2 — Friday, January 22, 2016
The Michigan Daily — michigandaily.com
The Michigan Daily — michigandaily.com
2-News
News
RYAN MCLOUGHLIN/Daily
James Logan, co-founder of Space Enterprise Institute, gives a prsentation on the future of space travel in the
Beyster Building Wednesday.
Antimicrobal agent
nisin shrunk tumors on
neck and head of mice
By ALEXA ST. JOHN
Daily Staff Reporter
Nisin, an antimicrobal agent
which is produced by a naturally
occurring
bacterium,
has
been
studied since the 1950s and has
traditionally been used as a food
preservative. However, according
to a recent University study, nisin
has been found to interact with and
negatively affect the growth of some
types of cancer as well as antibiotic-
resistant bacteria.
Dentistry Prof. Yvonne Kapila,
lead researcher for the study, said the
bacteria has been accepted as a safe
method of food preservation by both
the World Health Organization and
the Food and Drug Administration.
“Of all the food preservatives that
are out there, nisin is widely, widely
used and it’s the bacteriocin that has
had the most background in terms of
knowledge,” Kapila said.
The bacterium was first identified
on certain cheeses, Kapila said. Many
of the cheeses that contained traces
of nisin were being presented, which
led to the idea that there had to be
an active, preserving component to
nisin.
“It’s been around a long time and
there’s a large margin of safety and
I think that’s what makes it very
attractive (to consumers) — that it’s
been used as a food preservative and
it’s been used for many, many years
in the food industry,” Kapila said.
Kapila’s research into nisin began
a few years ago, with a post-doctoral
student who was working to purify
other types of bacteriocins prior
to coming to her lab. Bacteriocins,
which are toxins produced by
bacteria to stop the growth of
similar bacterial strains, showed
cytotoxicity to some tumor cells,
meaning they’re toxic to certain
types of cancers.
When
she
and
the
other
researchers tested nisin on head
and neck cancer cells, they found
that it induces cancer cell death. In
contrast, when tested on normal
control cells to see if they were
affected, they showed no impact,
prompting the study.
Rackham dentistry student Jae
Shin, co-author of the study, said
he investigated the nisin’s role with
regard to pathogens in dental plaque.
“What we found is that the nisin
we used, the highly purified and
processed form of nisin, shows an
inhibition effect on many of the oral
pathogens found in dental plaque,”
Shin said. “We also found that nisin
can inhibit the formation of dental
plaque biofilms and also alter or
disrupt the already-formed mature
biofilms.”
Kapila said an animal model was
used for the study where tumor cells
were injected into mice. Once the
tumors were visible, researchers
began to feed the animals a nisin
shake.
After a period of three weeks, the
control animals had large tumors,
while those treated had an average
of a 70 percent reduction in the
tumor cells, as well as a 90 percent
reduction in the tumors themselves.
Kapila said there are also other
models that she and the researchers
have used to test nisin. In another
model, the researchers fed a risin
to separate group of mice because
they had to kill the control mice. For
ethical reasons, because the mice
suffer after the tumors get so large,
researchers cannot keep the mice
alive. However, for the subset of mice
that were treated with the nisin,
their lifespans were extended.
“The nisin-treated mice were
kept alive — the longest one was up
to four months,” Kapila said. “That’s
using the model where we’ve already
injected the tumor cells, the tumors
were already present and we’re just
feeding the mice the nisin to keep
them alive.”
Kapila said the researchers have
also done another pilot research
project where they fed the mice an
older formulation of nisin — with
only a 2.5 percent concentration —
before the tumor cells were injected.
Shin said the new formulation of
nisin, Nisin ZP, is about 95 percent
pure and is a naturally occurring
variant of nisin. The only difference
between the two nisin types is the
James Logan aims
to dispel myths
about sustaining
life in space
By EMILY ROBERTS
Daily Staff Reporter
James S. Logan, co-founder
of Space Enterprise Institute
and former NASA employee,
spoke
to
an
auditorium
packed with space enthusiasts
Wednesday night.
Logan’s talk, titled “Living on
Mars: Medical Realities of the
Red Planet, Fact vs. Fantasy,”
aimed to debunk some common
myths floating around in the
media and science communities
regarding space exploration
and human adaption to zero
gravity environments. He spoke
at length about the importance
of attention to low-gravity and
high-radiation effects on the
human body and the need for a
life-science perspective in space
exploration, which is currently
run by engineers.
Despite
what
he
characterized as a pessimistic
presentation, Logan said he
called himself an optimist and
a true believer in interplanetary
exploration.
“We have to solve these
problems; we will solve these
problems,” Logan said. “Ladies
and gentlemen, you are the
generation that can do it.”
Logan served as Mission
Control surgeon, Deputy Crew
surgeon and Crew surgeon for
25 space shuttle missions in his
20-year career at NASA.
Though he dismissed the
idea of immediate colonization
of Mars and its moons, Logan
offered his ideas of a different
kind
of
extraterrestrial
settlement. He said one way to
combat the problems caused by
radiation and zero gravity on
Deimos, one of Mars’ moons, is
to drill into it and build colonies
into the core.
Logan ended his presentation
to thunderous applause and
with a quote from Konstantin
Tsiolkovsky: “The Earth is
the cradle of mankind, but
one cannot live in the cradle
forever.”
Rackham
student
Benjamin Katz said though it
surprised him, he enjoyed the
presentation.
“I thought he was going to
tell us life on Mars is going to
be within reach,” Katz said. “It
was the exact opposite, but it
was really interesting hearing
all of the science behind it.”
In particular, he said it
was interesting to compare
Logan’s work to various artists’
renditions of what colonization
on the lunar surface and what
the surface of Mars would look
like.
“All of the pictures you see
of people on other planets and
stuff, not only are they not
feasible now but they’re likely
never going to be feasible,”
Katz said. “The way we have to
visualize people living on other
planets is going to have to be
completely different.”
Engineering senior Gideon
Billings said he was surprised
a manned mission to Mars
was unrealistic with today’s
technology.
“I expected it to be more like
the issues that the astronauts
would have to deal with in the
context of a manned mission
to Mars whereas we got that
it’s really not practical to have
See NASA, Page 3
See CANCER, Page 3
THREE THINGS YOU
SHOULD KNOW TODAY
The Flint regional head
of the Environmental
Protection
Agency
resigned Thursday amid
the city’s water crisis. Her
resignation will be effective
February
1,
and
follows
national controversy over high
lead levels in the city’s water.
2
CAMPUS EVENTS & NOTES
“Straight
White Men”
WHAT: Young Jean Lee’s
theatrical essay explores
the values of being a
straight, white man, and
discusses when identity
and privilege matter.
WHO: University Musical
Society
WHEN: 8 p.m. to 10 p.m.
WHERE: Power Center
for the Performing Arts
Trading
simulation
WHAT: Two sessions will
offer students the chance
to work with an interactive
BP trading simulation.
WHO: Career Center
WHEN: 10:30 a.m. to 12
p.m., 2 p.m. to 3:30 p.m.
WHERE: Ross School of
Business, room 0400
Starting
on
Friday
afternoon,
a
record-
breaking
snowstorm
is
expected
to
hit
the Eastern seaboard and
Washington
D.C.
Multiple
states preemptively declared
a state of emergency in
anticipation of the blizzard.
1
Chamber
Music Society
WHAT: Lincoln
Center’s Chamber Music
Society will perform
chamber music from all
instruments, styles and
historical periods.
WHO: University Musical
Society
WHEN: 8 p.m to 10 p.m.
WHERE: Rackham
Graduate School, Rackham
Auditorium
AbilityOne, the nation’s
leading program that
provides
work
for
disabled people, is being
examined by a federal grand
jury for allegations of fraud.
The jury is looking into bid
rigging, corruption, illegal
contracts and failing to meet
quotas for disabled people
hired.
3
Social activism
WHAT: Network with LSA
Alumni who were activisits
while at UM and continued
on in social justice for their
careers.
WHO: LSA Development,
Marketing &
Communications
WHEN: 3:30 p.m. to 5 p.m.
WHERE: East Quadrangle,
Keene Theatre
Lecture in
music theory
WHAT: Sumanth Gopinath
will talk about musical
minimalism, the ringtone
industry, Bob Dylan and
other musicians.
WHO: School of Music,
Theatre & Dance
WHEN: 5 p.m.
WHERE: Earl V. Moore
Building, Glenn E. Watkins
Lecture Hall
Migration
workshop
WHAT: Listen to various
presentations discussing
the mobility of people,
identifying with space and
showing solidarity with
others.
WHO: Eisenberg Institute
for Historical Studies
WHEN: 12 p.m. to 2 p.m.
WHERE: Tisch Hall, room
1014
Drug discovery
WHAT: CDNM will
continue its lecture series
exploring designer niches
to analyze cancer beginning
at initiation up until
metastasis.
WHO: Center for Discovery
of New Medicines
WHEN: 9 a.m. to 10 a.m.
WHERE: Palmer
Commons, Forum Hall
Effects of
partisan media
WHAT: This lecture will
examine the rise of partisan
media and how it influ-
ences individual opinion. It
will also examine what this
implies about media effects.
WHO: Department of
Political Science
WHEN: 11 a.m. to 12:30 p.m.
WHERE: Institute for Social
Research, room 6050
TUESDAY:
Campus Voices
THURSDAY:
Twitter Talk
FRIDAY:
Photos of the Week
WEDNESDAY:
In Other Ivory Towers
MONDAY:
This Week in History
LEFT: Engineering freshman Jonathan
Hamermesh plays board games at the
EECS Carnival for students interested
in majoring in EECS at the Beyster
Building on Thursday. (DELANEY
RYAN/Daily)
RIGHT: Members of the Ann Arbor
Alliance for Black Lives lead a walk in
the memory of Aura Rosser from the
Michigan League to the pedestrian
bridge over Washtenaw Ave. on
Wednesday. (HALEY MCLAUGHLIN/
Daily)
NEED MORE
PHOTOS?
See more Photos of the
Week on our website,
michigandaily.com.
420 Maynard St.
Ann Arbor, MI 48109-1327
www.michigandaily.com
ROSE FILIPP
Business Manager
734-418-4115 ext. 1241
rfilipp@michigandaily.com
Newsroom
734-418-4115 opt. 3
Corrections
corrections@michigandaily.com
Arts Section
arts@michigandaily.com
Sports Section
sports@michigandaily.com
Display Sales
dailydisplay@gmail.com
News Tips
news@michigandaily.com
Letters to the Editor
tothedaily@michigandaily.com
Editorial Page
opinion@michigandaily.com
Photography Section
photo@michigandaily.com
Classified Sales
classified@michigandaily.com
SHOHAM GEVA
Editor in Chief
734-418-4115 ext. 1251
sageva@michigandaily.com
EDITORIAL STAFF
Laura Schinagle Managing Editor schlaura@michigandaily.com
Emma Kerr Managing News Editor emkerr@michigandaily.com
SENIOR NEWS EDITORS: Allana Akhtar, Alyssa Brandon, Jacqeline Charniga, Katie
Penrod, Emma Kinery
ASSISTANT NEWS EDITORS: Riyah Basha, Marlee Breakstone, Desiree Chew, Anna
Haritos, Camy Metwally, Lydia Murray, Caitlin Reedy, Alexa St. John
Claire Bryan and
Regan Detwiler Editorial Page Editors opinioneditors@michigandaily.com
SENIOR OPINION EDITORS: Jeremy Kaplan, Ben Keller, Anna Polumbo-Levy, Jason
Rowland, Stephanie Trierweiler
Max Bultman and
Jake Lourim Managing Sports Editors
sportseditors@michigandaily.com
SENIOR SPORTS EDITORS: Minh Doan, Jacob Gase, Kelly Hall, Simon Kaufman, Jason
Rubinstein, Zach Shaw, Brad Whipple
ASSISTANT SPORTS EDITORS: Betelhem Ashame, Chris Crowder, Sylvanna Gross,
Leland Mitchinson, Ted Janes, Kevin Santo,
Kathleen Davis and
arts@michigandaily.com
Adam Theisen Managing Arts Editors
SENIOR ARTS EDITORS: Caroline Filips, Melina Glusac, Jacob Rich, Ben Rosenstock
ARTS BEAT EDITORS: Matthew Barnauskas, Christian
Kennedy, Rebecca Lerner, Natalie Zak
Amanda Allen and
photo@michigandaily.com
Grant Hardy Managing Photo Editors
SENIOR PHOTO EDITORS: Zoey Holmstrom, Zach Moore, James Coller
ASSISTANT PHOTO EDITORS: Claire Abdo, Robery
Dunne, Sam Mousigian, San Pham, David Song
Anjali Alangaden and
design@michigandaily.com
Mariah Gardziola Managing Design Editors
Karl Williams Statement Editor statement@michigandaily.com
DEPUTY STATEMENT EDITORS: Nabeel Chollampat and Tori Noble
STATEMENT PHOTO EDITOR: Zoey Holmstrom
STATEMENT LEAD DESIGNER: Shane Achenbach
Emily Campbell and
copydesk@michigandaily.com
Alexis Nowicki Managing Copy Editors
SENIOR COPY EDITORS: Taylor Grandinetti and Jose Rosales
Nivedita Karki Managing Online Editor nivkarki@michigandaily.com
SENIOR WEB DEVELOPERS: Dylan Lawton and Bob Lesser
Levin Kim Managing Video Editor
SENIOR VIDEO EDITORS: Michael Kessler, Abe Lofy, Emma Winowiecki
Michael Schramm Special Projects Manager
Emma Sutherland Social Media Editor
BUSINESS STAFF
Hussein Hakim Finance and Operations Manager
Claire Ulak Production Manager
Jordan Yob Marketing Manager
Matt Pfenning UAccounts Manager
Asja Kepes Local Accounts Manager
Chris Wang Classifieds Manager
Colin Cheesman National Accounts Manager
Anna He Special Guides and Online Manager
Claire Butz Layout Manager
The Michigan Daily (ISSN 0745-967) is published Monday through Friday during the fall and winter terms by
students at the University of Michigan. One copy is available free of charge to all readers. Additional copies may
be picked up at the Daily’s office for $2. Subscriptions for fall term, starting in September, via U.S. mail are $110.
Winter term (January through April) is $115, yearlong (September through April) is $195. University affiliates
are subject to a reduced subscription rate. On-campus subscriptions for fall term are $35. Subscriptions must
be prepaid. The Michigan Daily is a member of The Associated Press and The Associated Collegiate Press.
Former NASA surgeon talks
viability of Mars colonization
University researchers find common
food preservative reduces cancer cells