railroad bridge in Saginaw on Tuesday afternoon. earning in Retirement Progrram educates seniors By Prachish Chakravorty For the Daily Students using University bus routes to and from North and Central campus returned this semester to find a new, streamlined service. In early May, a new route combined the old Commuter and North Commuter routes to form a single ser- vice running from Crisler Arena to Glazier Way. "We wanted to do an experiment' said Bitsy Lamb, a bus supervisor. "It was a hit right away." The old routes were "very hectic" on drivers during peak hours, Lamb said. "During certain times of the day, a 15-minute route was very stressful for drivers," she said. "There wasn't a way to relieve it - a down time when dri- vers weren't under pressure," Lamb said. Especially during rush hours, when many commuters rode the route to get their cars, the routes were slow due to busy roads. Lamb said that by combining the two routes, Transportation Services could eliminate duplicate serivce around the medical center. This saved about 10 minutes from the new route and was a relief to dri- vers, Lamb added. LSA junior Dan Mueller, who has been driving buses for almost two years, agreed. "I like it a lot," he said. "The old (ser- vices) used to be really time-con- strained and we'd run late a lot. The new one is longer and not as hectic." The service has been received well, accord- ing to Lamb. "It seems to be providing at least the same quality of service as before, if not better, and cut down the pressure on dri- vers," Lamb said. "We are very pleased." "Most people really like it," Mueller agreed. "You can ride it from the Union all the way to the ECCS building, which you couldn't do before." Engineering junior Geo Hsu, who New rute The former North Commuter and Commuter routes combined this summer to form one route, now known as Commuter. The new route takes passengers from as far south on South Campus as Crisler Arena to as far north on North Campus as Hubbard Drive and west to Glazier Way. The route ends at the Crisler Arena and Glazier Way commuter parking lots. uses the service daily, said that the new route is popular among people on Central campus. But Hsu also criticized the new ser. vice. "The idea is good but the number of buses they have running is bad," Hsu said. "It seems like they combined the route but they haven't increased the number of buses" TI According to Transportation Services officials, the new route has attracted almost 7,000 passengers on peak days. Hsu said that he believes that a trial run of the route over the summer has helped avoid confusion about the change. Mueller also said that there has been little confusion. "There are little white signs in the front and side windows of every bus," Mueller said. The signs explain how to avoid getting on the wrong bus. "There's some confusion but that always happens in the first month or so. People aren't used to the buses and it's usually the new people who get con- fused," Mueller said. Lamb said that in many cases stu- dents didn't know how they were get- ting to their destinations but recognized where they wanted to go - and that's all that mattered. "In a lot of circumstances students don't notice any difference, Lamb said. By Jenni Yachnin For the Daily After nine years of educating senior citizens with low-cost programs, the Turner Geriatric Clinic's Learning in Retirement Program showcased its instructors yesterday in an open house. New and returning members came by the open house to select and register for classes in the program.. "Last year I took a few classes, one on Thoreau and another on physics of the universe. They were both quite good," said member Cliff Johnson, 60. "What I would like to see happen is for the University ... to find a way to make mainstream classes available to senior citizens." In 1987, Ruth Campbell, director of social work for the geriatric clinic at the Kellogg Eye Center, needed to fill a void - no other programs involving intellectual activities were readily avail- able at that time to seniors. The program is open to anyone over the age of 55 and is not restricted to res- idents of Ann Arbor. It has four aspects: mini-courses, study groups and two dif- ferent styles of lectures. "I think all the programs are pretty well organized," said Elza Bryan, who volunteers at Turner. "Most of the instructors know what they're doing pretty well." Some courses are taught by former University professors, including Harm Buning, professor emeritus of aero- space engineering. "I've done it for about a year," said philosophy instructor Fred Anderson. "I'm confident (the program) does a good job. It's more interesting' than teaching kids." The programs are set up by the cen- ter's curriculum committee and its sub- committee for study groups - both consist entirely of volunteers and meet once a month. Besides setting up programs, the committees find instructors and lectur- ers. All teachers are volunteers recruit- ed by word-of-mouth, by other mem- bers or through the University. Eighteen mini-courses and study groups range from six to 30 mem- bers, with lectures having up to 220 attendees. Courses are offered in various topics, ranging from health to languages and beyond. Ford launches tiny Ka to cash in on European market LONDON (AP) - Ford Motor Co. yesterday launched its littlest car - the Ka - in a bid for a piece of a growing market in Europe's congested cities. But narrow roads and cramped parking spaces are already filling up with tiny cars. Analysts say they're not sure how the Ka will do against such established pint-sized rivals as Renault's Twingo or Nissan's Micra. "It's going into a pretty competitive sector of the market," said Philip Ayton, who follows the European automotive industry for the London bro- kerage Barclays de Zoete Wedd Ltd. Ford is getting into what automakers call the "B segment" market. These smallest of the small cars are enjoying the fastest sales growth of any vehicles in Britain and have potential elsewhere. about 7,500 pounds, or about S 11,665 at current "It signals a change in direction for Ford design, exchange rates, timed to gain maximum publicity particularly in Europe," from exposure at auto said Fritz Mayhew, Ford's shows in Birmingham and director of design for its harder to Paris. Europe. At just over 12 feet in length, the four-passenger Ka is shorter than Ford's Fiesta. But Ford touts its Ka as having many optional fea- tures of big cars, such as power steering, air condi- make a small car look elegant." -Fritz Mayhew Ford director of design The concept was floated at the Geneva Motor Show in 1994 and Ford spent the next two years designing the car now being produced in Valencia, Spain. The Ka will be intro- duced later into the Gdrman, French and as Brazil, where Italy's Fiat is making a big push with its budget model, the Palio. Ford executives declined to provide any produg- tion estimates for the Ka - but they say the European small car market should grow by 1 mIl- lion vehicles a year to 4.5 million later in the decade. They said the "B segment" should make up a third of these sales. Ford has designed the Ka with sharper edges and a lean muscular look unseen on many of the jelly bean-shaped cars now on the road. As Mayhew sees it, other small cars such as the Twingo, look "cute" but, "it's harder to make a small car look elegant." Mayhew hinted Ford's new angular look could be replicated in some, but not all, new Fords. tioning and CD players. Ford says the basic model Spanish markets and elsewhere in western Europe. gets 47.9 miles per gallon. Ford has no immediate plans to market the vehicle The Ka goes on sale next month in Britnin at in the United States or in developing markets such Convicted murderer escapes deputy in L.A. PONTIAC (AP) - A man being returned to Michigan to serve a murder sentence overpowered an Oakland County sheriff's deputy at Los Angeles International Airport, then outran a sec- ond deputy, sheriff's officials said. Danielle Scott, remained at large yes- terday afternoon. The deputies stayed in California to help in the search. The officers were bringing Scott back to Michigan when he fled Tuesday morning, Sheriff John Nichols said. One of them had handcuffed Scott's wrist to a metal bar in a handicapped stall in an airport bathroom after Scott said he needed to use it, Nichols said. When the officer tried to put the hand- cuff back on his free wrist, Scott struck him in the face, knocked him down, took the handcuff keys and kicked him, sheriff's officials said. The second officer chased Scott through the terminal but fell down some stairs and lost the convict. Scott report- edly was seen getting on a bus. The officer who was attacked received stitches in his face. His partner was not injured. Sheriff's officials did not identify them. "You can't deny somebody the privi- lege, right, necessity to go to the bath- room," said Lt. William Kucyk. "You've got to juggle the rights of the individual and security." The officers picked up Scott at a fed- eral prison in Lompoc, Calif., where he had served time for robbing a South Bend, Ind., bank. They took a com- muter plane from Santa Barbara to the Los Angeles airport, where they were to have taken a commercial flight to Detroit Metropolitan Airport. Scott was to have been transferred to the Michigan Department of Corrections for placement in a state prison for the 1991 shooting of Herbert Bowman of Pontiac over a drug debt. The officers involved in Tuesday's incident remained in Los Angeles to aid local police in the investigation, sher- iff's Capt. Barnett Jones said. "You probably couldn't drag them back here," Jones said. "They have a lot of pride. Many of our other officers would like to be on the next plane to help them. It's personal now." 'GROUP MEETINGS EET EVENTS info@umich.edu, UM*Events on GOpherBLUE, and http:// I