p k
Nicotine helps
prevent
Alzheimer' s
Nicotine is able to prevent the for-
mation of an abnormal brain-cell
plaque found in Alzheimer's patients,
according to a study released Tuesday.
from Case Western Reserve University.
Michael Zagorski, a biochemist who
performed the study - sponsored in
part by Philip Morris - said that the
findings occurred only in test tube
samples and that it wasn't clear
ohether nicotine would have the same
pfects on a living brain.
"I wouldn't advise anybody to start
smoking," Zagorski said.
Zagorski's findings indicate that
when nicotine is mixed with key brain
chemicals it can prevent the formation
of beta amyloid plaques, which are
found in the brains of Alzheimer's dis-
ease patients during autopsies. Some
researchers suggest that the plaques
cAuse the disease.
* Zagorski recommended that nico-
tine's effects should be studied further
to determine if the, chemical could :be
used to develop a drug to combat
- A lzheimer's disease.
The Alzheimer's Association - a
major Alzheimer's research group -
sajd Zagorski's findings were, "inter-
rsting, though very preliminary."
prof. named
to aging council
,, University psychologist James
.ackson has been named a member of
the National Advisory Council on
Aging by U.S. Department of Health
and Human Services Secretary Donna
Shalala.
Jackson is the Daniel Katz
Distinguished University Professor of
Psychology and directs the Research
Center for Group Dynamics at the
lMisfitute for Social Research.
The National Advisory Council on
Aging counsels and supports biomed-
ical, social and behavioral researchers
and disseminates health information
concerning aging and the needs and dis-
eases of the elderly. Council members
are appointed for four years.
Jackson has taught at the University
since 1971.
Chocolate may
slow cholesterol
UOniversity of California at Davis sci-
entists have shown that chocolate con-
.tins antioxidants that may reduce the
.adverse effects of cholesterol.
-The chemicals are similar to those
that give red wine its supposed antioxi-
dant function.
Meanwhile, researchers at the
Neuroscientists Institute in San Diego
report that chocolate also contains
cannabinoids - which are similar to
,the chemicals found in marijuana -
although in lower concentrations.
Two other chemicals in chocolate
a'ppear to prolong the pleasurable sensa-
tions elicited by the cannabinoids -
:and these chemicals may be responsible
.for the notorious "chocolate addiction."
Cheap shoe
nserts work fine
.<Inexpensive, off-the-shelf' shoe
, is ts are better for heel s than custonm-
=iade arch supports, according to Dr.,
Glenn Pfeffer, a San Francisco orthope-
dic surgeon who led a two-year study
of patients suffering from heel pain.
After eight weeks, patients who used
cheaper inserts fared significantly better.
Compiled by Daily Staff'Reporter
Brian C'ampbel/t
LOCAL/STATE The Michigan Daily - Thursday, October 24,
Nobel P ze winner speaks about adhesion
1996 - 3A
French professor fills
Rackham Amphitheater
yesterday with students, staff
By Brian Campbell
Daily Staff Reporter
There wasn't a vacant seat in the Rackham
Amphitheater yesterday as people sat tight in the
aisles to hear Nobel Laureate for physics, Prof.
Pierre-Gilles de Gennes, talk about the way things
stick together.
De Gennes was this year's speaker for the Ta-
You Wu lecture -- an annual event put on by the
department of physics in honor of Wu, who
graduated from the University in 1933 and went
on to reform science education in China and
Taiwan.
De Gennes directs a national research institute
in Paris.
His lecture, titled "Principles oflAdhesion was
an informal discussion - the general public was
welcomed - about the forces that bind objects
together, those that pull them apart, and how the
two interact.
The 1991 Nobel Prize winner began his talk by
tracing the beginnings of adhesives to the ancient
Phoenicians, who used turpentine. tar and wax to
form glue.
He then jumped to the turn of this century when
polymers began to be used more frequently -
some of them as glue to assemble the pieces of
early wooden airplanes.
DeC Gennes made the lecture accessible to non-
scientists by presenting only a few simple engi-
neering formulas on the overhead and using exam-
pies from the everyday world - such as Scotch
tape. polystyrene. race car tires and clasping one-s
hands together - to illustrate abstruse scientific
principles.
"I thought he was very insightful," said
Muppirala Ravirumar, a research scientist in the
University's biophysics department.
"He put complex phenomena into simple words
-- the reality is much more complex than that,"
Ravirumar said.
Claire Lacas, graduate student of electrical
engineering and computer science, also said De
Gennes did a good job of articulating his sub-
ject.
"In France he's famous for making such diffi-
cult things easy to understand," Lacas said.
"Everyone with scientific backgrounds and peo-
ple in general tend to understand what he is say-
ing.
But it .wasn't only the scientific aspects of the
lecture that were accessible as de Giennes' sense of
humor showed in comments like. "Nature, like us.
is lazy and chooses the easiest path." to describe
the dissipation of stresses.
"It's the reaction of a theorist -_ not under-
standing a problem, I move to another," to describe
his reaction to a paradoxical phenomenon.
De Gennes also told a story about a young man
who sought De Gennes' counsel on how to best
cast a mold of his girlfriend so that lie could make
an accurate sculpture of her.
De Gennes was born in Paris in 1932. gradpat-
ed from the Ecole Normale Superieure in 1955
and has been the director of the Ecole Superieure
de Physique et Chimie, in Paris, for the past .20
years.
AIDS
benefit.
founder
to. run
By Ajit K. Thavarajah
Daily Staff Reporter
Forced to deal with testing HIV-posi-
tive, Ann Arbor resident Don Hubbard
chose to fight back with his feet rather
than surrender,
Hubbard, a nationally recognized
mid-distance runner in the 1960s, will
fulfill a lifetime dream by running a
26.2-mile marathon in a benefit called
"Go The Distance" on Saturday. The
founder of the benefit, Hubbard's run
will be solo.
Hubbard has received pledges total-
ing $2,300. He hopes to reach $3,000
before the run this weekend at the
Michigan Race Track.
Hubbard credits his idea for the
marathon to the HIV/AIDS Resource
Center.
"HARC is a wonderful organization
with very helpful people for anyone
who has HIV or AIDS. They help with
legal and personal issues," Hubbard
said.
HARC also provides a food bank,
free HIV testing and educational pro-
grams on how to prevent the spread of
HIV
"They're a group of selfless individu-
als who work very hard to help the pub-
lic. I thought that I could give back by
running a marathon for much-needed
funding," Hubbard said.
Diagnosed with the virus in 1989.
Hubbard's thoughts were originally less
optimistic.
"When I first found out, everything
about it seemed like a death sentence
and I dwelled on it. I thought that my
life was over. Why was this happening
to me? What did I do to deserve this?"
Hubbard said. "There was not a lot of
hope for me at the time. I finally came
to the point where I had to do some-
thing instead of'just give in to the dis-
ease."
Hubbard has been training 4 1/2
months for this marathon. He plans to
walk 105 laps around the University
of Michigan's race track to complete
the total distance of a marathon.
Michigan cross country coach
Ronald Warhurst, a friend of Hubbard's,
Smart thieves
lift books at
campus libraries
By Mike Haven
For the Daily
Keeping track of the more than 6
million volumes in the Shapiro
Undergraduate Library is no easy task.
The only way the library staff knows
if an item is lost or stolen is through
student search requests.
"We like to think that faculty and
students are honorable people so we
don't spend as much time on security
as we should," said Jeane Loup, assis-
tant to the dean of University
re-ordering process.
If the librarian's search is unsuc-
cessful, the library then attempts to
replace the book if it can. "Sometimes
things aren't in print and re-ordering
can be a long, arduous process,"
TerHaar said.
Funds for the replacement of lost or
stolen books come from various
sources, depending on the specific
library. The School of Business
Administration Library uses money
from overdue fines and student pay-
WARREN ZINN/Daily
libraries.
Campus libraries
misplacement of
books on a daily
basis, leaving
aggravated stu-
dents searching
for books that will
never be found.
"It's very frus-
trating to spend
time looking for a
book and not find
it," LSA senior
Whitney Ricketts
said. "It seems
the book you
need the most is
never there. You
never know if the
book is stolen or
just lost in the
piles of'
u n s h e I v e d
books."
Linda TerHaar,
experience theft or
We like to think
that faculty and
students are
honorable people
so we don't spend
as much time on
fisecurity as we-"
should."
- Jeane Loup
Assistant to the dean of
University libraries
ments for previously
Larger libraries,
lost books.
including 'the
G r a d u a t e
Library and the
Undergraduate
Library take
money from
the budget for
libraries' mate-
rials. Money
for the budget
comes from the
U in i v e r s i I y
Ceneral F nd.
"The amount
varies .from
year to year.
Loup said.
"Deans provide
the assess-
ment.
T I ;h e
G r a d ii a e
Library spent
$2,000 last year
Runner Don Hubbard sits on the Michigan track yesterday.
said he supports his quest to complete
the marathon.
"It is a terrible disease that affects
many people. I wish him the best of
luck and hopefully he will be able to
reach the goals that he has set for him-
self" Warhurst said.
Hubbard has set specific goals for
this benefit.
"The two main goals are for first
for myself to personally complete the
distance of a marathon race. Secondly
to raise money to support the efforts
of the U-M's Atheletic Department
and the Ann Arbor Jaycees
Foundation in their efforts to bring
the Names Project AIDS Memorial
quilt to Ann Arbor next February."
Hubbard said.
Hubbard also hopes to honor the
work of I ARC and to make more peo-
ple more aware of the great risk of
1lV
"I feel like the marathon is a way of
honoring the memory of people who
died from AIDS or anyone who is cur-
rently living with the disease."
Hubbard said.
"I also think it's important to keep
spreading the message of what can
happen if you aren't careful. People
still think that they are invincible.
They're foolish to think this but they
still do.
LSA sophomore Danielle Taubman
said that even educated students some-
times think they are immune to the dis-
ease.
"It's ridiculous how people think
they can magically escape HIV. Some
people still think they're protected
from everything and don't think twice
about the harsh consequences it can
have on not only themselves but their
family members and friends," Taubman
said.
senior associate
librarian at the Shapiro Undergraduate
Library, said a crew comprised of a full-
time member, a part-time member and
student workers tries to stay ahead of
the problem by restacking books four to
five times each day.
Upon request, library staff search for
those books that students can't locate
on their own.
"Students make requests for a book
and we try to locate it within 24 to 48
hours," said Undergraduate Library
Supervisor Sheila Wilcox. "After that,
we search three more times before the
on replacement materials.
Although most thefts typically involvc
one or two books, more severe robberies
have occurred in recent years.
Last winter., a graduate student
allegedly stole $15,000 worth of books
from University libraries. Loup said
that number "doesn't include the
intrinsic value of the books." The stu-
dent, who is facing trial on the
charges, allegedly cut security strips
out of the books and shaved off
University library stamps around the
edge of the books.
For more information:
JCQU/L T)7@a;,ol.cot.
e-mail
Company fined for job-scam ads
SOUTHFIELD (AP) - A Michigan
company accused of deceptively mar-
keting employment services for airline
jobs nationwide has agreed to pay
$350.000 into a fund to pay back cus-
tomers, the Federal Trade Commission
said yesterday.
Under the FTC-negotiated settle-
ment, Careers Inc. of Southfield, and its
officers, Daniel Faulkner and Nicholas
Mancino also would be bound by provi-
sions prohibiting them in the future
from:
U Claiming that they are affiliated
Correction
Today's and Monday's presidential candidate interviews will be held in the Regents' Room of the Fleming Administration
Building. This was incorrectly reported on yesterday's editorial page.
with airlines;
® Claiming that consumers are like-
ly to obtain jobs in their chosen geo-
graphic areas:
* Making false statements to induce
consumers to purchase their employ-
ment service.
They also are required to post a
$250,000 performance bond for the
protection of future clients before get-
ting involved in an employment busi-
ness where consumers pay a fee.
The FTC filed charges against
Career as part of Project Career
Sweep, a crackdown on fraudulent
employment services scams that
charge consumers up-front fees rang-
ing from $35 to hundreds of dollars
but supply very little of value, if any-
thing, in return.
Join the Daily
Graphics staff. Call
76-DAILY.
Wha
GROUP MEETINGS
J African-American Undergraduate Male
Dialogue Group, 764-8312, West
Quad, Asubuhi Lounge, 7 p.m.
:1 Graduate African American Male
Dialogue Group, 764-8312,
Trotter House, 7 p.m.
' j Lutheran Campus Ministry, "Issues
of Faith Group," 668-7622, Lord of
Light Lutheran Church, 801 South
Forest Ave., 7 p.m.
-J Muslim Students' Association,
Thursday Halaat930-9049,
RackhamAmphitheatre7 p.m.
(1 I
's. happening in Ann Arbor today
Studies, Hutchins Hall, Room
250, 4-6 p.m.
J "Charting the Energy Landscapes of
Folding Proteins," Prof. Peter G.
Wolynes, Moses Gomberg Lecture
Series, sponsored by Dow
Chemical Co. and Department of
Chemistry, Dow Laboratory, Room
1640, 4 p.m.
j "Shulchan lvrit," sponsored by Hillel,
Cava Java, 5:30 p.m.
J "The Rights of Man, Equality and the
Birth of Socialism," David North,
sponsored by Socialist Equality
Partv Chemistrv Ruilding, Room
SERVICES
J Campus Information Centers, Michigan
Union and Pierpont Commons, 763-
INFO, info@umich.edu, UMsEvents
on GOpherBLUE, and http://
www.umich.edu/-info on the World
Wide Web
J English Composition Board Peer
Tutoring,Aneed help with a
paper?, Angell Hall, Room
444C, 7-11 p.m.
J Northwalk, 763-WALK, Bursley Hall,
8-11:30 p.m.
SPsychology Peer Academic
avising. 647-3711 . nnnred
New York Recordiro Artists
® 14cfflnirct
"Honey yure harmonies surrounded by a shinini
aura of instrumental sound."
Haloween Concert
Sunday, Oct. 27, 5:00 . m.
rvppp.9'
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