LOCAL/STATE The Michigan Daily -- Thursaay, March 29, 2001-3A RESEARCH 'UJ' researchers use children to look for vaccine I the first phase of research, Uni- ve. ty Health System researchers have made the first steps at finding a cancer'vaccine by using children's dendritic cells. Led by surgery Prof. James Geiger, the rsearch shows that when exposed to cancer proteins from a child's tumor, dendritic cells, which are spe- cialized white blood cells, can produce an immune response to the cancer, causing a slow down or stabilization in ca rous cells. W study consists of 13 partici- pants, one, whose disease has spread to thedlungs and spine showed tumor regression, and five other participants saw their disease stabilize. Each child had end-stage cancer and had blood drawn for testing. Following a series of preparations, researchers injected activated dendritic cells back into the'patient every two weeks for a totfithree times. De rdritic cells alert the immune system when foreign invaders, including cancers, viruses and bacte- ria eniter the cell, so the body can destroy them. In aderting the body of cancerous cells''dndritic cells display anti- gens, which are pieces of digested tumor proteins. Tl icell then passes on these antigens to other white blood cells, wIr find receptors for the anti- gen, tallow each type of cell to attack and destroy a specific tumor cell. Cdk5 enzyme shown to cause cocaine addiction *"rush" and addiction caused by dopamine in cocaine is regulated by an enzyme named Cdk5, according to researchers at Yale and Rockefeller Universities. The research, led by Yale psychiatry Prof. Jingshan Chen, shows the processes related to Cdk5 lead to changes in brain cells, which play a key partin cocaine addiction. The study examined long-term brain cha es in relationship to drug addic- tio including the induction of delta- Fosl3 yroteins, which regulate the rewarding and addictive effects of drugs. Results showed that cocaine expo- sure caused increased levels of delta- FosB iin areas of the brain that are sensitive to dopamine, which causes the Cdk5 levels to increase. U ii'g cocaine-exposed rats, the st* showed increased motor activity following exposure to the drug. 'Motor activity also doubled when the rats were exposed to roscovitine, a drug that slows the work of Cdk5. Th° group also concluded that an increase in Cdk5 caused the delta- FosB to brake the effects of cocaine. Study compares afrexia in men and women Acc ding to researchers at the Uni- versity'.of California - Los Angeles, women are nine times more likely to contrast full or partial anorexia nervosa if a mani in the family has the disorder. The study, which is the first famil- ial udy of men with the disorder, sh elevated rates of anorexia ner- vosa ip families where women have the disorder, as well as men, suggest- ing a 'genetic link to the disorder, according to the lead researcher, Michasel Strober. By examining the incidence of full or partial anorexia nervosa in the life- times of 747 relatives, 29 men with the eating disorder and 181 women with no symptoms. the relatives, 15 cases of an xia appeared among female relatives, 10 of which were related to ill men, but no men had the dis- order.: Though this disorder is extremely rare in males, it occurs in .6 percent of females. About 90 percent of all cases occur irf females. - Compiled by Daily Staff Reporter Lisa Hoffman A loaf of bread Bill calls for sprinklers in all Mich. residence halls Four and five year olds from First United Methodist Co-op Nursery play in a bucket of flour at Zingerman's Bakehouse yesterday. Syracuse decides By Maria Sprow Daily Staff Reporter More than a year after a Seton Hall University dormitory fire that killed three students and raised concerns about campus fire 1 safety, state Rep. David Woodward (D-Royal Oak) last week i introduced a bill that he said will improve the safety of students living on college campuses. House Bill 4504 would require sprinklers in all residence halls in colleges and universities in Michigan. The bill states that the state Fire Safety Board "shall promul- ; gate rules pertaining to fire safety requirements for the con- struction, operation, or maintenance of the following: schools and dormitories, including state supported schools, colleges, " and universities and school, college, and university dormito- ries. The rules shall require installation of an automatic sprin- kler system in each dormitory." This bill follows a Seton Hall University announcement after the fire that the school would be installing sprinkler systems in all unequipped dormitories. University of Michigan Facilities and Operations spokes- woman Diane Brown said campus residence halls are not com- pletely equipped with sprinklers. "They have some sprinklers in some areas in all of our residents halls," Brown said. Due to recent renovations, the entire top floor of South Quad Residence Hall is equipped with sprinklers. They can also be found near laundry facilities and other areas where a fire is likely to occur. However, students' rooms and hallways are not currently fully equipped with sprinkler systems. If the bill is passed, Brown said there would be a "significant cost implication" for the University because the residence halls were built before 1968 and would need extra renovations to allow for sprinkler systems. "But those costs do not compare to the costs of students' lives," she added. "If sprinklers could save one life, that would be a good thing." The last major residence hall fire at the University happened last August when construction materials ignited and started a , blaze on the roof of West Quad. There were no injuries sus- . tained from the fire. The last injury sustained from a residence hall fire occurred in 1981 when a student panicked, jumped out a window and broke her leg. Last year, 18 fires occurred in University residence halls. Brown said the fires were results of accidents, carelessness and arson. Brown said the most important ways students can pro- tect themselves and prevent fires is to take fire alarms seriously and to follow safety rules and regulations. "All the things that aren't allowed, that's the reason they aren't-' allowed, because they could potentially cause a fire," she said. Brown added that most fires in residence halls, including.: overloaded electrical outlet fires, happen near the floor and would not activate heat-sensitive sprinklers. "By the time the heat would activate the sprinkler system,- the students need to be out of their rooms, she said. "Sprin- kling can be an added tool in fighting fires, but it's primarily fora; saving property." University Vice President for Government Relations Cynthia Wilbanks said more time and information is needed before the University will decide if it supports the bill. "It is very early in the process and a committee hearing has, not been done on the bill. It is hard to say what the outcomes are going to be," she said. Wilbanks said she is currently trying to obtain a consensus about the bill from "people who have expertise on campus." 2 "The goal is laudable, but there are all kinds of considera-: tions that need to be addressed," she said. The bill is currently being reviewed by the House Commits-+ tee on Regulatory Reform. 4Y " " to join t By Karen Schwartz Daily Staff Reporter After committee consideration and the approval by Chancellor Kenneth A. Shaw, Syracuse University added its name to the Workers Rights Consor- tium yesterday, joining the University and becoming the 76th school to join the organization devoted to monitoring unfair labor practices and the treatment of workers in sweatshops. Syracuse spokesman Kevin Morrow said the decision came as the result of a process of exploration that began in the fall of 1999 when the WRC first came to Syracuse's attention. Morrow said the WRC has the right leadership and direction to work effec- tively with licensees to end unaccept- able labor practices. "By joining the WRC, Syracuse Uni- versity is taking yet one more step in the right direction towards achieving the goal of ensuring that collegiate licensed products are produced under fair working conditions,' Morrow said. Students also took part in the WRC decision, serving on the school's trade- mark licensing advisory board along- side faculty and staff members. In addition to considering WRC membership, the board is responsible for reviewing merchandise that has the Syracuse University name on it. "This board oversees offers and determines which we should follow up te WRC on and which licensed products we want to be associated with," Morrow said. The licensing advisory board initial- ly made the recommendation for Shaw to consider WRC affiliation. In addition to the WRC, Syracuse University is also a member of the Fair Labor Association and the Collegiate Living Wage Association. The FLA is a coalition of corpora- tions and human rights groups that has White House backing, and the recently created Collegiate Living Wage Asso- ciation is devoted to establishing guide- lines for the wages of workers who produce collegiate licensed products. "We are supportive of all three of these associations and we are throwing both our name and our support behind them," Morrow said. WRC governing board member Peter Romer-Friedman said Syracuse University is an important school in the college apparel industry. He added that the signatures of Notre Dame University and Syracuse Universi- ty, both in the last two weeks, are testa- ments to the success of the WRC. "Now more than ever before univer- sities are realizing the effectiveness of the WRC's model and current organi- zations. We hope that Syracuse and other universities can play an integral role in demanding change from an exploitative industry," said Romer- Friedman, an RC senior. House approves higher ed budget LANSING (AP) - The state House approved yesterday a 2002 budget for the state's 15 public universities that is significantly higher than the funding proposed by Gov. John Engler. Despite the state's slowing economy, the House signed off on a $1.66 bil- lion higher educa- tion budget for the 2002 fiscal year, that begins Oct. 1. The House approved the bill 64-42 with four Michigan igher Education Budget members not voting. The House's budget would mean an increase of $68.9 million, or 4.3 per- cent, over current funding for Michi- gan's 15 public universities. That's more than Engler's request for a mini- mum 1.5 percent increase. The University of Michigan would see a 2 percent increase, to $9,839 per student, and Wayne State would get a 2 percent raise, to $11,041 per student, under the House's budget. The budget now goes to the Senate for its consideration. A number of House Democrats said they were wor- ried the House's budget would not with- stand the scrutiny of Sen. John Schwarz, chairman of the Senate's higher educa- tion appropriations committee. Rep. Keith Stallworth (D-Detroit), said House members should be con- cerned that the Senate would disregard the House's recommendation. "It's dead on arrival when it leaves this chamber," he said. Schwarz (R-Battle Creek), said he could not comment on the House's budget proposal until he reviewed it. Michigan State and Grand Valley State universities are the big winners in the House's budget. Michigan State would see a $22 million increase, or 7 percent raise, for $8,710 per student. Grand Valley State would see a 12.7 percent increase to $4,600 per student. In the current budget, Michigan State and Grand Valley fell below their respec- tive per-student funding levels under a system that places universities into one of five categories and sets a minimum per-student funding level for each. But Michigan State would again fall below the $9,000 funding floor for Michigan State, Wayne State and the University of Michigan in the House's 2002 budget. The large increases to the House budget were added by members of the House Higher Education Appropria- tions Subcommittee. Subcommittee chairwoman Sandy Caul (R-Mount Pleasant), has said she's concerned about the big increases. The House narrowly defeated two similar amendments that would have revised the way the funds were doled out to reduce the large increases for Michigan State and Western Michigan and distribute them to other universities. Western would see a 7 percent increase, or $5,804 per student, under the House's proposed budget. That's an $8.6 million increase. Dear Colleagues, I'm writing to you from SomaLogic Inc., a pre-IPO biotechnology company in Boulder, Colorado. Someone in the Boulder-Denver area is perfect for a unique position at SomaLogic. 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